A DAMNING report released by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change earlier this month has caught the attention of local councils in Victoria. Frankston, Kingston, Mornington Peninsula, Bass Coast, Bayside, Cardinia, Casey, Greater Dandenong, and Port Phillip councils make up the South East Councils Climate Change Alliance. The group has called on the government to act quickly to quell the growing danger of climate change. Cr Michael Whelan, chair of the SECCCA’s councillor advisory group, said “the IPCC’s recent sixth assessment report presents an absolutely frightening picture of what the future holds for us, for our children and…
Author: Brodie Cowburn
FRANKSTON councillor Steven Hughes has been suspended for a month. The suspension was handed down last week after the conclusion of a drawn out arbitration process between the newly elected councillor and Frankston Council itself. Council applied to start arbitration in March in response to Facebook posts made by Cr Hughes about council policy and spending. The suspension will run for one month beginning on 31 August. Cr Steven Hughes had landed himself in trouble because of Facebook posts likening council’s local laws to those in the Soviet Union and North Korea. On 1 March, Cr Hughes wrote on his…
A PLAN to reduce the impact of gambling on the local community has been put out to consultation. Kingston Council’s draft gambling action plan was approved by councillors at a meeting this week. The measures council are likely to advocate for include reducing the hours local gaming venues operate to 10am to midnight, reducing the local electronic gaming machine cap down to 945, calling on the state government to remove designs from machines that contribute to gambling harm like linked jackpots, and the introduction of a $1 bet limit per button push on pokies. The reduction of the cap would…
A CARRUM resident of more than 90 years celebrated her 100th birthday last week. Olive Cox turned 100 years old on 17 August. She has lived in the Carrum and Patterson Lakes area for 97 of them. Ms Cox said that she has seen a lot of major milestones in her life. “Man walking on the moon was remarkable, but I laugh when I think that historic event happened at the halfway point in my life. I think of the recent local major changes. Trains travelling on rails up on pylons and finally even a bridge on Station Street crossing…
A NEW swimming pool and the redevelopment of the Kingston Town Hall are among the projects Kingston Council will try to get funded during the next federal and state election campaigns. At a meeting on 23 August, Kingston councillors approved their priority project list. Council will attempt to receive funding for those projects during the elections, which are expected to take place next year. Council will seek money from the state and federal governments for the following council projects: a new aquatic and leisure centre, the Kingston City Hall redevelopment, a Namatjira Park masterplan, phase two of works at the…