Author: Neil Walker

THE “chrome gnome” that towers over the Cranbourne Road exit of Peninsula Link will leave the roadside next year. The shiny sculpture, officially called Reflective Lullaby, will head to Langwarrin’s McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery in August next year. Perhaps pre-empting a public outcry similar to that which followed the gnome replacing the previous Tree of Life sculpture in July 2015, the gallery announced last week well ahead of schedule that the Reflective Lullaby gnome by Slovenia born artist Gregor Kregar will be leaving its existing Peninsula Link home next year. The Southern Way McClelland, a public-private partnership between the…

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RATEPAYERS may find themselves on the hook for a reprint of rates notices after a printing bungle. Frankston Council sent out a second corrected set of 2018-19 rates notices this month after the first rates notices were issued with incorrect addresses and assessment reference numbers on the back of the notices. Council blamed a contractor for the mistake (“Second time ‘lucky’ for rates notices”, The Times 13/8/19) but there is no agreement yet on who should pick up the costly tab for the printing and delivery of the second batch of corrected rates notices. Frankston mayor Cr Colin Hampton said…

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A BRUTAL week in Canberra as the Liberal Party bickered over its leadership has seen local federal MPs support different potential leaders. Dunkley MP Chris Crewther nailed his vote publicly to incoming prime minister Scott Morrison who defeated Peter Dutton 45-40 in Friday’s second Liberal party room leadership spill. Flinders MP Greg Hunt kept a lower profile but it was widely reported he was positioning himself to run as deputy to Mr Dutton. Mr Hunt started the week as both Health Minister and “a supporter” of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and ended the week outside of cabinet losing a bid…

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A TREE that stood tall for a century in Mordialloc’s Attenborough Park has been felled but Kingston Council says the mature cypress tree could not be saved. Park visitors were dismayed to see the giant tree be cut down but council says its demise was unavoidable. Council city assets and environment general manager Daniel Freer said the tree was cut down for public safety reasons despite being registered on Kingston’s significant tree register. “Council sought two separate independent reports on the health of the tree, which included taking a specialised X-ray of the tree interior,” Mr Freer said. “The tree,…

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MORE surveillance cameras on Frankston streets have been promised by both sides of politics in the lead up to November’s state election. Law and order is shaping up as a political point of contention between the Labor state government and Liberal National Coalition state opposition. Victorian Police Minister Lisa Neville visited Frankston last Thursday (16 August) to unveil 15 new CCTV cameras in central Frankston’s Young Street area. Footage from the cameras will be monitored in real time days and nights from Frankston Police Station. “The upgraded CCTV network will help police keep a close eye on the Frankston CBD…

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