On 2 August around 150 people filled the Flinders Civic Centre for a community meeting to hear about the impacts of the shire’s cuts to performing arts funding and decision to rescind the Climate Emergency Declaration and Action Plan.
The environmental and arts advocates chose to combine their causes, finding common ground, despite differing challenges. The arts community is facing a considerable cut in funding from historically high levels, and climate groups the removal of the action plan that provided structure for the peninsula’s approach to climate change mitigation.
The audience included shire mayor Cr Anthony Marsh, shire CEO Mark Stoermer and councillors Kate Roper and Michael Stephens, with speakers addressing the crowd from both the arts and environmental community.
Organised by Save Our Arts MP and the Peninsula Climate Alliance (PCA), speakers included Flinders Fringe Festival, Dreamhouse Theatre, Peninsula Films and the recently formed PCA made up of Mornington Peninsula Landcare Network, The Western Port Biosphere, Save Westernport, the Victorian Farmers Federation Peninsula Branch, Flinders Zero Carbon Community, Repower Mornington Peninsula, Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation Group, the Nepean Conservation Group and the ACF Mornington Peninsula Branch.
Since the meeting it is believed another five groups have joined the PCA.
Flinders Fringe Festival co-founder and executive producer Claire Thorn said the shire’s cuts to creative and performing arts development grants had devastated local creatives, along with new funding criteria making sole trader creatives ineligible for funding.
“These creative grants have built a creative community and a creative economy that is thriving, and it’s impossible to imagine how Fringe might have come to be without the significant investment from our council,” said Thorn.
“We are urging councillors to reconsider these cuts as they have committed to do in the mid-financial year review, and reinstate eligibility for sole trader creatives to apply.”
Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Cr Anthony Marsh told The News “Despite the claims, arts and climate funding remain among the highest levels in our history, alongside major increases in other services that improve life across the peninsula”.
“I’ll meet with anyone or any group, but that doesn’t mean we’ll always agree. Our job is to balance different views and deliver for the whole community.”
“To put it in perspective, arts and culture funding is greater than what we allocate to public health, recreation and leisure, child and family health, community safety and youth services.”
PCA members Jane Carnegie from Save Westernport and Greg Holland from MP Landcare Network spoke on behalf of the Peninsula Climate Alliance on what is being lost by the abolition of the Climate Emergency Declaration and Action Plan, and the funding cuts to groups such as Repower.
“Our community wants our council to take action on climate. We are already seeing the impact of coastal erosion and extreme weather, and we are increasingly at risk,” Carnegie said.
Alliance member and president of Repower Deb Coffey told The News “The climate and arts causes have come together to voice our shared dismay at the council’s actions”.
“The Peninsula Climate Alliance, representing over 1000 members from 15 local climate groups, should indicate to the council how important climate action is to our community. The alliance urges council to reinstate a strategic Climate Plan with targeted, funded actions to specifically address climate change.”
A motion calling on council to reinstate the Climate Emergency Declaration and the Climate Action Plan was unequivocally passed at the meeting.
Equally unequivocally, Marsh told The News “There is absolutely no intention to reinstate a Climate Emergency Declaration. We’re getting on with the job and delivering real, tangible outcomes for our community.”
First published in the Mornington News – 12 August 2025
