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Wednesday 1 June 2022
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Panorama’s performance limited by space
CATHY Campbell and Leane Maddren of Panorama Theatre Company and shed in Hastings they are set to lose.
Picture: Gary Sissons
LEANE Maddren of Panorama Theatre Company wants to provide theatre experiences for young people and entertain the community. But that opportunity could be lost unless the nonprofit company can find another suitable storage shed to house props, settings and costumes they use for their productions. Maddren said the company had been using the storage area next to the Hastings SES building but was recently notified by Mornington Peninsula Shire that the arrangement can no longer continue. “There is such shortage of suitable places in the shire, so we so far have had no luck finding somewhere to go,” she said. “If we don’t find something in a few weeks, the alternative is not operating anymore and that would be devastating,” The theatre company mainly caters for young performers learning the craft and polishing their stage skills, specialising in musical theatre comedies and plays for young people between 14 and 21, and running school holiday workshops Maddren said young people learned valuable skills when performing, which built confidence, resilience and social connections. “Theatre is such a fantastic things for young people to be involved in and is so empowering, so we really want to continue to offer this,” she said. “We are appealing to any businesses or people who know of a suitable venue for us to use to come to our aid.” Anyone who can help can contact Panorama Theatre Company at info@panoramatheatre.com.au Liz Bell
Houses empty while hundreds go homeless Keith Platt keith@mpnews.com.au HUNDREDS of people are homeless on the Mornington Peninsula while at least 26 state government-owned houses are sitting vacant. Another 18 are also empty, although they are slated to be demolished or redeveloped. The shortage of permanent houses is also exacerbated by the number of privately-owned properties used as short-stay, or holiday rentals. A report by the Salvation Army last year estimated there were 2600 people experiencing homelessness in the
federal electorate of Flinders, which covers most of the peninsula. Unverified data provided to The News puts the number of holiday rental properties at 4529, with most being located between Mornington and Portsea. Rye, with 901 properties, tops the list followed by Rosebud McCrae (6723), Blairgowrie (465), Sorrento (464), Dromana (399) and Mount Martha (279). Market researcher CoreLogic says seven of the state’s top eight postcodes for rental increases between January 2020 and 2022 are on peninsula. Families are being forced to sleep in cars and people are sleeping in tents
on foreshore camping areas opened by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. Others are sleeping rough on the foreshore but can also use the camping ground facilities (“Car sleepers rise amid housing crisis” The News 17/5/22). Since that report on the dire plight of the homeless on the peninsula which is also due to rising rents and house prices - The News has been given the addresses of several government-owned houses lying empty. One resident said a three-bedroom house in Robertson Drive, Mornington had been vacant for about four years and, while the lawns were kept
mowed and it appeared to be in good order, it sat empty. There were also single public tenants living in three-bedroom homes better suited to families, but who had not been offered alternative accommodation. Others spoke of damaged properties left untouched for years. Victoria spends less than any other Australian state or territory on public housing, with data from 2018 showing at least 80,000 people on the waiting list for housing. Details of the state government’s $53 million Big Build plan show it will increase housing stock on the
peninsula by 26. There are 1428 social housing properties on the peninsula, but as of 31 March there were 2544 households on the Victorian Housing Register for the area, which includes the Mornington Peninsula and Frankston. A 2020 parliamentary inquiry into homelessness suggested a strategy was needed for making more efficient use of housing stock. However, on census night in 2016, 1,089,165 public and private properties were recorded as being vacant across Australia, representing 11.2 per cent of the housing supply. With Liz Bell
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