AN alleged leak of the findings of a councillor conduct panel hearing will be investigated by the Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate at the request of Frankston mayor Cr James Dooley. The Times revealed last month that a Municipal Association of Victoria facilitated panel found deputy mayor Cr Colin Hampton (‘Councillor breached code’, The Times 20/6/16) breached code of conduct clauses in the Local Government Act over the way he “angrily” spoke to two council employees in public at a developer hosted event to promote the $80 million Allure Bayside apartment project in November at The Deck bar last…
Author: Neil Walker
MORDIALLOC Boating and Angling Club sailed into its 70th anniversary celebrations at the weekend when a flotilla of boats took part in a “sail past” from Mordialloc pier to Mentone at 10am on Sunday (3 June). Club president David Flew said the boating and angling club, which now has 70 members, held its first meeting in July 1946 so the sail past was timed to coincide with that landmark. “A group of boat owners got together then and formed what was then the Mordialloc Boat Owners Association,” he said. “A whole heap of interesting people have been members of the…
RATE capping has caused some Victorian councils to reconsider how they provide funding to state emergency services but the message from Kingston Council is clear: ‘We stand by our SES volunteers’. Kingston councillors at last month’s public council meeting unanimously backed unwavering support for the Chelsea SES Unit that responds to incidents across the Kingston and Frankston areas. A statement of support was tabled to reaffirm council’s ongoing commitment to provide operational and accommodation support to the SES and its volunteers. “Kingston has always enjoyed a really strong relationship with the Chelsea SES and this statement of support is simply…
RECOMMENDATIONS made by the Victorian Ombudsman in the wake of the 2013 collapse of Mentone Gardens retirement home to prevent aged care residents losing bonds and deposits have been accepted by the Department of Health and Human Services. Numerous regulatory failures by the DHHS prompted the state government to last year refund $4.33 million in aged care bonds and deposits lodged with retirement home Mentone Gardens to 34 former residents. A scathing report by the Victorian Ombudsman noted the DHHS “failed in its regulatory role, missing opportunity after opportunity to identify the company’s precarious financial position” before the retirement home…
WHILE the nation awaits the final outcome of the weekend federal election amid the possibility of a hung Parliament the result is done and dusted in the Isaacs electorate. Labor MP Mark Dreyfus, shadow attorney-general and spokesperson for the arts, has been re-elected and his winning margin increased from 3.9 per cent at the 2013 election to 5.8 per cent with about 79 per cent of votes counted by the Australian Electoral Commission on Tuesday. Mr Dreyfus had faced anti-sky rail protests despite the Frankston line level crossings removal project being the responsibility of the Labor state government but Isaacs…