NEWS DESK
Knock back for town’s 7th bottle shop Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council has knocked back a bid to open another bottle shop at Hastings. The liquor outlet, proposed for shop 4-6, 20 Victoria Street, Hastings, would have been the seventh in the town. The planning services committee on 27 January voted in support of Cr Lisa Dixon’s motion that the proposal was an “incompatible land use that would, in conjunction with existing licenced premises, result in adverse cumulative impacts on the amenity of Hastings town centre and surrounding residential areas”. Cr Antonella Celi seconded the motion which was carried unanimously. Cr Dixon said she “called in” the liquor store application because there were already six outlets in Hastings, two in Tyabb, one at Crib Point and one at Bittern Fields. “While I support small business, I could not support this application due to the number of outlets
potentially becoming 12 to service about 9500 residents,” she said. Cr Dixon questioned whether another proposed liquor outlet “does indeed protect community amenity, health and safety”. “The position selected for this potential outlet is also concerning: It’s between three established liquor outlets within 500 metres and alongside a mall with lighting and seating. “Proposed hours of trading were also unreasonable compared to the existing outlets.” Shire officers recommended the bottle shop be approved subject to appropriate permit conditions. Victoria Police also did not oppose it. One objection to the application had claimed it would further antagonise the “drug and alcohol problem in Hastings”; that it would lead to “property damage … by alcohol dependent persons” and would lead to alcohol and drug-related waste in the streets. The objector said they would “like to see [an] increased police presence and alcohol-support service” in the town.
Council masked up for ‘first’ meeting TUESDAY 9 February was the first Mornington Peninsula Shire Council meeting open to the public since April, when COVID-19 forced them online. Just 50 members of the public were allowed to attend last week’s meeting at Mornington Community Theatre and strict safety measures applied: mandatory masks, QR codes, social distancing and “a symptom self-assessment" before leaving home. Councillors and staff were masked up, although the 1.5 metre distance seemed hard to achieve for some, especially when a rear shot showed the mayor Cr Despi O’Connor lean left and whisper in the ear of governance manager Amanda Sapolu. It is not known if all councillors wore masks during the confidential section of the meeting. Keith Platt
Prayer returns to council
Almighty God, we humbly seek Thy blessings upon this Council. Direct and prosper its deliberations to the advancement of Thy glory and true welfare of the people of the Mornington Peninsula Shire. Give us the strength and courage to make wise decisions with grace and dignity. Amen The prayer (with council’s capitals) as read out at the Tuesday 9 February meeting by Cr Debra Mar
Continued from Page 1 “The feedback from the community spoke loud and clear they were not happy and taken by surprise with the removal of the reference to God from the prayer and their voices need to be heard in this debate,” Cr Celi said. “No one is forcing anyone to say the prayer, you can choose not to, but no councillor or lobby has a right to shut down and vilify our community for being Christian or of faith with their reverse discriminative narrative and faux definition of what they believe a secular society should look like.”
Cr Fraser said that on the same night that councillors changed the prayer to a pledge they adopted a community engagement strategy that obliged them to “seek out and facilitate the participation of those potentially affected by or interested in a decision”. He said Ms Sapolu’s “hair splitting advice – which an experienced lawyer will instantly recognise – was not conservative, was not sound, it was not good”. “A prayer by definition must refer to God. That is the ordinary natural meaning of the word. “This secular pledge is not a prayer and
our rules have been amended without consulting with our community.” Ms Sapolu, head of governance, said the prayer was said before last week’s meeting because Cr Fraser had lodged a notice of motion to rescind Cr Marsh’s 8 December motion to reword the prayer. “The impact of a notice of motion to rescind is that no action can be taken to implement the resolution it seeks to rescind, until the notice of motion to rescind is decided by council. Accordingly, the former prayer was said at the meeting,” Ms Sapolu said.
MADELEINE FEATHERBY Alumni & International Theatre Performer
Inspiration is irresistible – you can’t force it or manufacture it. You simply have to find it, and nurture it. At Peninsula Grammar, our students continue to be guided by this teaching philosophy, because inspiring young minds is at the heart of who we are. peninsulagrammar.vic.edu.au
PAGE 8
Western Port News 17 February 2021