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Tuesday 7 June 2016
5973 6424 or email: team@mpnews.com.au www.mpnews.com.au
Show’s pretty in pink THE truth is out there. The real life truth about chick flicks, that is. A youth show production by Pelican Theatre Company called The Truth About Chick Flicks hit the stage at Hastings Hall at the weekend and is gearing up for more performances this week. The musical show follows a girl’s quest to find love, by re-enacting chick flicks in an attempt to find a movie-style romance and features songs from Hall and Oates, Cyndi Lauper and Queen. Pelican Theatre Company vice president Madeleine Collins said the amateur theatre show runners collaborated with MiLife Frankston this year to give keen actors with a disability a chance to shine on stage. “I always wanted to bring a chick flick to the stage so we decided to do it this year and it’s been great to see the actors enjoy performing,” she said. An audience member at a weekend show posted on Facebook afterwards: “Just loved this and funny!”. Ms Collins said Hastings Hall has turned pink with love hearts and chick flick themes throughout the building for the duration of the show’s run. This week’s performances of The Truth About Chick Flicks will be staged at Hastings Hall, 3 High St, Hastings at 7.30pm Friday 10 June, and 2pm and 7pm Saturday 11 June. See trybooking.com for tickets or call Pelican Theatre Company on 0430 103 683. Scene stealers: Melissa Klarenbeek, left, Rhiannon Waller, Katrina Scott, Jack McVey,Grace Newton, Lachlan Arbuthnott, Emily Sables, Brent Newman, Paul Roberts, Phillip Maisey and, front from left, Alex Van Buren, Alex Watson on stage for the Pelican Theatre Company’s production of The Truth About Chick Flicks. Picture: Yanni
CFA volunteers ‘sold out’ Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au COUNTRY Fire Authority volunteers across the Mornington Peninsula say they are “completely gutted” by what they see as a sell-out by the state government in its enterprise bargaining negotiations with the United Firefighters’ Union. But they are buoyed by the strong stance of the CFA board, which yesterday (Monday) said it would knock back the proposed agreement – which
is backed by the UFU – saying many of its clauses would be “unlawful”. State Cabinet met Monday afternoon to work out its position on the threeyear-old dispute. Emotions peaked at the weekend CFA volunteers rallying in Melbourne. The rally was attended by the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and state Opposition leader Matthew Guy. The row has led to a stand-off between the Premier Daniel Andrews and Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett. Mr Andrews has appointed Essential Services Commissioner Craig
Lapsley as mediator. The CFA board said Monday the proposed EBA “undermines volunteers, our culture, allows the UFU operational and management control of CFA and is discriminatory”. It had “serious concerns many of these proposed clauses are unlawful and we have legal advice that indicates CFA [if it signed the agreement] would be in breach of its statutory obligations”. “While the Fair Work Commission’s recommendation stated the changes to the agreement do not impact on volunteers, the recommendation does
not override the many specific clauses within the agreement that give rise to those issues,” the CFA board stated. “Many of these clauses have no place in modern day workplaces and are out of step with today’s society. “Advice from the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission is that some clauses do not comply with the Equal Opportunity Act and would be unlawful.” The board backed the Chief Officer’s role to be responsible for operational management and resource allocation. The ramifications of the dispute over
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firefighting on the peninsula are huge – with many volunteers threatening to leave if their roles are undermined by the professional body. Somerville CFA captain Allan Monti, a volunteer of 28 years, described the UFU push as “a big threat to the community” and said his volunteers would find the proposed new requirements hard to accept. “They will decimate our numbers because many volunteers will quit – that’s inevitable as their purpose diminishes,” he said. Continued Page 4
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