By Catherine Watson
 
THEY may be potholed and breaking up but history shows Bass Coast residents are reluctant to give up their sealed roads.
 
In 2013 residents of Pioneer Bay fought tooth and nail to stop the council ripping the temporary seal off Kallay Road.
 
More recently residents of a section of Queen Street in Wonthaggi have opposed the council’s plan to remove their seal.
 
So a plan by our council to “unseal” 30 roads across the shire over the next three years is set to test neighbourhood unity. 

Between 2005 and 2007, dust suppressant seals were trialled on unsealed roads across Bass Coast as a low-cost, temporary solution to reduce dust and improve amenity.

By Catherine Watson

COUNCILLORS say they have no legal grounds to stop the felling of 44 trees as part of a major redevelopment of a Phillip Island holiday park.

However, they have appealed to the owner to listen to community concerns and minimise the tree loss.
​
The proposal, lodged by the Park Lane Group for its site at 1805–1825 Phillip Island Road, will replace ageing buildings with 23 new tourist cabins, upgraded parking areas and enhanced bushfire protection measures.

By Catherine Watson
 
SOPHIE Thorn, a 34-year-old youth mental health worker, has been selected as the Greens candidate for Bass in the November state election.
 
Ms Thorn lives in Cape Paterson and has lived and worked in the electorate all her life.
 
She joined the party last year and volunteered in Greens leader Adam Bandt’s office at the federal election
 
The Greens vote typically hovers around the 10 per cent mark in Bass. Ms Thorn said she hopes to raise it to 15 per cent by engaging people who feel disengaged from politics, particularly young people.

By Catherine Watson

A 30-UNIT social housing development just minutes from the Wonthaggi CBD will be fast-tracked by the State Government.
​
The $12.7 million development by Housing Choices Australia Ltd, a not-for-profit housing provider, comprises 17 one-bedroom dwellings and 13 two-bedroom dwellings, each with a private balcony.

By Catherine Watson

Council contractors are working against the clock to extend the sandbag wall on the Inverloch foreshore before the start of the holidays.

Funded by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), the $700,000 project includes construction of about 110 metres of new sandbags to the east and west of the existing wall below the surf lifesaving clubhouse.

Work began in late November but will pause on December 18 for the summer holidays and restart in early February.​

BASS Coast Mayor Rochelle Halstead declared herself ready for action after being re-elected unanimously at today’s council meeting.
 
Deputy Mayor Brett Tessari was also re-elected unanimously, giving him an enviable record of two terms as mayor and four as deputy mayor in his nine years as a councillor.
 
Cr Halstead thanked her fellow councillors for their confidence in her.
 
“It’s lovely to be back. We have a big year ahead of us. Elections are upon us. I think we’ve set a very good foundation. And now let’s go after the money, shall we?”

​By Catherine Watson
 
SICK of the lack of action on the old Wonthaggi high school site, locals are planning a subversive action: a picnic next door.
 
On Saturday, a new group called Wonthaggi Old Tech Creative Hub (WOTCH) will host a picnic in Wishart Reserve, adjoining the high school site, to canvass ideas and gauge community support.
 
“We'd like to see the community getting together,” WOTCH spokesperson Jeni Jobe said. “A picnic is a lovely example, a microcosm of what could happen on the site.”​

By Catherine Watson
 
THE Member for Bass Jordan Crugnale today announced that she would not be contesting next year’s state election.
 
A former Bass Coast mayor, Ms Crugnale was elected in 2018 when she wrested the seat of Bass out of Liberal hands for the first time since it was established.