ENVIRONMENTALISTS will meet this week to discuss their options after they were blindsided by Frankston Council’s decision to discontinue a group tasked with improving Kananook Creek.
Frankston Council is responsible for managing land alongside the creek, and Melbourne Water manages the waterway. Council set up the Kananook Creek Governance Group, which featured representatives from council, community groups, and the state government, to review the 2009 Kananook Creek Corridor Management Plan and develop advocacy priorities.
At a meeting last December, Frankston councillors agreed to discontinue the Kananook Creek Governance Group and incorporate it into council’s foreshore advisory committee. Council’s decision to disband the group has been slammed by the Kananook Creek Association, which said it “reflects a concerning lack of transparency and consultation”.
In a statement, the Kananook Creek Association said that the governance group had been working to address multiple issues. “Silt build-up is choking the creek, affecting navigation and flood management. The planned Seaford Park Arboretum remains incomplete, delaying vital community education opportunities. The Kananook Creek Management Plan, first supported in 1992, has not been updated as promised,” the KCA statement read.
“The Kananook Creek Governance Group, established following the Ministerial Advisory Committee’s review in 2016 and adopted by council in 2020, has been working to address these challenges. It is deeply concerning that this decision was made without consulting the governance group’s community representatives or acknowledging the group’s achievements. “Council’s proposal to incorporate the group’s workload into the Foreshore Advisory Committee is not in the best interests of the community.”
Frankston Council mayor Kris Bolam said council’s decision to absorb the Kananook Creek Governance Group into the Foreshore Advisory Committee “has removed what was an unnecessary and duplicate bureaucratic function.” “Therefore, the properly empowered Foreshore Advisory Committee will now be able to streamline better outcomes to all Frankston waterways, including the Kananook Creek,” Bolam said. “We thank the Kananook Creek Governance Group members for their contributions.”
The Kananook Creek Association will address the matter at a special general meeting at Seaford Community Centre on Thursday, 6 February. The meeting begins at 6.30pm
First published in the Frankston Times – 4 February 2025