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IT’s less than 50 days until the state election on 28 November, and Labor is still to announce candidates for the seats of Mornington and Nepean.
After The News was told last week that an announcement would be made “hopefully next week”, the week ticked by with no announcement.
Liberal MP for Mornington Chris Crewther made two large announcements in the past week.
The first was $5m towards major facility upgrades at the Mornington Baseball Club (“Crewther commits $5m to Mornington Baseball Club”, The News, 13/10/26).
On Friday (9 October) Crewther announced an elected Liberal government will provide $250,000 to the Mornington Community Support Centre to strengthen frontline support for local people experiencing hardship, housing stress and homelessness, in particular to support crisis accommodation at Ranch 2.0.
Crewther said the investment would provide important support to a trusted local organisation helping people and families in Mornington, Mount Martha, Mount Eliza, Moorooduc, Baxter, Tuerong and surrounds.
“Mornington Community Support Centre is on the frontline every day, supporting local people who are doing it tough,” said Crewther.
“I have seen the incredible work of their staff and more than 250 volunteers who provide food, emergency relief, housing advocacy, financial wellbeing support, crisis accommodation and connections to other services.”
The funding will be directed in consultation with Mornington Community Support Centre towards its highest-priority needs, including frontline support at its Main Street centre and crisis accommodation at Ranch 2.0.
Independent candidate, Adrian Maher, is pushing for a ferry service between Mornington and Melbourne.
“Our community deserves bold, practical solutions, and we’ve just taken a major step forward. For months, I’ve championed a commercial ferry service connecting Mornington directly to Melbourne to ease congestion and boost tourism,” said Maher.
“The response has been overwhelming. We’ve been inundated with support, and today that vision moved closer to reality.
“Parks Victoria has updated its long-term plans for the Mornington Pier precinct which many of you may not know, now include a dedicated commercial ferry arm. This is no longer just a campaign idea. It’s now part of the official long-term vision for the Bay.
“A project group including Parks Victoria, Mornington Peninsula Shire, Better Boating Victoria, the Department of Transport and Planning, and the Bunurong Land Council is now planning the next stages and timeline.
“As your independent candidate, I won’t let this plan gather dust on a shelf, I’ll fight to make these high speed ferries a reality. It will cut congestion, boost tourism, support local businesses and give Peninsula residents the transport link we’ve needed for decades.”
One Nation’s Ashli Beards had a joint fundraiser last Friday with Peter Angelico and in Mt Eliza.
“Warren Pickering also attended as a surprise guest on the night and we had great time auctioning off items and raising funds for our campaign,” said Beards.
“We had a long Q and A session from the crowd who had lots of excellent questions regarding our Policy Platform launched last Saturday 3 Oct with Pauline Hanson in town.
“In the coming weeks we also plan to announcement our specific Mornington policy. So stay tuned.”
Last Thursday, independent candidate Melissa Goffin held an informal “politics in the pub” gathering at the Grand Hotel to chat about important local issues such as cost of living.
This was followed on Friday with literally dancing on the street as “Groovin for Goffin” took to the streets of Mornington to be seen and spread the word.
Goffin has been focused on her key policy of Better Schools for Mornington. Goffin spent a decade in public education before becoming a local business owner and she knows first hand what children, teachers and families need to thrive.
“As a mum of two kids who attend local schools and as a local secondary school teacher for 10 years, I know what teachers and kids are dealing with and I know the challenges they face. I believe every family in our electorate deserves a great school, and that Mornington must get its fair share of state investment to deliver them. I am connecting with the experts in our community and beyond to deliver a plan that sees our local schools be the best they can be for our kids,” said Goffin.
First published in the Mornington News – 13 October 2026
