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Tuesday 30 November 2021
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Safety found in brothers’ arms
Rescue: Brothers Oscar and Ryan Peddle raced to save three women in distress at Mount Eliza. Picture: Gary Sissons
TWO Mount Eliza brothers – both members of Portsea Life Saving Club – have been recognised for their efforts in saving three young women from dangerous seas at Canadian Bay. Their Everyday Lifesaver Award recognises “outstanding bystander rescues undertaken in a safe manner that doesn’t put the rescuer at risk”. In September last year, Oscar and Ryan Peddle were surfing a “bay wave” in 60-70kph winds and four-foot waves. The chaotic conditions were so extreme that Ryan said afterwards he had “never seen Canadian Bay like that before”. Hearing a woman’s frantic calls, the boys paddled their boards to help three young women swept off a ramp and caught in a rip. The trio had panicked, with one having an asthma attack. Ryan managed to support all three on his surfboard until Oscar and another surfer arrived to help. Taking a girl each, they paddled to shore. “When I saw the girls in distress, I knew I had to think on my feet and move quickly,” Ryan said. “One of the girls was having an asthma attack; it was lucky I could get them onto my board and wait until Oscar and another rescuer arrived.” In recognition of their bravery without endangering themselves or others, LSV general manager lifesaving services Liam Krige presented Oscar and Ryan with the Everyday Lifesaver award at the scene of the rescue. “I have no doubt that if not for the immediate acts of courage and quick thinking by the two young men, at least one of the girls could have drowned that day,” he said. “Oscar and Ryan Peddle are prime examples of the importance of lifesaving patrol experience as an essential emergency service and value of this skill set in saving lives.” Stephen Taylor
Liberal candidates line up Keith Platt keith@mpnews.com.au THE Liberal Party will next week choose its candidates for November 2022 state election for the seats of Hastings and Mornington. David Morris, who has safely held Mornington since November 2006, is being challenged by Chris Crewther, who lost the federal seat of Dunkley to Labor’s Peta Murphy in 2019. Dunkley, which Mr Crewther lost
after one term, had previously been held until 2016 for 20 years by Liberal Bruce Billson. In July, Mr Crewther failed to get his party’s endorsement for Dunkley in next year’s federal election and in September lost to Sarah Henderson in a bid to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the resignation of Mitch Fifield. Party members meet on Thursday 9 December to choose between Mr Morris and Mr Crewther. In Hastings, there is also a two-way contest to fill the vacancy being left by
retiring MP Neale Burgess. Mr Burgess publicly announced his intention not to seek re-election next year on Thursday 11 November (“Burgess calls time after 16 years” The News 16/11/21). Although nominations for his seat closed the following day, party insiders say his intention to not stand was “known for some weeks”. The two Liberals seeking to take his place as the MP for Hastings are Julie Morris and Briony Hutton. Ms Morris, a sergeant with Victoria
Police, is a former Mornington Peninsula Shire councillor and Ms Hutton is the executive officer of the lobby group Committee for Mornington Peninsula. The party meets to choose its Hastings candidate next Thursday, 9 December. The Labor Party has yet to announce candidates for Mornington or Hastings, although Nepean Labor MP Chris Brayne said they would be named on Monday 15 November. Changes to the electoral boundaries and voting patterns based on the previ-
ous state election give Labor a small winning margin in Hastings and Nepean, while Liberal-held Mornington remains unchanged (“Labor ‘wins’ with boundary changes” The News 5/7/21). On Saturday 13 November (two days after Mr Burgess announced he would not be standing) Mr Brayne contacted The News to say that Ms Hutton should resign from the Committee for Mornington Peninsula because she wanted to be the Liberal Party’s candidate for Hastings. Continued Page 9
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