AMNESTY International has condemned both sides of Australian politics for the ongoing detention of children in offshore immigration processing centres. The federal Liberal and Labor parties blame each other for the situation (‘MPs trade blame over child detentions’, The News 18/2/15) but the human rights watch group is critical of each party. Amnesty International peninsula branch spokesman Kevin Bain said Dunkley MP and Small Business Minister Bruce Billson’s attempt to discredit The Forgotten Children report by the Australian Human Rights Commission “is weak political gamesmanship”. “The government sat on the report for three months, tabling it on the last possible…
Author: Neil Walker
ACCUSATIONS of “spin” have been levelled at Kingston Council’s Kingston Your City publication over council’s plans for Kingston’s Green Wedge. Cr Rosemary West said the past three editions of council’s newsletter, distributed bimonthly, had falsely claimed “council is committed to protecting Kingston’s Green Wedge”. “It is wrong for ratepayers’ money to be spent on spinning the plans of five majority councillors to be something they’re not,” Cr West said. “If the majority councillors genuinely wanted to ‘protect the Green Wedge’ or to promote a ‘semi-rural feel’ to encourage residents and businesses to improve its appearance, as stated in KYC, they…
THE much-vaunted X’Trapolis train has been taken off the Frankston line tracks just months after its introduction. The former Coalition Napthine government announced the arrival of the faster, roomier train amid much fanfare at Frankston train station in late October last year, just weeks before November’s state election. At the time, the X’Trapolis train was spruiked by Liberals as “a taste of more good things down the track for commuters on the Frankston line”. Less than four months later, Metro Trains confirmed the X’trapolis train has been hauled off the Frankston line when asked by The Times. “The X’Trapolis train…
THE opening of Frankston Hospital’s new $81 million emergency department last week was marred by political bickering. As part of the spoils of Labor’s state election victory in November, Health Minister Jill Hennessy attended the opening of the new emergency department. The new emergency department houses 49 beds and the new hospital wing has three additional wards with 92 new beds. Ms Hennessy attacked the former Coalition state government at the emergency department’s official opening event last Tuesday morning. “Under the Liberals, our health system was in crisis and too many patients were waiting too long for treatment, including here…
A COUNCILLOR who plans to write to Victorian Local Government Minister Natalie Hutchins about “ensuring a minimum level of input from councillors elected to office” has been forced to defend his own contribution at Frankston Council. Deputy mayor Cr Glenn Aitken told councillors at this month’s public council meeting that he would be writing to Ms Hutchins seeking a change to the Local Government Act despite his colleagues narrowly voting against the proposal (‘Councillors’ work questioned’, The Times 16/2/15). Meetings attendance rates have become a sensitive topic between councillors amid claims some councillors feel “bullied” at behind the scenes councillors…