MAY 2, 2017 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + PROPERTY GUIDE
(Shawn Smits)
No regrets for this egret Move over Stuart, a new bird has commandeered Kororoit Creek. And she’s bigger, stronger and an Australian native. Friends of Kororoit Creek (FOKC) president Jessica Gerger and her daughter Georgia have built a giant egret from used milk cartons and gaffer tape. And while she may resemble ‘Stuart’, a white domesticated duck often spotted in Buckingham Reserve’s creek, Ms Gerger says she’s been modelled on one of Australia’s most elegant birds, the eastern great egret. The bird, who Georgia has named The Love Angel, took her maiden voyage recently to test her buoyancy. The journey was deemed a success and The Love Angel will now be used to collect rubbish from the banks of the creek. A video about a boat made from washed-up plastic bottles in India was the inspiration behind the project. “My husband, daughter and I went down to Michel’s Patisserie and Muffin Break at Sunshine Marketplace and asked them if they’d donate their bottles … and within about a week and a half we had about 400,” Ms Gerger said. The FOKC has adopted the bird as their mascot and she is expected to make an appearance at all FOKC events. JESSICA GERGER
Alexandra Laskie
New police on the beat By Sumeyya Ilanbey Melton and Caroline Springs residents rallying for extra frontline police have been “absolutely instrumental” in the municipality receiving a resourcing boost it desperately needed, according to the police union. Victoria Police on Thursday announced Melton and Caroline Springs would get an extra 16 frontline police over the next 12 months, as part of the 300 funded in last year’s state budget. The crime investigation unit and the sexual offences and child abuse investigation team, based in the Brimbank and Melton police services area, will get an extra nine and five detectives respectively. The 300 police will be deployed to some of the
state’s fastest growing suburbs with the highest needs based on a staffing model developed by Victoria Police and the Police Association. The western suburbs, including Wyndham, Maribyrnong, Melton and Brimbank, will receive an extra 100 officers, the northern suburbs 134, the south-east 50, and Geelong will get an additional 10. As part of its 2017-18 budget being announced today, the state government will fund more than 3000 police to be rolled out over the next four years, with 2000 of those slated for frontline duties. The $2 billion commitment was made late last year following a so-called “crime wave”, and months of lobbying by the community and police union.
Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt commended Victoria Police for making a priority of Melbourne’s growth corridors, where police are “urgently required”. “Our members in the Melton police service area have been desperately under-resourced for a significant period of time and they’re facing surmounting challenges in a growth corridor,” Sergeant Gatt said. The community can expect to see a greater police presence on the streets, and police response times could be significantly reduced. “The Police Association wants to thank the community of Caroline Springs and Melton … for the support they have given our members. They have been absolutely instrumental in this announcement.”
The extra police will start appearing at stations from next month, with all 300 to be deployed by April next year. Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the organisation would continue working with the police union to determine where the 2000 frontline officers would be deployed over the coming years. “Whilst these extra police will greatly strengthen local police responses in those areas selected, it’s important to stress that this is just the start,” he said. Today’s state budget will also include funding for a 24-hour police assistance line, automatic number plate recognition technology for highway patrol cars and a new air wing.