15 December 2015

Page 1

Western Port

Western Port

realestate 15 Decemb er

Your guide to what’s on this weekend for peninsula families

2015

Homestead haven > Page 3

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Shelters of hope for young plovers MANY hands were making light work on Friday at the Hastings-based Willum Warrain Aboriginal Association where a workshop was being held to make shelters to protect the endangered hooded plover. The small bird lives and breeds on a few select beaches on the Mornington Peninsula, although its numbers are dwindling each year as fewer eggs are laid and even fewer chicks surviving. However, there are bands of dedicated plover protectors who fence off nests and try to reduce predators. If the chicks do manage to hatch and then leave the nest, this year they may possibly seek shelter under some of the “chick shelters” built at the Willum Warrain workshop under the guidance of Port Phillip and Western Port Catchment Management Authority and members of the Friends of the Hooded Plover group. “Borders of protection for troubled plovers”, Page 11 Picture: Yanni

Mayor offers Paris ‘explanation’ Keith Platt keith@mpnews.com.au MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire mayor Graham Pittock has invited the public to attend an “open presentation” about the recent Paris climate talks. The invitation posted on the Mornington Peninsula New Group’s Facebook page comes after 17 mostly critical and derisive comments about the shire paying for the mayor to attend the international talks.

However, with the page having more than 29,500 followers, the post could have seriously embarrassing results, with thousands potentially turning up either to hear the mayor discuss a serious topic or to be involved with the “drinks after” part of the invite. The Paris trip has also inflamed already strained relationships between councillors, with Cr Andrew Dixon entering the Facebook fray with a comment under his online persona, “Billy Dixon”. The mayor’s planned presentation

with the added “drinks after”, “explains why the councillors’ lounge has suddenly upgraded from Red Label to Black Label scotch”, according to Billy Dixon. “But hey, at least we're sharing it with the public - see, we've gotta butter you up with expensive free booze (that your rates paid for) so that you'll believe our Paris journey was totally hip and worth it. I'm sure we had a phenomenal impact on global energy policies, but you'll hear all about it at our cute little slideshow,” Billy Dixon’s

post states. Cr Pittock was accompanied to Paris by Cr Hugh Fraser and council staffer Jessica Wingad after the shire was among 10 Australian municipalities invited to attend the United Nations climate change conference (COP21). Ms Wingad, the shire’s renewable resources team leader, was at the conference to “learn of latest global trends and their potential application locally”. The cost of sending her to Paris was about $6000. The climate summit is aimed at getting international agree-

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ment to keep global warming to below two degrees. Top of the list attending the summit were national leaders and government ministers, including Australia’s Environment Minister Greg Hunt, who is also the MP for Flinders, the electorate that covers much of the peninsula. Cr Pittock, while still in Paris, issued a news release backing Australia’s stand on tackling climate change as outlined by Mr Hunt (“Mayor backs climate plan at Paris peace talks”, The News 8/12/15). Continued Page 4

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