Southern Peninsula
Features inside: HEALTHY LIVING PAGES 28–29 FOOD & ENTERTAINMENT PAGES 30–32 SOUTHERN PENINSULA SCOREBOARD PAGES 33–35
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‘Rebel’ pool talk draws 250 By Mike Hast MORE than 250 people packed Rosebud Memorial Hall on Friday 4 May for a passionate discussion about the shire council’s proposed aquatic centre on the foreshore at Rosebud. People came from all over the peninsula to voice their opinions about the controversial $28 million project. It was the first meeting about the Southern Peninsula Aquatic Centre (dubbed SPA by the shire) since the shire was given permission to build on the foreshore by state environment minister Ryan Smith. The shire had been trying since 2005 to get government permission to build on the foreshore, but had been blocked by the Department of Sustainability and Environment supported by various environment ministers. The meeting was organised not by the shire, but by two rebel councillors on the Port Phillip side, Graham Pittock whose ward is based around Dromana and Tim Rodgers of Sorrento Ward. Against the wishes of the shire’s executive and six other councillors, they decided the people should be heard on SPA after a majority of their colleagues in March voted to not have public meetings about the project. More than 50 people had their three minutes on the microphone, perhaps the most comprehensive display of people power ever seen in the shire since its formation in 1994. A big majority said it was good to have the chance to express their views and praised Crs Pittock and Rodgers. The meeting was recorded and
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speeches were gathered by the two councillors, who will present a report to the council and put the information on Facebook at “Seawinds Ward�. Speakers were required to register prior to the meeting, and more than 40 did so, but Crs Pittock and Rodgers received a large number of requests just before the meeting started and handed out numbered tickets. Everyone who wanted to speak got the chance to. When the meeting started, Cr Pittock looked at the full seats and people standing around the edges and said it was community grass roots at work. Cr Rodgers said it was gratifying to see so many people. “This is one of the biggest issues of the next 10 years [in the shire]. It’s not often this council spends $30 million.� He said he had put up the motion to conduct a roadshow that had been rejected by six of the 11 councillors. It was important for all peninsula residents to find out about the project. Continued on Page 8
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Van Der Pal were among the crew of Dromana Bay Life Saving Club putting the finishing touches to the outside of the club’s $1 million headquarters on the foreshore at Dromana on Saturday afternoon. It’s been a long haul for the club, which has battled legal challenges and other obstacles to make their clubhouse a reality. The two-storey building will be finished soon and a certificate of occupancy is expected to be issued next month, in time for the club’s birthday. Picture: Yanni Full story on Page 4.
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