ANY plan to build elevated rail along the Frankston line should be dumped in favour of ‘underground’ rail according to the state opposition. Liberal opposition leader Matthew Guy told The Times he would be willing to back the government’s planned sale of the Port of Melbourne to finance ‘rail under road’ instead of sky rail to remove level crossings across Melbourne’s rail network. He said sky rail “would be devastating for the Frankston line”. “It’s not what was promised and would destroy what should be a bayside Riviera for Melbourne,” Mr Guy said. “If it [rail under road] is more…
Author: Neil Walker
THE long-neglected Nylex clock in Mentone is still switched off with little sign of progress in attempts to have it restored. The Nylex sign, built in 1967, remained at its highly visible Nepean Highway located after the textile manufacturing factory closed its door but has not been maintained near the Bunnings store it sits alongside today. Mordialloc and District Historical Society member Dorothy Booth says she has been speaking to development company H. Troon about restoring the sign at a cost of about $38,000. “I’ve been lobbying them to get that clock up and fixed,” she said. “In the overall…
A LONE pine tree has inspired Chelsea author Lyn Duclos to ensure the history of Norfolk Island, a remote Australian island in the South Pacific Ocean, is remembered for generations to come. Her new children’s book While I Can Still Remember … Norfolk Island has a neat conceit as its central story idea. Duclos decided to write from the point of view of a 650 year-old Norfolk Island pine, situated on a limestone cliff on Norfolk Island to recount the island’s history including the former British penal colony located there in the late 1700s and early 1800s. “I realised it…
CLIMATE scientists from across the world have written an open letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stating they are “alarmed” by cuts to the CSIRO’s Oceans and Atmosphere research program, mostly conducted at Aspendale and Hobart. “The decision to decimate a vibrant and world-leading research program shows a lack of insight, and a misunderstanding of the importance of the depth and significance of Australian contributions to global and regional climate research,” the letter, written last week, said. “The capacity of Australia to assess future risks and plan for climate change adaptation crucially depends on maintaining and augmenting this research capacity.”…
POLITICAL bickering over the funding of the redevelopment of the Frankston Regional Basketball Centre has bounced back despite the project being given the green light late last year. The stoush between the Labor and Liberal parties over contributions towards the $12 million first stage of the project has gone into overtime after Frankston councillors decided to again ask the Labor state government for a greater financial contribution. At the latest public council meeting Cr Darrel Taylor said the state government needs “to be held to account” for not matching federal and council funding for a stadium upgrade to include four…