THE 2016 Frankston Citizen of the Year, David Cross, said he had been “humbled” by the experiences of the past year, which enabled him to meet a broader range of people and represent the Frankston community. Mr Cross, the chair of the Frankston Environmental Friends Network and secretary of the Friends of Wallace Reserve, said it is important for councils to continue to honour community leaders and “ordinary” people who volunteered their time for the community. Mr Cross is an active member of the Rotary Club of Frankston and also works with guides, scouts, disability groups and school councils alongside…
Author: Liz Bell
TO most Australians, Fiji is the land of plenty – a sun-soaked, tropical holiday destination renowned for its blue lagoons, relaxed lifestyle and tropical fruit trees lining the roads. But Frankston teacher Janine Atkinson knows from experience that away from the spotlight of tourists and flashy resorts, poverty, poor sanitation, food shortages and child welfare problems are the reality. Ms Atkinson, who has been visiting Fiji for the past nine years, will take leave from work to spend a year in a remote Fijian village to provide education resources and help locals set up sustainable industries. Ms Atkinson said the…
THE popularity of smartphones has fuelled a rise in the number of problem gamblers who now have easy and instant access to online gambling sites, warns a Mornington peninsula counselling service. Alvin Efklidis, of Gamblers Help Southern, has warned that measures to reduce the harm of poker machines are not targeting the growing online sector. “In terms of problem gambling, poker machines are still the biggest form of gambling, but online gambling is rapidly growing and with the technology that’s available to everyone, such as mobile phones, it’s at the fingertips all the time,” he said. “Most people are not…
PROTESTERS fighting to protect Mt Eliza’s decommissioned Kunyung Rd reservoir from development are calling on South East Water to bow to the community’s wishes when deciding the future of the site. On Thursday members of the South Eastern Centre for Sustainability, which has been pressuring South East Water not to sell the site for development, began erecting protest signs at strategic locations in Frankston and Mt Eliza. President Steve Karakitsos said previous public relations campaigns by SEW had placed significant importance on community consultation and the work of community members in protecting the environment. But he said the organisation’s refusal…
IF there was just one thing that Greg Hunt the retiring executive officer of the South East Council Climate Change Alliance (SECCCA), could proclaim as the best way to protect the environment for future generations, it is “education”. The former science teacher with a passion for the natural world has spent his 43-year career advocating for change in the way individuals and organisations manage resources. Education has always been a huge part of that process, whether it’s investigating options for energy conservation, or promoting broader thinking on energy use. Hunt has a varied employment background, but the environment has always…