Southern Peninsula
South ern Penin
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2 August 2016
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5973 6424 or email: team@mpnews.com.au www.mpnews.com.au In the swim: Diver Anthony Morton takes the plunge to help relocate Blairgowrie marine life.
Operation Sponge helps nature Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au A CHANCE encounter between a group of scuba divers and a yacht club operations manager may have ecological benefits for Port Phillip Bay’s marine life. Dive2U’s Nicole Morton, a company which does dive training, marine science education and scientific diving and support, was taking a filmmaker from Old Pal Productions out to see the world famous spider crabs near Blairgowrie pier. “We got chatting with the yacht squadron’s operations manager, David Opie, better known as ‘Soapy’, who told us that the north-south trending wave wall had been destroyed by teredo navalis – or shipworm – and was no longer protecting the marina which had to be replaced,� Ms Morton said. “We were shocked to hear this news as Blairgowrie pier is a hot spot and important habitat for marine life. “As well as the yearly spider crab migration and frequent whale sightings, the pier is home to critters like banjo sharks, octopus, cuttlefish, and nudibranchs – and the wave wall is no exception. It is covered in sponge and ascidian life, is an important marine habitat and a photographers’ dream.� Continued Page 10
Shire part of ‘secrecy’ probe Keith Platt keith@mpnews.com.au THE Victorian Ombudsman has interviewed Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Cr Graham Pittock, CEO Carl and governance manager Joe Spiteri as part of an investigation into secrecy in local government. Complaints about the shire have been made to the Ombudsman’s office by several individuals and communitybased organisations. The Ombudsman Deborah Glass an-
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nounced in March that she was making an “own motion� investigation into Victorian municipalities after receiving complaints. “Secrecy in local government can create conditions in which improper conduct and poor administration can flourish,� Ms Glass said. “It also fuels suspicions of wrongdoing and erodes community trust. “Members of the public who complain to my office about council decisions occasionally mention the fact that decisions were made behind
closed doors or in secret as evidence to support their concerns.â€? The Ombudsman’s visit closely followed the shire’s adoption of a code of conduct which makes it an offence for councillors to “malign or criticiseâ€? each other “for the manner in which they exercise their vote in councilâ€?. One councillor who did not want to be named for fear of contravening the code, said that particular rule was “unbelievable ‌ it is just appalling ‌ I couldn’t believe it was happeningâ€?. Councillors were required to sign
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want� by some councillors. An example of the governance department’s “style� was an unsuccessful move earlier this year to “truncate� the time allotted to public questions at council meetings. Ms Glass said there were more complaints to her office about local government than any other area. In 2014-15 her office dealt with 3410 local government issues, with at least one complaint coming from within each of the state’s 79 municipalities. Continued Page 14
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the code – which was adopted by a 6:4 vote on 6 June – within one month or face disqualification and being banned from seeking re-election. Under the code councillors are also barred from speaking publicly on matters “stamped confidential or which appear to be confidential�. The councillor said the code “is shutting down debate and transparency�. The councillor said the wording for the code of conduct came from the shire’s “old fashioned style� governance department and some “fiddling to get what they
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