MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire will prepare a report exploring whether council rates and charges should be waived for 12 McCrae properties impacted by the January landslide that forced residents to evacuate their homes.
The decision was made at the council’s 16 December meeting after Cr Max Patton led a motion asking that the council considered waiving the 2025–26 financial year council rates and charges for the 12 properties that were subject to emergency orders following the 14 January landslide.
A report will be considered alongside council’s mid-year budget reforecast at its 17 March meeting.
Emergency Orders were placed over 19 properties following the landslide, requiring residents to evacuate. Council waived rates and charges for those properties for the remainder of the 2024/25 financial year.
Of the 19 properties, 12 were subject to emergency orders requiring evacuation, but were later issued rates and charges for the 2025–26 financial year.
A board of inquiry found the disaster was caused by a burst South East Water (SEW) main.
Patton said it was important to acknowledge the ongoing impacts on residents despite many having since returned home.
“Since the event and initial moments, residents were asked to leave their homes around midnight on the 14th. Residents have endured a number of difficult situations, including force to find and in some cases pay for alternative accommodation for the period they’re outside their home,” he said.
Patton said residents had also dealt with power outages, insurance complications and security concerns.
“While out of their homes trying to deal with power outages to their properties, including issues, and that caused a lot of other issues with insurance and security too. Dealing with robberies at their properties, having to have continual liaison with council, the state government, South East Water, their insurance companies, lawyers and all other associated agencies,” he said.
He said residents had cooperated with investigations and endured significant public scrutiny.
“While they are back in their properties, the mediation process is still ongoing and this has significant time and financial burdens associated with it, not to mention the significant psychological stress associated with mediation and the event in its entirety,” he said, adding residents had cooperated with geotechnical monitoring and safety assessments.
He also noted the findings of the board of inquiry into the landslide, with the “most important consideration is that this is not a natural disaster – it was a man-made disaster as determined by the BOI report. And as such, I don’t believe this sets a precedent. I think this is a one-off consideration in respect of this man-made event,” he said.
Cr Patton emphasised that the motion did not seek an immediate decision on applying rate waivers, but for a report to come back to council.
“This is an opportunity for us to step up into our role as a council group and control what we can at this moment while mediation is taking place
A landslide struck McCrae on 14 January 2025, forcing the evacuation of 19 properties as homes became unsafe. Residents have gradually returned while geotechnical monitoring and safety assessments continue.
A SEW statement in October in response to the McCrae landslide inquiry said it acknowledged it has been a difficult time for the residents and had “already begun steps to reduce future risks and improve safety across the area”.
SEW will also establish a Mornington Peninsula Consultative Committee to provide a community forum to “engage with us on local water and sewer services and infrastructure in McCrae and on the Mornington Peninsula”.
“To improve the resilience of the water network in the area, South East Water is investing over $180m on new and upgraded infrastructure on the Mornington Peninsula over five years.”
First published in the Mornington News – 23 December 2025
