NEWS DESK
Shire looks to lease city office SOME of Mornington Peninsula Shire’s planning staff and senior executives may soon be operating out of an office in central Melbourne. The shire’s CEO Carl Cowie told The News on 31 August that “there is nothing to report regarding a Shire office in central Melbourne”. But one day later (1 September), in his regular Friday email to shire staff, Mr Cowie described sitting in an Uber “waiting to get on the Monash [Freeway]” on his way to a meeting in the Melbourne CBD with “the exec team”. (He also praised the benefits of having a tablet, or hand held computer, “so you can really get your work done anywhere”.) Exactly one week before (25 August) Mr Cowie’s email to staff said “we have received some pricing for what could be a good first site for a shire planning presence in the CBD”. “I will be inviting several key officers for a look at the office space on Friday 1 September.”
The shire’s media department did not respond when asked by The News on the office inspection day: “Is the shire planning, or investigating, having an office in or near central Melbourne?” The quotes attributed to Mr Cowie the previous day also included: “Any such decision [about a Melbourne CBD office] would require Council approval.” Councillors have been briefed about problems faced by the shire in retaining qualified planning staff and the offer of a city office is seen as a “perk” to persuade them to stay. One councillor some years ago told The News that cars were required to attract “bright young things” to the shire from the city. A city office might also prove beneficial to executives who do not reside on the peninsula, even though they knew the position they applied for was based in Rosebud, Mornington or Hastings. Keith Platt
Op shop moves, cuts prices THE RSPCA’s Mornington op shop is offering 50 per cent off all stock from Monday 18 September to Saturday 23 September to mark its move to 139 Mornington-Tyabb Rd. “RSPCA Victoria has been operating in the Mornington area for 16 years and we’re excited to move into
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this new space where we can offer a greater variety of goods in a more modern, spacious environment,” op shop network coordinator Delaney Watts said. Profits from the sale of op shop goods go towards helping RSPCA Victoria end cruelty to all animals.
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Connecting: Somerville Secondary College year 10 student Angelica Haskins with her winning entry to the “social inclusion” art competition. Picture: Supplied
The art of being inclusive
SOMERVILLE Secondary College year 10 student Angelica Haskins has won the Picture This art competition, which aims to spread the message that social inclusion is important for everyone to consider. The competition encourages students to get creative and produce artwork depicting their interpretation of how social inclusion can work for everyone. Students set aside time to think about disability and what social inclusion means. They take on board
that people with different abilities are often excluded from mainstream activities – denying them opportunities others take for granted. Visual arts co-ordinator Stephanie Zurcas said the college considered social inclusion an “important civil and ethical right”. “We do this through inclusion in the classroom, schoolyard, events and sports,” she said. “Through the Picture This art competition we are seeking to further
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establish and embed social inclusion within the community as a characteristic of the school’s culture and practice.” Angelica’s artwork will appear on Wallara Australia’s fleet of 25 buses to help spread the message of social inclusion throughout the community. She will be presented with a cheque for $250 at Wallara’s annual concert at Frankston Arts Centre, Saturday 21 October. For tickets call the box office 9784 1060.
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OPEN 7 DAYS Western Port News 12 September 2017
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