View from the chamber

Get ready for action

29/5/2020

Brett Tessari

By Brett Tessari

The shutdown of international tourism has hit Bass Coast hard. With more than one in three jobs in our shire directly or indirectly reliant on tourism, more than 1200 local jobs had disappeared by the end of April.

A lot of businesses have shut their doors and some may not open again. Difficult times lie ahead for many people.

So it’s really important that we – the council, businesses and individuals – take advantage of any opportunities that come our way. And believe me, they are already happening.

4 Comments

A time to spend

16/4/2020

5 Comments

Capital projects such as the $20m Cowes Cultural Centre will be the key to rebuilding Bass Coast’s devastated economy after the COVID-19 crisis.

By Michael Whelan

THE COVID-19 crisis poses a global health management challenge whilst concurrently pulling down our social, financial and commercial structures. The cost of control is immense but the horror of an out-of-control pandemic is truly frightening. I am comforted by the willingness of the Government to accept the science on this disaster.

Locally, Bass Coast Health’s leadership has put us in good stead to manage an outbreak of the disease and I’m pleased with the municipal emergency arrangements led by council. This has rightly been the priority at this stage.

5 Comments

Closer to the edge

3/4/2020

6 Comments

The clock is ticking as workers race to complete protection work on Inverloch beach before the storm season.

By Cr Geoff Ellis

IN OUR brave new world the sign says this beach is closed. People rightly meander past and on the beach a scattered few keep their distance as they navigate around boulders and freshly cut caterpillar tracks.

Red bunting regulates a worksite. Within that insecure boundary, heaps of sacrificial sand keep the tide at bay as giant diggers fill giant sand bags to build a wall. Behind that wall are the narrow remains of a dune that once stretched 30 metres to the water’s distant edge.

The Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club cowers behind those bags. It makes sense to have such clubs near the water but this one is now far too close. As that protective dune diminished the general public, along with some experts, said that only rock, and lots of it, could save the clubhouse.

The multi-agency group that is responsible for the foreshore considered all the options. A geotextile wall was their preference.

6 Comments

Such arrogance!

19/3/2020

1 Comment

No place to hide: Google Earth shows the foreshore encroachment by some Grantville landowners.

By Cr Bruce Kent

A LOWLIGHT of the month for me was a walk along the Grantville beach with members of the foreshore committee.

Someone has put in a boat ramp. The tree removal is atrocious. People are cutting their own tracks so they can have a view of the water.

The boat ramp astounded me. The arrogance of some of our residents! Just so they can have what they believe is a better lifestyle.

I can tell them when the water comes through their back door they’ll realise they’ve done something wrong

Cr Bruce Kent

The foreshore committee is doing a fantastic job down there to try and save the foreshore. They’re getting in there and using their own equipment. What we saw was fantastic in regards to the walks they’ve built there and repaired.

But it is so hard to hold these members of the public responsible without catching them red handed. I ask the public to step forward.

If you see your neighbours doing the wrong thing, please contact the council.

This is an edited transcript of Cr Bruce Kent’s monthly report at Bass Coast Shire Council’s monthly meeting on Wednesday.

1 Comment

Mum’s the word on special day

24/10/2019

3 Comments

Cr Pamela Rothfield, left, looks unimpressed as Cr Les Larke, right, accuses activists of desecrating Mothers' Day.

By Catherine Watson

A BASS Coast councillor’s invocation of the spirit of motherhood to denounce local climate activists backfired when the two mothers amongst his council colleagues turned on him.

On Mothers’ Day, members of a small group called Xtinction Rebellion Gippsland held a short vigil for Mother Nature outside the Inverloch hub in response to a UN report that a million species are at risk of extinction as a result of climate change.

3 Comments

Democracy… what’s that?

18/10/2019

0 Comments

Cr Les Larke

Councillor accuses Bass Coast Council of "authoritarian" leadership in its declaration of a climate emergency. 

By Cr Les Larke

COUNCIL decided not to rescind the climate emergency governance resolution of 21 August 2019 or allow debate thereon. In that regard, Council had been called upon to show leadership in relation to climate change. I agree, and let me illustrate the difference between two styles of leadership, namely autocratic and democratic leadership.

0 Comments

How do you like that view?

27/9/2019

6 Comments

Erecting large signs to block the view will put a dampener on property owners who cut down trees on adjacent public land, writes Cr Stephen Fullarton

6 Comments

The people have spoken

13/9/2019

3 Comments

Inverloch's beach erosion issues and shared pathway have nothing to do with each other, argues Cr Les Larke.

By Cr Les Larke

BASS Coast Shire Council recognises the importance of being community driven for the purpose of improving the overall quality of life of people in the local community.
In that regard, let me illustrate a few points on the community consultation results in relation to the Surf Parade shared pathway extension:

A letter was sent to all Inverloch property owners
A wide range of other engagement methods were used including targeted community group sessions, pop up tents, Facebook and other forms of social media and online survey conducted.
A high level of submissions were received
The result of the overall community consultation was overwhelmingly 73% in favour of the recommended Surf Parade pathway extension option 2.

3 Comments

This one's for Seamus, Eliza and Thomas

29/8/2019

9 Comments

Cr Michael Whelan and grandson Thomas

By Cr Michael Whelan

THERE are three reasons why I’m passionate about action on climate change. Their names are Seamus, Eliza and Thomas, and they’re my grandchildren. Little Thomas and his peers around the world have got more at stake in this business than anyone in this room. That’s what it’s all about. It’s about trying to turn this around because we are heading to disaster if we don’t.

This is an incredibly important issue because we are facing an existential crisis in the world. Business as usual won’t do it. We’re already seeing the consequences of 1 degree of global warming. Locally we’ve lost almost 50 metres of coastline at Inverloch. Cowes East is under attack. What’s happening at Jam Jerrup is scaring the hell out of the locals.

9 Comments

New chapter for Grantville

20/7/2019

29 Comments

A new Waterline library in Grantville is a vote of confidence in the area, writes Cr Geoff Ellis.

29 Comments

Moving mountains of waste

20/6/2019

2 Comments

With China’s ban on mixed waste imports, Australia’s recycling system is in crisis. Amidst the gloom, however, Cr Pamela Rothfield sees plenty of reason for optimism.

2 Comments

Planning certainty essential

18/4/2019

7 Comments

Clear guidelines on development in Bass Coast will help us balance growth and protection of what we most value, writes Mayor Brett Tessari

7 Comments

We've got work to do

21/3/2019

6 Comments

Jobseekers are being punished for being unemployed, writes Cr Michael Whelan, and the rest of us need to speak up on their behalf.

6 Comments

Study hub a game changer

8/3/2019

1 Comment

By Cr Brett Tessari

THE new senior campus of Wonthaggi Secondary College will be up and running by 2020. And if everything goes our way, we could also see a new university campus.

The idea is a central hub set up for anyone who wants to do any course Australia wide. Any university can come and utilise the facilities. Anyone who’s enrolled in a university can use the facilities. They can use it remotely, they can come and do one course, and the universities might send down people to lecture on certain occasions.

1 Comment

Time and tide

4/2/2019

14 Comments

With our new high school and a hospital upgrade ticked off, Cr Clare Le Serve believes our next objective should be a rail service to Lang Lang.

10 Comments

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