NEWS DESK
Shark alert at Somers
Peninsula politics Continued from Page 1 Mr Crewther failed to gain his party’s preselection for Dunkley this year (won by criminal lawyer and Australian Survivor guest Sharn Coombes) but defeated Mr Morris in an 80 to 60 vote in his bid to move to the state seat. Labor seems set to choose television fishing show presenter and close associate of the Premier Daniel Andrews, David Kramer, as its Mornington candidate. The Committee for Mornington Peninsula’s executive officer, Briony Hutton, has been preselected as the Liberal candidate for the state seat of Hastings, left vacant by the retiring Liberal MP Neale Burgess. She will be up against Cr Paul Mercurio, choreographer, media personality and foodie. The state and federal elections could also affect the balance of power within Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. Cr O’Connor will this week take leave of absence from the council to begin campaigning as an independent for Flinders in the federal election. The focus would then be on her colleague Paul Mercurio, if chosen by Labor in Hastings, to follow her example and also step down from the council. The Liberal Party has yet to select its candidate for the state seat of Nepean, held for Labor by Chris Brayne since 2018. Suggested contenders for the seat held by Liberal Martin Dixon from 1996 until his retirement in 2018 are Elizabeth Woolcock and David Burgess.
Keith Platt keith@mpnews.com.au
Hi there: Lachie the Lifeguard met Dromana Primary School students Zoe Robertson, Ezra Sinni and Bonnie Haycox when the Westpac lifesaver rescue helicopter visited Dromana Primary School last week. Picture: Life Saving Victoria
Chopper delivers safety message DROMANA Primary School students were treated to a visit by the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter, Monday 6 December. The bright red and yellow chopper landed on the school oval to give students a chance to meet the crew and learn about staying safe in the water this summer. Principal Andrew Haley said the experience was a “wonderful thrill”. “The students learned about how to avoid getting into danger, stay safe in an emergency, and receive vital safety tips and advice from the very people at the forefront of our emergency services,” he said. “They also had the chance to walk around the chopper and see the stateof-the art lifesaving equipment used in
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yawa.com.au PAGE 10
Southern Peninsula News
15 December 2021
emergency situations, such as the rescue winch, specialist crew equipment, and radio and navigation equipment. “It was such a blast having the chopper land at our school and it is a memory that will stay with our students, and staff, for many years to come.” The visit coincided with Water Safety Month which aims to educate beach users and encourage safety around water to lessen the number of drownings. Last summer the helicopter assisted at about 130 incidents and conducted 15 winch rescues. The helicopter, operated by Life Saving Victoria, is a free community service run from November-April each year to assist in search and rescue missions, aerial surveillance and beach patrols.
SOMERS residents fear that people fishing for sharks are endangering swimmers. Baited lines are being carried out to deeper water off the beach by kayaks or dropped from drones. Mornington Peninsula Shire is helpless to stop the practice and the fisheries department says it is not illegal. Cr David Gill said luring sharks towards the swimming beach was a “dangerous practice” that the public needed to know about. “It is of great concern if sharkattracting baiting is occurring off Somers beach. It increases the chances of lives being put in danger,” he said. “Apparently there are no state government rules to control [fishing] this near popular beaches. “We all know that large sharks frequent Western Port, particularly because of seals and penguins around Phillip Island, but they are rarely seen close to our shores. I think we would all prefer that
to continue to be the case.” Somers Residents Association president said concerns had been raised by “a number of residents”. “The Somers Residents Association is opposed to any activity which potentially may cause harm to residents and visitors to our idyllic coastal village,” Mr Millen said. “The placing of baits to attract sharks towards Somers beach is quite obviously a dangerous and thoughtless activity and must be stopped immediately.” “The SRA will be raising this issue with our state MP asking that steps be taken urgently to prevent further occurrences.” In response to an email from a resident, the shire’s coastal planner Hayden Forrest said that although the shark fishing was potentially causing danger to water users the shire’s powers ended at the high water mark. “The shire has recently explored the option of using by-laws to regulate other fishing related matters. This was not able to be progressed as it is the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) who are the responsible authority for managing fishing related activities.”