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Category: Speeches

Planning Changes a Fundamental Threat to the Peninsula

For most of the second half of the 20th century there was bipartisan support for sensible planning on the Mornington Peninsula. Successive generations recognised that growth was both welcome and inevitable but that if it was to occur, it had to be managed properly to ensure that the special character of the peninsula was retained for the benefit and pleasure of all Victorians. As Melbourne’s population continues to grow, particularly to the south-east, so too

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20 June 2017

Mornington CFA – One hundred years of service

Last Saturday night I had the great pleasure of attending a dinner to mark the 100th year of the Mornington fire brigade. At a meeting in late 1916 a group of volunteers resolved to form a Mornington fire brigade, which was duly established once all the necessary support had been received from the state in early 1917. The brigade’s diligent and effective service to our Mornington community for more than 100 years has been recorded

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25 May 2017

Mornington Football Club Tragedy

On another matter, on the night of 21 May 1892, 15 players from the Mornington Football Club were drowned on their way home from a football match at Mordialloc when their boat “Process” was wrecked at Pelican Point near Mount Eliza. Only four bodies were recovered. The 125th anniversary of this disaster that rocked the small town was observed on Sunday. The story of those 15 young men has been told by author Paul Kennedy

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25 May 2017

VicRoads Grab for Cash – Mount Eliza Primary

I raise a matter this evening for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety. The action I am seeking from the minister is that he provide approval as the landholding minister to VicRoads to facilitate a low value, non commercial lease of land at the corner of Canadian Bay Road and Nepean Highway in Mount Eliza. There has been a longstanding issue particularly with Mount Eliza Primary School but also the Peninsula School, which is

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25 May 2017

City of Greater Geelong Amendment Bill 2017

I am pleased to have the opportunity this afternoon to open the debate on the City of Greater Geelong Amendment Bill 2017 and to put on behalf of the opposition our views on this particular bill. If this government has proved anything, it has proved that when it comes to letting the democratic process run its course in Geelong it is not very keen on the outcomes. The government has been prepared to set aside

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24 May 2017

Mount Martha North Beach – When Will the Report be Released?

My question is for the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, and I raise the ongoing issues we have had with Mount Martha North beach. They have been ongoing over a number of governments. In late 2010, I think it was, some 10,000 cubic metres of sand was transported to deal with the sand erosion issue, but it continues to be a problem. In what appears to be an effort to divert attention from

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10 May 2017

Pallas – Genius at Spin, Failure as Treasurer

Just six days ago the Victorian Treasurer issued yet another of his self-serving and selective media releases that we have come to know only too well. The release was issued following extremely disappointing labour force figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The Treasurer’s hyperbole created the totally false impression that Victoria was in the midst of an economic boom. The fact is nothing could be further from the truth, and that is borne out

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23 March 2017

Pilot Boats and Jet Skis

I must say I thought the representative of the boating capital of Victoria, the member for Essendon, might have got his pilots confused when he was doing his research, but he got to the right sort eventually. As the explanatory memorandum notes, this bill makes a range of changes to the ports and marine legislation and to a number of other acts. The government claims in the explanatory memorandum that the bill will result in

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22 March 2017

Labor – Hollow Hypocrites

From Hansard, the member for Bendigo East, now Leader of the House, on 24 October 2012: Doing the right thing would be paying back the money … Doing the right thing would be the Premier standing aside the member for Frankston while these investigations are under way … Doing the right thing would be making sure that the member … is held absolutely accountable for his actions. From the member for Mulgrave, now the Premier,

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7 March 2017

When will Mornington Pier be fixed?

My question is for the Minister for Ports. As the minister is aware, in 2016 the Mornington pier suffered extensive damage from an extreme storm event. I have previously raised this matter in the house. I sought immediate action to restore the safety of the harbour, but unfortunately, apart from some temporary works, very little action has been taken. We have broken concrete panels sitting on the seabed or lying haphazardly near the pier. The

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7 March 2017