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4 October – 17 October 2012 Your fortnightly community newspaper covering Safety Beach to Portsea For advertising and editorial needs, call 1300 MPNEWS (1300 676 397) or email: team@mpnews.com.au www.mpnews.com.au
Malcolm in the middle of broadband banter ABOUT 270 people turned out in Rosebud to meet Opposition spokesman for communications and broadband Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday last week. The meeting at Rosebud Memorial Hall was organised by Flinders MP Greg Hunt to discuss what he described as the “patchy and often slow broadband service� on the Mornington Peninsula. The meeting went for about an hour with Mr Turnbull taking questions from the floor. Among the issues that attracted the most debate was Mr Turnbull’s claim it could take up to 15 years for the National Broadband Network to be rolled out on the peninsula. Picture: Yanni
Outbreak of democracy By Mike Hast DEMOCRACY is alive on the Mornington Peninsula with 43 candidates vying for places in the shire’s six wards at this month’s election. It’s a far cry from the previous election in 2008 when six of 11 seats were uncontested, with five councillors returned unchallenged and one, this year’s mayor Cr Frank Martin, not even facing the voters. Cr Martin took over from the retiring David Jarman in Red Hill Ward and was not opposed. The 43-candidate list is vindication of
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the Victorian Electoral Commission’s decision to redraw the ward boundaries and create three multi-councillor wards from eight single-councillor wards on the more populous, Port Phillip side of the municipality. Of the 43 candidates, 33 are standing in the three new multi-councillor wards between Portsea and Mt Eliza (see map on Page 5). Nepean Ward between Portsea and Rye has eight candidates seeking the two seats. Seawinds Ward between Tootgarook and Safety Beach has 14 candidates
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existing councillors was sometimes a problem. Despite 2008 having only five contests, four new councillors joined the shire – Frank Martin replaced David Jarman at Red Hill, Lynn Bowden replaced the retiring Aldona Martin in Watson Ward (Somerville and Tyabb areas), Graham Pittock replaced the retiring Dave Gregan in the Dromana area, and Leigh Eustace replaced Reade Smith, who moved from Mt Eliza Ward where he had been since the 2000 election. Continued Page 4
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into the electoral structure of the shire. He had expressed concern over the uncontested seats in 2008, revealing the shire had six of 45 in Victoria, 13.3 per cent of all uncontested wards across the state’s 79 municipalities. During a vigorous lobbying campaign, the shire council, led by CEO Michael Kennedy with the full support of all 11 councillors, said the six uncontested seats were proof the single-councillor system was working. Many residents disagreed, saying dislodging sitting councillors was a difficult task and getting action from
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going for three seats on the council. Briars Ward between Mt Martha and Mt Eliza has 11 people chasing three seats. The three wards on the Western Port side stay as single-councillor areas. The Victorian Electoral Commission in January recommended the changes, which were accepted by the state government. The changes were designed to ensure “fair and equitable representation�, according to VEC boss Steve Tully. Mr Tully telegraphed the changes last October during a public hearing
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