Author: Cameron McCullough

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire council have given the green light to a ramped-up redevelopment of the Emil Madsen Reserve Western Pavilion, against the recommendation of council officers. The examination of options for the redevelopment was touted at the 22 July 2025 council meeting, in response to a report considering expenditure options for remaining underspend from Commonwealth Government grant funds at Emil Madsen Reserve. At last week’s meeting (Tuesday 17 February), officers came back with three recommendations to consider. Option one was the original design, in accordance with council’s endorsed facility standards. Option two included amending the concept design to expand the…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire mayor, and Briars Ward councillor Anthony Marsh has joined the Liberal Party and has confirmed with The News he has nominated for preselection as the Liberal Party’s candidate for the upcoming Nepean by-election. Marsh submitted his application last week and was approved by a Liberal Party administrative committee meeting last Thursday (12 February). The Liberals waived the usual two-year wait before a member can nominate for preselection. A Liberal Party source told The News there are at least six other contenders for preselection for the upcoming Nepean by-election, and that applications closed Monday (16 February). Among the others believed to have…

THE death of Brendan Ryan on 8 January, following another rough sleeper’s death in November, brings the number of homeless deaths on the peninsula to five over the last year. Community leaders have expressed exasperation at the lack of state government response to the spiralling situation and are renewing their calls for urgent action. Melbourne Zero, which actively tracks homelessness, listed 114 actively homeless people on the Mornington Peninsula as of December. The data lists 88 of those as “sleeping rough”. In the lead up to the busy summer period, Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Cr Anthony Marsh wrote to the…

Two men have been arrested as police continue to investigate a series of alleged ATM ram raids across Victoria over the last two months, including incidents in Frankston and Baxter. Police have linked nine alleged burglaries and attempted burglaries which targeted a variety of businesses across the state from November to January this year. It will be alleged stolen tow trucks were used to force entry into the businesses, including those with ATMs affixed on walls outside, causing more than $1 million in combined damage. The alleged incidents across Melbourne included a restaurant on Heatherhill Road in Frankston about 3am…

THE speed limit along a large stretch of Peninsula Link will continue to remain at a reduced 80kph until at least February. The reduced limit coincides with the peninsula’s busy summer period that sees hundreds of thousands of visitors using the main arterial into the peninsula. A statement from Service Stream Limited, responsible for the management of Peninsula Link, seen by The News said “While the resurfacing works carried out to date have largely been completed, the final layer of specialised asphalt has not yet been applied”. “This type of asphalt requires both warmer temperatures and dry conditions to set correctly and…