Mornington Peninsula Shire has doubled down on its waste charge messaging, first through an official media release and then again through a fresh social media graphic accusing unspecified media reports of being incorrect and insisting there is “no new charge to ratepayers”. Council’s published position is that the public cleaning charge is not new in substance, but a clearer split of costs already embedded in the broader waste charge.
That argument may be technically neat, but the figure confronting many households is not. Under the draft 2026/27 budget, properties with kerbside bins would pay $416 for waste collection and $154 for public cleaning, for a combined annual bill of $570. Council’s own budget papers state that is a $137 increase, or 31.6 per cent, compared with 2025/26.
The Number Residents Were Given, And The Number Now On The Table
Part of the political problem for council is that the current figure is materially higher than the number earlier put to the community. During the shire’s Rating Strategy Review, residents were told that most households with bins would rise from $433 to $474 a year, an increase of $41. The draft budget now puts that same cohort at $570, creating a clear gap between the earlier consultation figure and the amount now proposed.
Council says rising waste costs are being driven in part by state-mandated new bins and coloured lids, along with broader collection, processing and disposal pressures. Its draft budget release also states that waste charges are proposed to rise for many ratepayers.
Another Senior Communications Role
The latest effort to control the message is unfolding as the shire advertises another senior communications role. Council’s external organisation chart already lists Mitch Grayson as Head of Strategic Communications and Advocacy. At the same time, SEEK is advertising a Team Leader – Strategic Communications & Marketing role at $161,333 per annum (TRP). The listing says the job will lead the shire’s strategic communications and marketing function and ensure clear, consistent and proactive communication of council priorities.
That does not make the advertised role a “spin doctor” job in council’s official language. But it is likely some residents will see it that way, particularly when the role sits inside a structure already headed by a senior communications and advocacy executive and is being advertised while council is publicly trying to reset the narrative around a contentious charge increase.
Cuts, Deficit And Optics
The communications push also lands against a wider financial backdrop. The draft budget forecasts an operating deficit of $2.498 million for 2026/27. Its prescribed financial indicators also show an adjusted underlying result of minus 13.93 per cent for that year.
Less than a year earlier, the shire announced a major organisational realignment after council endorsed $5 million in employee expense reductions and $5 million in service efficiencies in the 2025/26 budget process. In August 2025, council said the restructure would result in up to 48 redundancies.
That is what sharpens the scrutiny now. Council is asking residents to accept a significantly higher waste bill than the one many were first told to expect, while budgeting for a deficit, after cutting staff through a restructure, and while advertising another six-figure senior communications role.
The Real Question
For ratepayers, the live issue is no longer just whether the public cleaning charge is technically “new”. The sharper question is why the amount now facing many households has climbed so far beyond the earlier consultation figure, and why council’s response appears increasingly focused on message management rather than the obvious public concern over the bottom line.
