MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire CEO has released a statement regarding the influx of parking fines following outrage from the community.
The statement comes following community concerns after residents began receiving multiple infringements for parking on nature strips in narrow streets (“Tyabb residents raise concerns over fines”, The News, 27/08/26).
In the statement, shire CEO Mark Stoermer said the shire acknowledges the public’s concerns regarding parking fines.
“While safety needs to remain our priority – some residents who have been affected are rightly fed up,” said Stoermer.
“We do have a problem that I’m committed to fixing.”
He said the shire’s contractors have been enforcing Victorian road rules but that the way the rules are being applied is not always producing fair outcomes.
“We agree, in certain instances, that people should not be fined for trying to do the right thing – particularly in narrow streets where parking entirely on the road may obstruct traffic or stuck in traffic around busy school pick-ups,” said Stoermer.
“Our current one-size-fits-all approach is not working. We need to own that and fix it.”
He said the shire is reviewing the situation and is committed to providing a balance between a fair response and community safety.
“If people believe that they have been unfairly dealt with in this regard, we encourage them to submit an application for an internal review of the decision to issue a fine, which can be done through the shire’s website,” said Stoermer.
“The answer is not to stop enforcing parking rules across our shire altogether. It’s to apply them with common sense and achieve a fairer result for our community.”
Jordyn White, who has been advocating for the community, said she was impressed by the statement.
“I feel like they’re finally understanding the message we’ve been trying to get across: we just want to safely park and not be hit with ridiculous fines,” said White.
“The only thing I’m waiting for, and I’ve stated, is that I want him to put in writing that we’re able to park on the nature strips and not incur any more fines.”
White said she feels her effort has been worth it and hopefully change will be made.
“I feel me and my neighbour Bec have really, really thrown it to the wall, and we’ve done a great job,” said White.
“At the moment, it’s just lip service until something happens, but I’m just going to give them the benefit of the doubt.”
White’s neighbour Rebecca Kappe said it was good the shire acknowledged what they’ve been doing is wrong.
“However, we would like something in writing, so we can be assured that it’s not going to happen again when a whole new load of Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors come in,” said Kappe.
“[Stoermer’s] saying that they need to fix it and own it. But when will that be?”
Kappe said she feels if she and White hadn’t done anything, no change would have occurred.
“People like to make comments but don’t want to actually do anything about it,” said Kappe.
“We did stand up, and we wanted to be heard, and it took a while, but we got there in the end.”
First published in the Mornington News – 15 September 2026
