Police patrol
Peninsula a ‘pretend’ metro area — MP Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au THE state opposition has told the government to “stop pretending” the Mornington Peninsula is part of metropolitan Melbourne. Mornington MP David Morris criticised the Premier Daniel Andrews in parliament for avoiding repeated demands to reclassify the peninsula as regional. “The fact that the premier was not prepared to address the issue directly makes it clear that there is no justification for the current situation,” Mr Morris said. “The response confirms that this is nothing more than a bureaucratic convenience. “The peninsula is not an extension of the metropolitan area. The standard of government services on the Mornington Peninsula is not up to metropolitan standards. It is not now, and it never has been. “The interests of the peninsula are complementary to the metropolitan area, but there are significant differences. It is time those differences were recognised, and it is time the government stopped hiding behind the status quo and started addressing the need for change.” Mornington Peninsula Shire wants the municipality to be classified as peri-regional, giving it a half-way distinction so it can receive the benefits of being regional and metropolitan (“Shire seeks metro breaks with benefits” The News 2/8/21). Cr Steve Holland said regionalisation had been a longstanding issue on the peninsula
“since well before the pandemic”. He had earlier asked on Facebook: “Should the Mornington Peninsula receive the same regional classification as Greater Geelong? Should lockdowns be more targeted?” “[The questions] received a huge response,” Cr Holland told The News. “The results, as at the time of writing, are 1418 yes and 77 no. This is quite staggering at almost a 18:1 ratio and climbing every minute.” Cr Holland said social media was a “crude tool to gain quick feedback but, in this case, there’s no denying the overwhelming view of residents”. “Regardless of one’s view about our classification or how it corresponds to COVID-19 lockdowns, if the state government continues to classify us as metropolitan then it’s reasonable to expect a level of infrastructure funding commensurate with that classification. “Unfortunately, Labor MP Chris Brayne [Nepean] has been completely silent. He needs to step up and make sure the peninsula is getting its fair share.” In response, Mr Brayne said: “Cr Holland has not picked up the phone once to speak to me about these issues. I urge him to put aside his political self-interest and talk to me one-on-one on how we can improve the peninsula. “I ran for Nepean in 2018 because the peninsula wasn’t getting its fair share … finally, Rosebud Primary, Rosebud Secondary and Dromana Primary are getting rebuilt and our buses are getting improved. There remains so much more to do.”
Business backs ‘region’ THE designation of the Mornington Peninsula as regional rather than metropolitan is a priority of the Committee for Mornington Peninsula. “It is very confusing to industry on the peninsula that we are included in metropolitan Melbourne, yet Geelong isn’t,” board member Shannon Smit said. “Greater Geelong has a population of 252,000 and is 79 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD and the peninsula’s population is 165,800 and it is 70 kilometres from the CBD, so it doesn’t appear that the rules are being applied fairly.” Mr Smit said regional Victoria had access to a range of state government initiatives through agencies such as Regional Development Victoria. These include reductions in payroll tax, land tax, and access to the $500 million Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund to help overcome the challenges of living and working outside of urban areas. She said peninsula residents and businesses faced all the challenges of a regional community, without access to finance and support received by regional areas. Mr Smit said that committee believed designating the peninsula “regional” would “open up many opportunities currently denied to this community”. “We keep hearing time and time again that local employment, access to education and services and the opportunity for local businesses to compete, is being hindered by the peninsula being lumped in with metropolitan Melbourne,” she said. “Not being designated regional is harming our capacity to provide meaningful jobs, ensure reasonable access to post-secondary education opportunities and to secure government support for key services, project funding and government program eligibility.” The committee says 125 responses to a survey of “local issues” found that 92 per cent supported the push to make the peninsula regional. Mr Smit said the committee would be “seeking to meet with all levels of government to present a case for a change in the [peninsula’s] status”.
Teens target boy in robbery attempt A 10-YEAR-OLD boy waiting for a friend was the victim of an attempted armed robbery at Mount Eliza earlier this month. The boy was standing on his own at the Bruce Cameron Reserve, Bethanga Street, when three males described as being in their late teens pulled up in a grey VW, 2pm, Friday 6 August. They approached the boy, who was near the rear of the pre-school, and demanded money. While patting him down one of the teenagers produced a folding knife. When they realised the boy had nothing of value in his pockets, they pushed him and drove off. Detective Senior Constable Peter Tyler, of Somerville CIU, said the boy was “upset” over the incident and ran home to tell his parents. Detective Tyler said he had checked neighbouring properties for CCTV footage without success. “We are appealing for anyone in the area who saw anything to contact us on 5978 1400,” he said.
Man sought A MAN who stole items from a vehicle parked outside a store in McMahons Road, Frankston, Monday 2 August, is being sought by Mornington Peninsula detectives. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000 or online at bit. ly/3lTndFx
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Back In Motion Balnarring 6/2-8 Russell Street backinmotion.com.au/balnarring Southern Peninsula News
18 August 2021
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