Author: Keith Platt

THERE will be no further steps taken to restore sand to the beach or protect beach boxes at Mt Martha North. A report released on Friday by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) found that the most feasible options at the beach are to “monitor” and, if necessary, reinforce a rock wall protecting the bottom of the cliff and “allow natural processes to take place without further intervention”. “This option aligns with the Victorian Coastal Strategy’s directive to allow natural coastal processes as the preferred approach to coastal erosion management,” the report states. It also recommends Mount…

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A “UNDERSTATED and simplistic” house in rural Dromana has been awarded the building design of the Year. Moat’s Corner was praised by the judges for its understated and simplistic design as well as its emphasis on ensuring views of the manicured gardens and natural vegetation can be seen from every angle. Results of the annual Building Design Awards – formerly known as the Building Designers Association of Victoria (BDAV) Building Design Awards – were announced on Saturday 27 July at the National Gallery of Victoria. Designed by the Vibe Design Group, Moat’s Corner is described as acting as a centrepiece…

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FEARS over the environmental effects of using chemicals to kill mosquitos have raised questions about the methods being used on the Mornington Peninsula to investigate the flesh-eating Buruli ulcer. The Beating Buruli in Victoria: Mosquito Control Study was launched on the back of a $2.4 million federal government grant announced by Flinders MP and Health Minister Greg Hunt in September 2017 to “get to the bottom” of the causes of the ulcer. Increasing numbers of Buruli ulcer cases are being reported, mainly on the Mornington and Bellarine peninsulas, but also extending as far north along the coast of Port Phillip…

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LOOTERS have stolen irreplaceable items from a shipwreck lying 80 metres under the sea about 10 kilometres south of Cape Schanck. The loss in 1893 of 16 of the SS Alert’s crew is one of the worst shipwrecks in Victoria’s maritime history. A 500-metre radius around the wreck was declared a Commonwealth Protected Zone within weeks of the discovery of the Alert on 3 July 2007. But thieves have now invaded the fragile archaeological site, stealing such things as navigation lights, bottles, plates and a lamp shade. The theft was discovered by specialist divers undertaking a routine inspection of the…

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AN official ground breaking ceremony was conducted at Hastings on Friday (19 July) to mark the start of building a plant to liquefy hydrogen gas for export to Japan. The plant in Bayview Road is an integral part of the supply chain for hydrogen made from brown coal in the Latrobe Valley to be exported to Japan. The state and federal governments have each given $50 million towards the $400 million trial that Kawasaki predicts “will create a new innovative technical foundation for the development of an exciting hydrogen export industry for Australia”. Protesters from eight environment and community groups…

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