NEWS DESK
Plan holds hope for kangaroos WILDLIFE advocates are confident the fate of hundreds of kangaroos trapped at Cape Schanck is closer to being resolved after a meeting with Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning officers on Wednesday. Mary Waterman from Save Mornington Peninsula Kangaroos said members concerned about the safety of the kangaroos, which were behind a locked gate on private property and could not escape, believed Delwp seemed responsive to their calls for the kangaroos to be released. Ms Waterman said a permit application to control the wildlife through lethal means had been rejected, and SMPK was hopeful that Delwp would now follow it up with a request to the property manager to open the gates or install one-way gates for the kangaroos to disperse naturally. She said the measures suggested should have been conducted in the first place and are stated in DELWP kangaroo and wallaby management guidelines. SMPKs Craig Thomson said too many species were being lost in Australia, and the group
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wanted Delwp to fulfil its obligations to protect wildlife. The kangaroos have been on the property for more than three months and are becoming stressed, and MPK says it will not give up the fight to get them back to safety. Ms Waterman said Greens Bush was the kangaroos’ home, and opening the one-way gates to allow them back was the best option. “That’s still what we hope for, so I am pushing that with Delwp, and hopefully we will get an answer soon,” she said.
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Playground makeover on the way THE R Penman Reserve Playground behind the shops in Wilson Road in Blairgowrie is set to get a makeover. The improved playground will inclusive and traditional play, new garden beds and landscaping, and realigned and formalised car parking spaces. Blairgowrie locals have been involved in the project, with many community groups and individuals contributing their ideas for the reserve. An independent community fundraiser invited people to purchase fence pickets with their names engraved. The campaign raised $5,700 for the playground construction. These spon-
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sored pickets will be incorporated in the new playground layout. Works are scheduled to start this week. Mayor Cr Anthony Marsh said the new playground will be warmly welcomed and well used. “Thank you to the community who have contributed their ideas and time as well as money for this fun playground,” he said. The playground will have important features to promote inclusive play, such as connecting paths, rubber surfacing within the play area, accessible picnic tables, wide gates and a new drinking fountain with wheelchair accessible height and spout.
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ZOE McKENZIE LIBERAL FOR FLINDERS
Authorised by C McQuestin, Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division), L12, 257 Collins St, Melbourne 3000 Southern Peninsula News
23 March 2022
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