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All aboard for cars on show THE award-winning Easter Sunday Flinders Motoring Heritage event drew hundreds of car enthusiasts and onlookers to see the 150 cars on display. A 1934 bus carried passengers around the village as Flinders echoed to the sound of music and enjoyed a festival atmosphere. The vehicles ranged from veteran cars built in the early 1900s to the latest luxury electric cars from Porsche, Audi and Tickford Racing. The Flinders Motoring Heritage is a major fundraiser for the Flinders District Lions Club and previous events have raised more than $150,000 for Peninsula Health. The cars included Peter Vat’s 2016 Project 7 Jaguar based on the D Type Jaguar. This car is one of 10 in Australia and one of 250 worldwide. George Brough, of Flinders showed his 1973 3.5 litre Rover. He calls the car, Nelson, after Britain’s Lord Nelson, because it is admiralty blue. Pictures: Gary Sissons
Shire settles bill for outdoor dining Keith Platt keith@mpnews.com.au A “NEGOTIATED” settlement will see the owners of Sorrento’s Continental Hotel save $19,000 over three years to use a public footpath for outdoor dining. The agreement adopted by Mornington Peninsula Shire on Tuesday 5 April comes five months after councillors voted to charge the hotel $133,000 for the first three years of its use of the footpath. But the hotel refused and, after ne-
gotiations with shire CEO John Baker last month, has now agreed to pay $114,000 for the same time span. The agreement means the hotel will pay $38,000 rent for each of the first three years of its use of the footpath, instead of the $38,000, $45,000 and $50,000 ordered by councillors in December. Cr Susan Bissinger praised Mr Baker for doing a “sterling job to get a lovely sort of even-spaced result here”. She said the owners of the Continental Hotel had taken a “a bit of a gamble”, spending “between $120 and
$150 million” on its redevelopment. “… Then to have certain people … instead of trying to encourage them to do well, wanting to further make this a difficult situation is … I just find it really unbelievable, especially in this climate.” Cr Bissinger said the Continental was “a really worthwhile venue for people to come from all over Australia and all over the world to see, and I don’t think we should be making it more difficult for them”. She urged “everyone” to visit the Continental - “a beautiful resort-type
venue that is just amazing”. Cr David Gill said councillors should have insisted that the hotel pay the rent they approved in December. “I see it as a business transaction based on what the market will bear. If we’re moving away from that it’s favouritism in a sense,” he said. He saw Mr Baker’s recommendation to charge $38,000 for the first three years as “a far inferior decision”. “I cannot understand why we’ve had this sort of change and what sort of negotiation that we had,” Cr Gill said. He said the shire should “get the full
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benefit” of allowing the use of public land “and not lower it for whatever reasons; I can’t understand what reasons there could be”. “This is not your local shop and it’s not someone who’s asking for tables and chairs to be put out to help them survive. “This is a major enterprise with a huge income to come in future years and I think our ratepayers … should be looking at a commensurate return.” Cr Lisa Dixon said the rent “can be reviewed down the track, so it’s not an end of the road deal”. Cont. Page 7