TRUSTEES behind a proposal to subdivide and sell off part of Cruden Farm have been given qualified support from Liberal MP Neale Burgess.
Mr Burgess attended a 21 April community meeting held by the Friends of Langwarrin Outdoors and Waterways, opponents of any attempt to rezone and sell 15.8 hectares of land at Cruden Farm (“Fears Cruden Farm homes plan will ‘impact wildlife’”, The Times 24/4/17).
“Those on the trust are good people,” Mr Burgess, whose electorate includes Cruden Farm, told The Times last week. “They are trying to fulfil their obligations under the trust to look after Cruden Farm.
“No-one wants Cruden Farm to be subdivided, I certainly don’t.
“However, the trustees are endeavouring to fulfil their obligations under the trust to provide for the trust as a whole, over the long term.
“After discussions with the trustees, I believe they would consider other avenues of raising the funding they need.
“I believe there is a great opportunity for the state government to get involved and secure this critically important and historical property on behalf of the community and in memory of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch.”
A planning application has been submitted to Frankston Council proposing about a third of Cruden Farm — the home of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch until her death at the age of 103 in 2012 — be sold off so 116 homes can be built on the eastern and southern edges of the estate.
Any rezoning of the mainly Rural Conservation Zone land would ultimately need Labor state government approval and the moving of Melbourne’s urban growth boundary to include the 15.8 hectares.
Cruden Farm was bought as a wedding present by newspapers baron Keith Murdoch, father of multi-billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, in 1928.
Keith and Elisabeth Murdoch Trust chairman Ian Evans has said profits from the land sell-off would keep Cruden Farm open to the public “in perpetuity”.
Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission records show the Keith and Elisabeth Murdoch Trust trustees are Ian Evans, Anne Kantor, Judith Paterson and Elisabeth Calvert-Jones.
Elisabeth Calvert-Jones, known as Janet Calvert-Jones, is the sister of News Corp Rupert Murdoch and the former chair of the Herald & Weekly Times — publisher of the Herald Sun newspaper.
Her daugher, Penny Fowler, is the current chair of the Herald & Weekly Times.
News Corp is publisher of Leader newspapers.
Ms Kantor is Dame Elisabeth’s daughter and sister of Rupert Murdoch.
Ms Paterson is a grand-daughter of Dame Elisabeth and niece of Rupert Murdoch.
More than 4100 people have signed an online petition by the Friends of Langwarrin Outdoors and Waterways group calling on council and Labor state Planning Minister Richard Wynne to reject the planning proposal.
The planning application was lodged with Frankston Council earlier this month and has not yet been formally discussed by councillors.
