10 April 2018

Page 1

Southern Peninsula

Open Night Thursday 19 April 2018 at 6:00pm Dromana College 110 Harrisons Rd, Dromana

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Tuesday 10 April 2018

5973 6424 or email: team@mpnews.com.au www.mpnews.com.au

Call for seal safety on the beach Keith Platt keith@mpnews.com.au THERE is no doubting the attraction of a seal resting or sunning itself on beaches around the Mornington Peninsula. But the animals are unaware of the excitement and interest they cause and can suffer as a result. Wildlife activists are calling for fresh protocols to manage and protect the seals whenever they are spotted. They say laws aimed at protecting seals are clear but rarely enforced. Harming a seal can attract a $6000 fine or six months’ jail and there are limits to how close people, or dogs are allowed. It is illegal to touch or feed a seal. “Over the past two years seals resting on peninsula beaches have endured crowds of onlookers, dog attacks, jet ski harassment, drunken people riding on them, objects thrown at them, kicked, yelled at, poked and chased back into the water,” Australian Wildlife Protection Council president Craig Thomson said. “The peninsula community and local wildlife groups are very concerned that if the seals are not protected and a seal acts to protect

itself, it may be seen as a risk to public safety and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) may see fit to destroy the animal.” Mr Thomson said “pleas for help” from government authorities to organise a meeting “of all stakeholders … have fallen on deaf ears”. Mr Thomson and the wildlife protection council’s secretary Eve Kelly last week sent out a detailed

account of what happened to some of the 171 volunteer alerts for seals from Edithvale to Portsea between December 2016 and March 2018. They said DELWP rangers – “very clearly the authority overseeing seals” - were not usually able to adequately supervise activities around seals and had “actively discouraged” volunteers from helping, possibly because of insurance concerns. Continued Page 6

Digital illustration by Yanni

Overseas trip for election view CR HUGH Fraser will be one of several observers from the Mornington Peninsula at next month’s parliamentary elections in Timor-Leste. Along with members of the shirebacked Friends of Lospalos Community Committee Cr Fraser will be part of the Australia Timor-Leste Election Observer Mission 2018. The elections are being held less than a year after the July 2017 poll which failed to provide the country with a workable parliamentary majority. The estimated $4236 cost of sending

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Cr Fraser to Timor-Leste (East Timor) will come out of his $16,000 four-year term Conferences, Training and Seminars account of which he has already used nearly $4200. No stranger to overseas trips on behalf of the shire, Cr Fraser, a barrister, must submit a report for inclusion on council’s agenda on the “outcomes and benefits” of the 6-16 May trip within 30 days of his return. In a report to council’s Tuesday 27 March meeting strategic governance officer Christine Aslanidis said the

shire’s “friendship” relationship with Lospalos, a city in Timor-Leste, dated back to 2000. A friendship agreement between the shire and Lospalos, more than 200 kilometres from the capital Dili, was signed in June 2008. “The Timor-Leste municipal agreement was signed in January 2016 consolidating the shire’s ongoing relationship with the people of Lospalos,” Ms Aslanidis stated. The Friends of Lospalos Committee - volunteer community members

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and councillor representatives – have raised more than $100,000 since 2013 for Lospalos community capital works, including a school library. The elections of which Cr Fraser will be an observer are the fifth held since Timor-Leste gained independence. “A key role of the [volunteer international observer] delegation is to reassure local voters that the process is sufficiently free and fair, and to call attention to any irregularities that may compromise the election,” Ms Aslanidis said. “International observers

WHAT’S ON AT NEPTOURS *CROWN CASINO – MONTHLY*

Casino’s bus program with a great BUFFET lunch (all) $40. Only p/p over the age of 18 permitted. Thu 26 April (numbers permitting)

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Tue 12 June - All $35 THE MELBOURNE AQUARIUM

Tue 10 July (a) $70 (p) $60 (c) $55 WIZARD OF OZ

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Tue 10 Oct

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have become a part of Timor-Leste’s democratic process, and strongly believe that a transparent and accountable political process is the key to the success of Timor-Leste’s future. To ensure a credible observation mission, election observers must maintain professional independence and strict impartiality. “The Delegation will also meet with Lospalos Commissioners to discuss present and future capital development projects for Lospalos.” Keith Platt

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