The Mornington Peninsula Shire is a local government area in southeastern metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Located to the south of the Melbourne city centre, it covers its namesake Mornington Peninsula, and is headquartered in the suburb of Rosebud. It has an area of and at the it had a population of 168,948.
History The Mornington Peninsula Shire came into existence on 15 December 1994 when the state government amalgamated the previous Shires of Flinders, Hastings and Mornington.
On August 13, 2019, the Shire voted to declare a climate emergency in response to other similar declarations from councils around Australia. This declaration was later overturned by a motion in April 2025, which passed with a 6–5 vote.
The Shire abolished the 150-year-old tradition of reciting a prayer before Council meetings in December 2020. According to the Australian National Secular Lobby, the Shire was "the first council or parliament to be removed from their list of government institutions that impose prayers on elected representatives”.
Council Current composition
The Mornington Peninsula Shire is split into eleven single-member wards. The current council was elected at the 2024 council election:
WardPartyCouncillorNotes Beek Beek Independent Kate Roper Benbenjie Independent Max Patton Briars Vacant Brokil Independent Patrick Binyon Coolart Independent David Gill Kackeraboite Independent Liberal Stephen Batty Mayor Moorooduc Independent Bruce Ranken Nepean Independent Andrea Allen Tanti Independent Paul Pingiaro Deputy Mayor Tootgarook Independent Cam Williams Warringine Independent Michael Stephens
Election results 2024
Townships and localities The 2021 census, the shire had a population of 168,948 up from 154,999 in the 2016 census
Population Locality 2016 2021 394 414 2,270 2,371 418 471 2,162 2,166 3,705 4,276 2,313 2,786 354 314 446 569 4,930 5,246 3,183 3,343 5,803 6,626 529 637 905 1,130 9,609 10,369 1,040 1,124 416 453 2,823 3,311 190 184 127 157 426 423 1,098 1,004 23,989 25,759 17,888 18,734 18,548 19,846 ^ 3,821 3,867 158 178 510 787 924 1,009 603 708 13,195 14,381 8,416 9,438 4,821 6,328 608 679 1,667 1,857 11,336 11,767 1,592 2,013 889 974 2,869 3,178 354 357 3,338 3,449
^ - Territory divided with another LGA
See also List of Melbourne suburbs, for other Melbourne suburbs and municipalities Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere Reserve
References
External links
Mornington Peninsula Shire web site Metlink local public transport map Link to Land Victoria interactive maps