THERE were tense moments in the chamber at the Tuesday 6 May council meeting as councillors debated an amended motion on the shire’s operating expenses and community investment funding.
Shire officers presented their 2025/26 draft budget proposal, but an alternative motion was put forward for debate by deputy mayor Cr Paul Pingiaro. The new motion included cuts to wages, and a requirement to find further “service planning efficiencies”. The councillors were presented with, and voted to accept, an increased Community Investment Funding Program, but it came at a cost, with some programs cut from shire funding.
Pingiaro’s motion pushed for a decrease in employee costs by $5m from the officers draft budgeted figure of $101.54m. Also finding savings was an increase in “service planning efficiencies” by a further $2m on the $3m suggested in the draft budget, increase “service planning efficiencies” to $5m for 2025/2026.
The reduction in employee costs was voted for by all councillors, with the exception of Cr Kate Roper who stated she was “concerned about the employee thing because we are talking about obviously cutting jobs and we’re also trying to improve service, and improve the quality of our service”. “So I feel a bit like I’m reading Animal Farm; do more with less. I don’t know how we’re supposed to improve performance with so many less staff.”
The overall Community Investment Funding Program in the Pingiaro motion represented a slight increase on the proposed funding, but came at the cost of funding for the arts and environment. Gone were the funding for Dolphin Research Institute, heritage, and completely wiped out were the “Climate Action Grants and Subsidies” with the suggested $160,000 cut to zero.
“I’m deeply concerned about this motion before us,” said Cr Michael Stephens. “This represents a shift in council’s funding priorities. If passed, this motion will see long standing and impactful community programs lose their support entirely. “This isn’t just budget tightening. It signals that Mornington Peninsula Shire is walking away from its responsibility on climate action at a time when our community and the world needs leadership more than ever”. “We are not just shifting numbers on a page. We are making a statement about who we value and what kind of future we want,” said Stephens.
Another item cut from the proposed budget was a “Willum Warrain Inclusion Subsidy” of $103,500. “I find it interesting that we claim that nothing’s being cut, but we’ve not had a discussion about how this money might be maybe better spent within indigenous affairs for this shire,” said Cr Max Patton on the cut to Willum Warrain’s funding.
Cr Patrick Binyon also expressed his concern over the removal of the line of funding to Willum Warrain.
“I think any funding cuts to a programme that works culturally with youth, without considering the social impacts is a concerned,” said Binyon. “The funding for that particular programme is obviously to engage our youth and as an educator myself, I find it concerning if we do cut something that is fundamental to indigenous people.”
Another casualty in the Pingiaro’s motion was the cutting of “Creative and Performing Arts” completely.
Patton asked officers if that would impact the delivery of arts and culture activities on the peninsula and was told “we wouldn’t be able to deliver all of the outcomes of the arts and culture strategy and there would be a reduction in overall arts and culture offering across the shire”. While arts and culture events would not be able to access the cancelled stream of funding, mayor Cr Anthony Marsh pointed out that events would still be able to access funding through events grants.
Cr David Gill wasn’t buying it. “This is ideological and will be seen as that in the community,” said Gill.
“Wipe out the arts? Well first you start with no more Performing Arts Centre. That’s gone. Then you get rid of grants. The arts community on the peninsula will be devastated.” “It’s making a mockery of our community to do it this way. No real investigation. It’s trumped up.”
The meeting got heated with Gill’s use of the word “trumped”; a flashpoint word that is a sign of the times. “I’ve had two weeks of that. And I won’t tolerate it anymore,” said Pingiaro. “It is bearing of defamation, and I won’t tolerate it.” After being warned by Marsh to get back on track, Gill continued “It’s been sold to us as some sort of elixir for what we want to do in our community. Well, our community doesn’t want this. We’re letting down our community.”
Also on the chopping block was a $9000 subsidy to Friends of Lospalos, an outreach program from the shire to the people of the local government sub-district of Lospalos in Timor-Leste. The program, which has operated for over 20 years, has provided capital works, teaching scholarships, flood food relief, optometry clinics and other programs for the Timorese of Lospalos.
“Regarding the removal of the subsidy to the Friends of Lospalos, I understand that it may not be specific to the Mornington Peninsula Shire, however I would like the councillors to consider that that funding amount stretches so far in Timor,” said Binyon. “And specifically to the scholarships for teachers in Timor, and I can’t stress that enough. The impact that those dollars actually have over there, it may seem a small amount here, but we do know from my last delegates report how far that funding stretches over there.”
Cr Cam Williams had a different view, saying he believed in “looking after people in our own backyard”.
“I think that goes a long way to looking after our own community, and I think a lot of the ratepayers in the shire do prefer their money to be spent locally before it goes looking at any other locations that aren’t in our shire. Especially when we are claiming money is very tight.”
Debating the motion, Patton told other councillors “We’ve got a statutory obligation to engage a community in decisions of significance under section 56 of the Local Government Act. I’ve seen no evidence that community, arts groups or indigenous affairs associations have been consulted”. “Section 9 also requires us to act in the best interest of the community. That means considering equity, inclusion and continuity and cutting all funds to arts and culture, despite it being consistently oversubscribed, contradicts this duty. “So with this we see the complete abandonment of climate action, arts and culture, and indigenous affairs from this council.”
With a pool of money from Pingiaro’s cuts, a host of other shire programs received increases in their funding. Receiving increased funding from the motion were cohesive community grants, transport assist, community houses, toy libraries, commemorative events subsidy, senior citizens subsidy, community support centre subsidy, local essential safety services subsidy (legal aid and food relief), and community led safety subsidies.
A substantial change in the Pingiaro motion was an increase in funding allocated to tourism centres on the peninsula and the reinstatement of shire funding to the visitor economy partnership of $200,000. This funding would be allocated to help promote tourism on the peninsula.
When it came to the vote, the motion was voted in parts and many sections were carried unanimously. Cr Patrick Binyon was the only dissenter when voting on the cohesive community grants, Cr Gill voted against the commemorative events subsidy.
More contentious issues were the increase in funding for tourism centres (voted against by Crs Stephens, Binyon, Patton and Roper), the visitor economy partnership (voted against by Crs Gill, Stephens, Binyon, Patton and Roper) and the cessation of funding for the Friends of Lospalos (voted against by Crs Gill, Stephens, Binyon, Patton and Roper).
All items in Pingiaro’s motion were carried.
First published in the Mornington News – 13 May 2025
