RPP News Wrap - 6th to 9th Oct.
Police investigations, public-interest campaigns, major local decisions and community achievements shaped the news across Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula this week.
🚨CRIME AND POLICE
Mornington’s Matthew Flinders statue stolen
Police are investigating the theft of Mornington’s bronze Matthew Flinders statue after it was cut off at the ankles near Mornington Park.
Only the explorer’s boots remain on the plinth beside Schnapper Point Drive.
Mornington Peninsula Shire says footage from recently installed CCTV cameras will be examined, but the motive remains unclear.
Police want anyone with information, dashcam footage or CCTV images to contact Crime Stoppers.
🚨CRIME AND POLICE
Teenagers charged after alleged getaway car fire
Two boys aged sixteen and seventeen have been charged after an alleged attempted arson attack at Box Hill South on September 23.
Police allege the pair accidentally set their own getaway vehicle alight before it crashed into a parked car and the occupants fled.
They were arrested after searches in the greater Frankston and Kingston areas and face charges including criminal damage by fire, possessing a Molotov cocktail and car theft.
Both were remanded to a children’s court, while two fourteen-year-old Frankston-area girls were separately charged over an allegedly stolen vehicle that crashed on the Bolte Bridge.
🚧ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Tradies take pothole repairs into their own hands
An unauthorised crew has repaired a large pothole on the state-managed Baxter-Tooradin Road at Baxter.
The tradesmen say they used about eighty kilograms of asphalt and twenty kilograms of concrete while managing traffic and site safety.
They acted after residents repeatedly raised concerns and spray-painted potholes to warn approaching drivers.
The crew said the road damage posed a serious risk and feared someone could be injured or killed if nothing was done.
🌊ENVIRONMENT
Three options released for Portsea Front Beach
A state government report has outlined three possible responses to severe erosion at Portsea Front Beach after more than twenty years of investigation.
The options are an elevated boardwalk, a wave screen and groyne, or beach compartments formed by multiple groynes, with replacement of the sandbag seawall also considered.
The Nepean Ratepayers Association favours the wave screen and groyne, while indicative project costs have been prepared but not released.
Public feedback closes on October 31, with the existing sandbag seawall expected to reach the end of its life in 2029.
🏛️POLITICS AND COUNCIL
Report links former premier to Peninsula property
The Australian reported that former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews was staying at a Mornington Peninsula property owned by a member of a prominent development family.
The newspaper said the family and associated companies donated almost thirty thousand dollars to Victorian Labor before the 2022 election.
The report did not establish whether Mr Andrews was paying rent.
His spokesperson declined to comment on matters involving an ongoing royal commission and said political donations were a matter for Labor.
🏛️POLITICS AND COUNCIL
Lower land tax threshold reaches thousands on Peninsula
Victoria’s general land-tax threshold fell from three hundred thousand dollars to fifty thousand dollars in January 2024 under the COVID debt repayment plan.
Government figures show about five-and-a-half thousand Mornington Peninsula residents fall within the affected land-value bracket.
The Peninsula has about thirty per cent more taxpayers in this bracket per resident than Greater Geelong.
Mornington MP Chris Crewther says the added costs flow through to renters and the wider community during a cost-of-living squeeze.
🚧ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Peninsula Link works pushed into next autumn
Major Peninsula Link roadworks are now expected to finish on March 30 next year instead of December 18.
Contractor Service Stream says the revised date remains weather-dependent and reduced speed limits are likely to continue.
A further northbound closure between Moorooduc Highway and Bungower Road is planned for final surfacing and line marking.
Nepean MP Anthony Marsh says residents have had enough, while Service Stream says the delay adds no cost to taxpayers.
🏛️POLITICS AND COUNCIL
Public safety dominates Frankston election contest
Liberal candidate Bree Ambry says crime and public safety are the leading concerns raised during intensive doorknocking in Frankston.
She says many residents still feel unsafe despite improving crime figures and government assurances.
Police Minister and Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke says the government is delivering on law and order.
One Nation is proposing faster police recruitment and a controlled pepper-spray trial, alongside local candidates across Frankston and the Peninsula.
🚨CRIME AND POLICE
Wildlife trafficking case prompts warning to pet buyers
Federal authorities are urging buyers to check the origins of exotic pets after details emerged of a smuggling case heard in Frankston.
A Victorian man was convicted in July over attempts to import fourteen animals from the Philippines, including pythons, iguanas, turtles and tarantulas.
He received a four-month prison sentence but was released on an eighteen-month good-behaviour bond.
The investigation uncovered a wider trafficking network, and authorities advise buying only from reputable Australian breeders or traders.
🏛️POLITICS AND COUNCIL
Rival parties promise Somerville reserve upgrade
Both major parties have pledged millions of dollars to redevelop ageing facilities at Somerville Recreation Reserve.
Liberal candidate Frank Schiefler is offering six million dollars for change rooms, social facilities, parking and netball-court improvements.
Labor MP Paul Mercurio has promised five million dollars for a new pavilion and upgraded grounds.
Long-time club stalwart Peter Alp says the bilateral support is welcome after eight years of work, but each commitment depends on its party winning government.
🏛️POLITICS AND COUNCIL
Seven million dollars pledged for Mount Eliza pavilion
The Victorian Liberals have pledged seven million dollars to complete the long-delayed Western Pavilion redevelopment at Emil Madsen Reserve.
Mornington Peninsula Shire has proposed contributing a further six-point-six million dollars to the Mount Eliza project.
An earlier plan to use an estimated five-million-dollar underspend from the reserve’s federal grant failed when the Commonwealth rejected it.
Mornington MP Chris Crewther says the state contribution depends on a Liberal victory at November’s election.
🏛️POLITICS AND COUNCIL
Councils avoid forced sales over unpaid rates
Frankston and Mornington Peninsula councils have not forced the sale of any property to recover unpaid rates during the past five years.
The Peninsula issued six notices of intention to sell but resolved every case before auction, while Frankston issued none.
The result contrasts with fifty properties reportedly sold by regional Victorian councils over the same period.
Both councils are urging residents in difficulty to seek payment plans, concessions and other support as early as possible.
🏛️POLITICS AND COUNCIL
Frankston takes more time on trader safety response
Frankston Mayor Sue Baker supports giving council officers until December to recommend a broader response to city-centre traders’ concerns.
Businesses have reported antisocial behaviour despite Community Connectors, increased PSO patrols and improving overall crime figures.
Councillor Baker says an effective program must address the needs of traders as well as vulnerable people in the city centre.
Police and academic advice will help shape the report expected to return to council in December.
🌿COMMUNITY
CFA urges early action before high-risk summer
Residents across Victoria’s south east are being urged to prepare for a potentially high-risk fire season.
More than 110 CFA brigades will host Get Fire Ready events during October and November.
Volunteers will help households assess risks, prepare properties, update fire plans and configure VicEmergency watch zones.
CFA deputy chief Trevor Owen says much of the south east faces above-average fire risk and early preparation can make a significant difference.
🌿COMMUNITY
Peninsula wins Victoria’s Tidy Town title again
The Mornington Peninsula has been named Victoria’s Tidy Town winner for the second consecutive year, with Frankston finishing second overall.
The Peninsula collected six individual honours, including awards for Briars junior rangers and protection of the threatened eastern dwarf galaxias.
Fauna ecologist Malcolm Legg received the Dame Phyllis Frost Award for his lifetime contribution to native-animal research and protection.
Frankston won the city Social Wellbeing category for its accessible-beach program, which assisted more than 450 people last summer and returns from December to February.
🌿COMMUNITY
Frankston examines restrictions on recording glasses
Frankston Council is investigating further restrictions on smart glasses at council facilities and childcare centres.
Councillor Emily Green raised concerns that wearable devices can record people discreetly and compromise privacy.
The review will include safeguards for people who rely on the technology because of disability or accessibility needs.
Council will receive a report before the end of the year and will also seek stronger federal privacy protections.
🚧ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Snapper Point boat ramp ready for the season
The upgraded Snapper Point boat ramp has opened with a widened dual-lane ramp, improved wheel traction and safer manoeuvring space.
Two new jetties provide fourteen boat tie-ups, while the shared pedestrian area and fish-cleaning table have also been improved.
The one-point-six-million-dollar project was funded through boating licence and registration fees under the Better Boating Fund.
Its completion comes as the community continues campaigning for the full restoration of Flinders Pier after those works were halted for lack of funding.
🚧ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Airport passenger zones move to new transport hub
Public pick-ups and drop-offs for Qantas domestic, international and Virgin Australia passengers moved to Melbourne Airport’s T123 Transport Hub on October 6.
The departures ramp used since Tullamarine opened in 1970 has closed to public passenger traffic.
Drivers should use Exit 19, with free drop-offs on level three and free pick-ups on level two.
Terminal Four arrangements, including those for Jetstar passengers, remain unchanged.
🎭BUSINESS AND CULTURE
Sorrento cinema plan abandoned and gallery closes
Plans for a boutique cinema in Sorrento have been abandoned and the associated And Gallery Australia has closed.
The Mornington Peninsula Leader reported that more than 128 thousand dollars had been donated to the project.
Organiser Julie Collins said donors who requested refunds had been repaid, while some allowed their contributions to be retained.
Four alternative locations failed to meet the cinema’s needs, the gallery closed on August 29 and its cinema equipment remains for sale.
🎭BUSINESS AND CULTURE
Stonier expands with Seppelt Wines acquisition
Mornington Peninsula winery Stonier has agreed to buy historic Seppelt Wines as Treasury Wine Estates reduces its portfolio.
The family-owned company will acquire Seppelt’s Great Western winery and vineyards and the Drumborg vineyard near Portland.
Stonier plans to restart winemaking at Great Western and use its three kilometres of underground cellars for premium sparkling wine storage.
Chief executive Aaron Drummond calls the undisclosed deal risky but calculated, with completion expected in mid-October.
🏏SPORT
Rain and herbicide damage disrupt cricket season
The opening round of the 2026–27 Mornington Peninsula Cricket Association season was washed out after widespread heavy rain.
Accidental herbicide damage is also forcing major repairs at several sporting grounds.
Home matches involving Sorrento, Rye, Rosebud, Mount Eliza and Tootgarook are being moved to alternative venues.
The ground disruptions are expected to last several weeks and could continue into January.
🏏SPORT
Adam Holland receives umpires’ highest honour
The Southern Umpires Association has awarded Adam Holland the Jim Klauer Outstanding Service Award.
Holland is the eleventh recipient of the association’s highest honour after more than twenty years of service on and off the field.
He umpired for fifteen years, served on the board and officiated in nine senior grand finals across Peninsula, Nepean and Casey competitions.
His contribution also spans coaching, umpire development, senior and VFL-AFL pathways and the V Line umpiring academy.
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