Chelsea – Mordialloc
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PUBLISHED WEEKLY
FOOD & ENTERTAINMENT
PAGES 16–18 CLASSIFIEDS
PAGES 19–20 SPORTS DESK
PAGES 21–22
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Wednesday 23 October 2013
MPNEWS (1300 676 397) or email: team@mpnews.com.au www.mpnews.com.au
Help on its way
Patterson River CFA members Joan McGrath and Andrew Long load up the mobile communication bus for the journey to NSW. Picture: Gary Sissons
Patterson River CFA joins NSW bushfire battle By Chris Brennan A TEAM of Patterson River firefighters is heading to the frontline of the NSW bushfire crisis to lend a hand to exhausted local emergency services crews battling out-of-control blazes across the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. The four Patterson River Country Fire Authority volunteers departed Melbourne on Monday to man the brigade’s mobile communications vehicle which will provide a critical link between NSW emergency services commanders and frontline firefighters as they battle a series of raging bushfires threatening townships in the Blue Mountains. An estimated 200 homes have already been destroyed and more than 60 fires, 17 of which are uncontained, continue to burn across NSW. And conditions are expected to get even worse on Wednesday when a stormfront is expected to hit the state, bringing strong winds that threaten to whip separate blazes into a mega-fire. Forecasters fear at least three major fires in the Blue Mountains could merge into a massive single blaze and head towards Sydney’s outer suburbs. Continued Page 7
Kingston opens books By Neil Walker KINGSTON council has released a list of its 25 most valuable land and property holdings following a similar move by the City of Melbourne to lift the veil on its most significant assets. Corporate watchdog and shareholder activist Stephen Mayne, a Melbourne City Council councillor, was behind
the move to demand details of the council’s 20 most valuable property assets be made available to the public. Melbourne council is the first in Victoria to let ratepayers see the value of properties managed on their behalf. Mr Mayne urged other major councils across Australia to match the City of Melbourne’s disclosure policy.
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Kingston council’s release of its top 25 assets came in response to a request from The News that it provide ratepayers with valuations of individual properties managed on their behalf Crown land along Kingston’s foreshore top the list of the municipality’s most valuable property holdings. Accounting standards require the
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council record any Crown land under its management as an asset. The most expensive building on the council’s books is its Cheltenham head office. Foreshore land managed by council is valued at $582.69 million, while the council’s Cheltenham office is worth $48.75 million. Kingston council acting CEO Paul
Franklin said council did not seek profits from property assets through rental income or capital appreciation and did not actively trade land or buildings. “Our major focus is on providing well-maintained and accessible buildings and recreation areas,” Mr Franklin said. Continued Page 6
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