FRANKSTON Council has chosen their new mayor by drawing a piece of paper from a bowl. Cr Sandra Mayer was elected as mayor of Frankston on Thursday, 7 November. Cr Quinn McCormack also put her hand up for the role, with votes for the two councillors split 4-4. A ballot was then held, with Cr McCormack drawing a piece of paper which read ‘defeated” from a bowl. This confirmed that Cr Mayer would occupy the mayor’s chair for her third stint in the top job. Had Cr McCormack been elected, it would have been her first time as mayor. Crs…
Author: Brodie Cowburn
FRANKSTON TAFE will soon offer free early childhood education courses. Starting from 2020, the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care will be tuition free for eligible students. Carrum MP and parliamentary secretary for early childhood education Sonya Kilkenny said that since January, 36,000 students statewide had started free TAFE courses. “As we start the roll out of funded three year old kindergartens across Victoria, our biggest reform in early childhood education ever, now is the perfect time for anyone considering working in kinders or childcare to enrol in our TAFEs…
KINGSTON Council has agreed to phase out the use of the herbicide glyphosate. Council voted on 28 October to “immediately reduce the use of glyphosate through improved practices and use of alternate products and continue to reduce glyphosate through contract renewal processes phasing out completely by 2020, where contractually possible” and to “determine that no further contracts or agreements are to occur where glyphosate is being used.” The motion agreed to by councillors read that council will “cease the use of Local Safe to control weeds in council’s playgrounds, and in areas where Local Safe has been used, glyphosate will…
DUNKLEY MP Peta Murphy is pushing to reform parliament’s question time. The first term MP made a co-submission to the standing committee’s inquiry into the practices and procedures of question time, saying that the system is “broken” and “plays into broader concerns around declining trust in government, politics and the institutions of our democracy, including parliament.” Among the reforms offered by Ms Murphy include the addition of a constituency question time to allow backbenchers to ask ministers questions relating to their electorate. Ms Murphy said in her co-submission that question time was “the forum where robust questioning and detailed answers…
THE long awaited business case investigating the electrification and duplication of the Frankston line to Baxter was handed to the federal government last week. Work on the business case, which would “assess the costs and benefits of electrifying the line, as well as additional enhancements, including track duplication, level crossing removals, station upgrades, car parking and train stabling,” commenced in April 2018. The business case is now complete, and the state government has called on the federal government to make its findings publicly available. State Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke said “the initial Baxter electrification business case has been completed by…