THE behaviour of whales in Port Phillip and Western Port appears to be changing. Data collected by the Hastings-based Dolphin Research Institute includes a blue whale being recorded in early June near Portland. The sighting was the on record as they usually leave those water in autumn. Questions are being asked about the effects of climate change on whale habits when the Portland sighting is competitive pods of male humpbacks appearing in Port Phillip and a humpback whale song recorded near Port Phillip Heads. DRI Executive director Jeff Weir says these “are things that would normally occur in the sub-tropics”,…
Author: Keith Platt
THE biggest artificial reef in Port Phillip is now lying on the seabed off Point Nepean. A crane lowered concrete sections of the reef into the water on Sunday 22 May and Monday 23 May in a format designed to attract fish for recreational fishers. The reef is the last in a series that have been deployed throughout Port Phillip and Corio bays as part of the state government’s $2.5 million artificial reef program made as a 2018 election commitment. The laying of the reef’s 16 large concrete structures in clusters of four about 50 metres apart, was made despite…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has come under fire for publicising federal election candidates’ promises on its website and using a photograph of Liberal Party candidates on Facebook to promote a fast-charging outlet for electric vehicles. A photograph featuring the Liberals’ candidate for Flinders Zoe McKenzie, who won her election on Saturday, and Senator Jane Hume was placed on the shire’s Facebook after last Tuesday’s promotion of a fast-charging outlet for electric vehicles at Sorrento. The picture was quickly taken down in the face of online criticism. “The launch of electric vehicle chargers at Sorrento was an external event and was not…
HIGH profile independent Despi O’Connor will continue her campaign for the federal seat of Flinders despite acknowledging a constitutional “roadblock” if she wins. The Australian Electoral Commission says that if O’Connor is successful “her eligibility to serve as the Member for Flinders must be determined by the Court of Disputed Returns”. The dramas in O’Connor’s campaign became apparent early last week when she issued a statement that her employment as a teacher by the state education department may breach section 44(iv) of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act. Following advice from “barristers, lawyers, and constitutional experts” O’Connor issued a statement…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council has agreed to lobby for electric trains to run between Frankston and Langwarrin as the first stage of a service to Hastings. The estimated $650m to $850m cost for six kilometres of double track would include parking for thousands of cars, allowing peninsula residents to park and catch a metro train to Frankston and beyond. At its second last meeting for 2021 (7 December) the shire’s councillors voted unanimously to lobby for a two-staged approach to having an electric train service to Hastings. Cr Paul Mercurio (endorsed Labor Party candidate for Hastings at the November state…