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Wednesday 8 December 2021
5974 9000 or email: team@mpnews.com.au www.mpnews.com.au Creative minds: At the toy handover were John Feeley, Gavin Davis, Noel Archdall, David Spring, Janice Rickard, Tim Rickard, Colin Dobson, Gordon Waddingham, Ron Higgins, John Bayliss and Bert Bartlett. Picture: Supplied
Toys to bring joy LIKE Santa’s helpers, the Woodworkers of the Southern Peninsula have been busy all year making 825 toys for charities to give to children this Christmas. The group’s president John Bayliss said the past year had been the toughest of 25 due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions, . The Salvation Army’s Lynne Jones thanked the woodworkers for their donations and highlighted their “creativity and attention to detail”. She praised the team “for their gift of time and commitment”. “As you know, there is a lot of homelessness and domestic violence on the Mornington Peninsula and Salvo Housing refers many to us and we are pleased to able to give them a gift you have made. Many thanks for your efforts.” Food for All’s Alan Hawkins said: “The skill, patience and dedication of the toy makers in making all these marvellous toys boggles my mind.” Food for All this year plans to include toys with a hamper for about 400 families. “COVID has caused the loss of over 5000 jobs on the Mornington Peninsula resulting in homelessness and domestic violence, so it is delightful to see how the community pulls together to help each other,” Cr Antonella Celi said.
‘Humane’ exit plan for kangaroos Keith Platt keith@mpnews.com.au A PERMIT is being sought to “humanely” remove kangaroos from a Cape Schanck property, instead of killing them. The land manager has agreed to wait an extra eight-weeks before the cull was about to start and, in the meantime, seek a permit under the Wildlife Act to move the kangaroos back through a fence into Mornington Peninsula National Park. The reprieve for the “several hundred” kangaroos was due to “determined work” by Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors and “tire-
less negotiation” by CEO John Baker, according to Paul Saunders of the Mornington Peninsula Greens. The first stay of execution was due to end last week (3 December). “This release [of the kangaroos into the national park] needs to happen within the next few weeks if the health of these animals is to not be further compromised,” Mr Saunders said. “Animal welfare experts and community members have offered to assist with this process which may require a group of individuals to calmly encourage the kangaroos to leave the property.” Mr Saunders said the land manager blamed vandals for breaking down
fences which saw the kangaroos enter the property (“Weary tracks tell tale of trapped kangaroos” The News 4/10/21). “Community members condemn such actions and support the council and land manager in calling for a halt to any such vandalism,” he said. Western Victoria Upper House Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick, said the system for controlling wildlife was “outdated, flawed, and sees our native animals cruelly killed by simply ticking a box”. “I'm calling on the Victorian government and Minister for Environment [Lily D’Ambrosio] to do the right thing and explore humane, non-lethal
alternatives - such as relocation. This is what the local community wants,” he said. Cape Schanck resident Sally Baillieu said methods used to count kangaroos on the peninsula were based on “highly inaccurate information”. She said the Department for the Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP) had estimated there were 7000 kangaroos on the peninsula “without taking a single local observation”. “DELWP also have refused to accept, or even investigate, on-theground citizen-science observations demonstrating that the population is actually around 2500 animals. Far
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smaller than their estimates,” Ms Baillieu said. She said there had been no commercial activity on the property where the kangaroos were stranded “for almost two decades”. “Both the inaccurate population estimate, and this lack of agricultural activity invalidates the issue of a culling permit,” Ms Baillieu said. “Despite being informed of this, DELWP have refused to retract the permit and indicated that the slaughter will go ahead.” “DELWP is charged with managing and protecting wildlife across Victoria. Sadly, they have failed badly in this situation.”