A FOCUS on kindness in healthcare is among the reasons why Bayside Health Peninsula’s Richard Newton was named a Member of the Order of Australia. Newton has dedicated decades of work to psychiatry, focusing on mental health amongst people experiencing homelessness, and people with eating disorders. He is currently a consultant psychiatrist with the infant child and youth service at Bayside Health Peninsula. Newton’s medical training began in Edinburgh, Scotland, before bringing him to the shores of Australia in 1992. He said “I was always going to do psychiatry, and I was all about working in areas fighting against discrimination.”…
Author: Brodie Cowburn
WITH an election looming, Kingston Council has unveiled a wishlist of projects which it hopes to secure state government funding towards. Kingston Council has approved its “Put Kingston First” campaign, and is calling on election candidates to support its priority projects. Candidates are being asked to fund upgrades to early childhood centres in Dingley Village and Edithvale; the Kingston Arts Precinct in Moorabbin and the Mordialloc Community Centre; the Edithvale–Seaford Wetlands boardwalk; shopping precincts including Chelsea, Highett, Parkdale, and Dingley Village; and sporting facilities across the municipality to support growing numbers of female players. The Kingston municipality encompasses the state…
THE Australian Sand Sculpting Championships and the Frankston Beach Club are set to return to Frankston next year. Frankston Council allocated $250,000 towards its 2026-2027 Destination Event Attraction Program in its annual budget. At their most recent public meeting Frankston Council approved spending $165,000 of that budget, with a further $85,000 set to be awarded soon. The $165,000 will be spent to secure the returns of the Australian Sand Sculpting Championships, and the Frankston Beach Club. Both major events have been funded through the DEAP grant stream in the past. The Frankston Beach Club will return from late December until…
A NEW travel policy to regulate ratepayer-funded trips for Frankston councillors has been adopted. Frankston councillors are permitted to have overseas and interstate travel paid for if traveling on council business. A new “Councillor Travel Policy” guiding this process was presented to councillors and approved at their most recent ordinary meeting. The new policy reads that authorised councillor travel must “deliver a clear public benefit and measurable outcomes for the municipality.” It also read that interstate and international travel must be “approved through a transparent council resolution and administered consistently with council policies and frameworks”, and “manage risk, safety, and…
FRANKSTON Council has directed its officers to not enter into “new partnerships or memberships with external organisations” before drafting a new Strategic Partnerships Framework. Councillors unanimously resolved to begin work on the Strategic Partnerships Framework at their most recent public meeting. A motion on the matter raised by Cr Kris Bolam read that the new policy will “provide clear, consistent, and transparent parameters for its memberships to and associated partnerships with external organisations. “Existing memberships have been established through different approval pathways, and the level of governance oversight, transparency and demonstrated value across these arrangements varies,” Cr Bolam’s motion read.…