A CALL for councils to financially back a campaign against problem gambling has been knocked back by Frankston Council as other south-east councils join the fight against pokies draining money from communities. Kingston councillors last month decided to pay $25,000 to become a “tier one” Alliance for Gambling Reform partner while Frankston Council remains “a supporter” without contributing ratepayers’ money to the cause. The alliance is lobbying both sides of politics in the lead-up to next year’s state election to act on pokies reform to stem rising losses on the gaming machines. Alliance spokesman Stephen Mayne said he understood Frankston…
Author: Neil Walker
A CRUMBLING jetty at Patterson Lakes Plaza will finally be built after the resolution of a funding stoush between the state government and Kingston Council. It was smiles all round last Wednesday (28 June) when Carrum Labor MP Sonya Kilkenny, Victorian Ports Minister Luke Donnellan and councillors gathered to officially announce the construction of the $499,000 Patterson Lakes Inner Harbour Jetty. Council has agreed to pay for maintenance of the jetty, estimated at about $10,000 annually, after the project was in danger of being sunk over a dispute between the government and council over responsibility for ongoing maintenance works. “When…
A CALL to join a campaign against problem gambling has been heeded by Kingston Council after councillors agreeing council should sign up as an Alliance for Gambling Reform group partner. Councillors at June’s public council meeting voted to join the alliance’s push to have both sides of politics act on pokies reform in the lead-up to next year’s state election. A request by Cr Tamsin Bearsley, seconded by Cr George Hua, to defer the $25,000 contribution from ratepayers to the alliance was voted down by fellow councillors. Both councillors said they wanted more time to find out what benefit the…
A NEW era of “cooperation” between the state government and councils across Melbourne’s suburbs has been heralded with the formation of six metropolitan partnerships by the government. The state government stated that the Metropolitan Partnerships were “a new and coordinated way for communities to advise government on what matters in their region”. “Melbourne’s southern region spans bayside, growth areas and regional hubs of Frankston and Dandenong, and extends from its northern border at Cheltenham and Moorabbin to the southern tip of the Mornington Peninsula and the eastern limits of Pakenham and Officer. “Over the next 35 years, Melbourne is projected…
EVERYONE wants everything now in today’s fast-paced world and that’s a modern trend new business founder Marshall Hughes hopes will see success arrive by bypassing the post. Hughes is one of several business entrepreneurs hoping to strike it big by starting in Frankston and building an enterprise to compete with big business. The 44-year-old founder of Passel, “a same-day delivery solution” for retailers and shoppers, is poised to roll out the first stage of a metropolitan Melbourne wide launch of a way that shoppers can receive items they buy online “within three hours”. Based at the co-working space at the…