Bellarine Times
Tuesday 23 February 2010
VOL 3. No 08
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www.bellarinetimes.com.au
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Drysdale & Clifton Springs Monthly
BAY TO STAY 4-PAGE FEATURE > PG 14
2-PAGE FEATURE > PG 6 & 7
BELLARINE PENINSULA EDITION
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Celebrating SENIORS
2-PAGE FEATURE > PG 20 & 21
Liberal candidate has vowed to retain but restructure Bellarine Bayside Foreshore Committee if the party wins this year’s state election
BY ALISON MARTIN BELLARINE Bayside Foreshore Committee will be “overhauled” but not abolished if the Liberal Party wins power at this year’s state election. Liberal Party candidate, Kurt Reiter, said he would instigate changes to foreshore management structures but would not support a disbandment of Bellarine Bayside. Reiter said he had thoroughly researched the community concerns which had prompted a petition to have Bellarine Bayside overturned and had secured the commitment of his party to respond to independence and transparency issues. “Overhaul is required, not abolition,” Reiter said. He said if elected, the Liberal-Nationals Coalition would reform the committee structure within the State Department of Sustainability and Environment based on community consultation.” However, Bellarine Bayside committee chair, Peter Kenny, has dismissed concerns raised by Reiter and said a committee overhaul would not address the “real issue” of managing the foreshore. “I think he has fundamentally missed the point,” Kenny said. “If he really wants to make a difference, he’d be making a commitment to provide funding for the maintenance of the foreshore. “He can restructure the committee or sack everyone and have it managed by the City of Greater Geelong, but it won’t provide funding to maintain the foreshore. “It’s an uninformed knee-jerk reaction.” Reiter said he had met with Peter Kenny to clarify the party’s intent and suggested a town hall meeting be held “to air community concerns and allow the chair to put forward his concerns and address
Surf Forecast
the issues that have caused community angst and he has agreed”. The meeting is expected to be held at St Leonards on Saturday but details have not been finalised. Reiter agreed funding was an issue for a government agency that received no financial support from the state and is working with the shadow environment minister to address funding when in government, but the community concerns he was acting on were focused on committee management and perceived lack of transparency. “I have met with more than 100 of the Bellarine Bayside foreshore residents affected by the decisions of the Bellarine Bayside Foreshore Committee,” Reiter said. “I attended the last committee meeting and have reviewed minutes of prior meetings to understand what has created such community angst. “Residents are angry and frustrated because of a perceived lack of transparency and conflicts of interest. “More than 1,500 people have signed a petition to abolish the Bellarine Bayside Foreshore Committee and move power and decision making from DSE to the City of Greater Geelong. “I have met with those behind the petition, including Peter Cowden, and while I support resident concerns, I do not believe the transfer of responsibility to CoGG, through the abolition of the committee, is the solution. “The Bellarine is unique with specific issues requiring local insight Therefore we need the focus the foreshore committee provides, but with greater independence and improved processes that ensure transparency and accountability.”
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Rachel Mustovic will compete in the first annual Bellarine Times Wreck 2 Reef Open Water Swim Classic and could win a trip to Vanuatu just by entering. She has taken up competitive swimming again after a decade out of the water but now prefers to be out of the pool and in the ocean. Mustovic has only been competing in open water swims for the past 12 months but has won her age-group category in a New South Wales event and came 21st in her age-group in Lorne’s Pier to Pub this year. She is now in training for the Wreck 2 Reef on March 6 – which includes a Dash for Cash event, with $100 to be won. Entry information is available at www.indentedheadyc.com
WED 2ft+ easing, SW 23° THU 1-2ft inconsistent, E/SE 25° FRI 3-4ft building N/NE 30° SAT 2-3ft easing N 23°
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