MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire have approved a new Long-Term Capital Works Plan, marking the shire’s first comprehensive ten-year capital planning framework.
The plan sets out more than $172m in infrastructure investment over the next four years and was approved at the 29 June council meeting.
Mayor Cr Stephen Batty thanked officers and staff for the work that went into the plan.
“This exercise, which was extremely detailed, commenced in November 2025 and included four briefing sessions, four workshops, two meetings and public exhibition,” said Batty.
Batty said the plan is designed to prioritise essential infrastructure within financial constraints.
“[It] reflects community priorities by focusing on asset renewal, safety, compliance, and essential infrastructure while ensuring value for money.”
More than 400 people participated in the public consultation, and feedback focused mainly on maintaining existing infrastructure rather than expanding new projects.
There was strong community support for road upgrades, active transport, recreation facilities, and increased transparency.
Cr Max Patton thanked the community for their contributions.
“A big thanks to the community for their feedback,” said Patton.
“And particularly young people who contributed feedback, I think it was one of the highest portions of youth feedback I’ve seen in any council strategy that’s come to us.”
He said the plan helps improve long-term accountability and governance.
“I think having these long-range projections in front of us is a real step forward in increasing community transparency and having a bit of a long-term vision outside of political cycles,” said Patton.
He highlighted the plan is structured regionally rather than by specific township.
“Many of these shire-wide programmes aren’t location specific, so the actual spend landing in any given township might actually be higher than the explicit mentions throughout the plans suggest,” said Patton.
Cr David Gill moved an amendment arguing for tighter financial thresholds as the current plan included a $2m project limit.
“The value of any individual funding allocation does not exceed $1m per project, and that means that the CEO wouldn’t be able to change matters without coming to council [for projects] that were more than $1m,” said Gill.
The financial amendment was opposed and rejected by other councillors who said it could reduce flexibility and delay projects.
Cr Paul Pingiaro said the amendment would add unnecessary rigidity.
“The existing recommendations typically already protect our council; the total budget cannot be increased, adopted priorities can’t really be materially affected, and receiving projects must be ready and already endorsed by the capital works steering committee,” said Pingiaro.
Cr Kate Roper supported the overall plan and said it had a wide scope with financial practicality.
“It’s a massive amount of work, and there are so many great projects in this, both large and small,” said Roper.
“Our grants that we’re getting are a lot less than they used to be, so that’s a bit of a disappointment, but we try to be financially responsible and spread it evenly about the shire.”
Cr Michael Stephens said he was disappointed some priority projects were left out of the four-year program and placed into the longer-term pipeline, but he supported the overall plan.
“I recognise the plan should be a vast improvement for the whole shire,” said Stephens.
“One of the greatest strengths of this plan is that in itself, it’s not set in stone; it gives council the flexibility to respond as new priorities emerge, projects become better developed, and funding opportunities arise.”
The Long Term Capital Works Plan will now guide council’s annual budget decisions and be updated over time. Council described it as a “living document” which will adapt over time while focusing on safety and financial responsibility.
First published in the Mornington News – 7 July 2026
