Community and Expert Advice
The Shire is serious about tackling climate change, and we know our community share our determination. The Community Climate Group is a diverse group of community members who provide input into our climate emergency efforts.
The new group is set up to provide an advisory role on our Climate Emergency Plan targets and actions, localised climate change issues, priority tasks and programs based on science. We value community perspective and insights on local climate change issues and our climate emergency response. It helps us prioritise our efforts. Group members will have the opportunity to share thoughts and concerns on local climate change issues and focus on solutions for now and into the future.
The group is not responsible for the day-to-day operational issues at the Shire, is not a decision-making committee, and has no responsibility for the Shire budget.
The highly skilled members were selected through a rigorous expression of interest process and include elected chair and Queen’s Birthday Public Service award recipient Clare Boardman PSM, an author on adaptation, advisors to ministers, organisations and international bodies, innovators, researchers, activists and change-makers. Our Councillor representatives are Cr. Michael Stephens and Cr. Max Patton.
We value community perspective and insights on local climate change issues and our climate emergency response as it helps us prioritise our efforts. We look forward to working with the nine selected community members to help drive climate action on the Mornington Peninsula.

Back row: Lachlan Chapman, Deb Coffey (Repower President), Cr. Max Patton (Councillor representative), Sam Lundberg, James Everitt (Repower committee member), Grant Snowden, Stewart Plant.
Front row: Claire Boardman PSM (elected Chair), April Livingstone, Marion Pennicuik, Chris Moore. Absent Janet Stanley. (elected Vice-Chair), Rob Stent.
Expert Advice
Addressing climate change is a complex and challenging area. Over 2024, we have brought together an Expert Panel to provide insight on climate change direction from the different perspective including State Government, the academic sector, industry, research and the social sector.
We are fortunate to have had input to many challenging areas including Stationary Energy, building resilient communities, Sustainable travel and transport, Sustainable land-use and environmental restoration and Circular economy and zero waste.

From Left to right: Dr. Dietmar Toubier (Director of the Energy Business Unit, CSIRO and resident), Anna Matina (Group Manager Victoria and Tasmania Uniting Care), Florian Van Den Corput (Senior Advisor, Circular Economy, Sustainability Victoria Lab), Dr Lisa De Kleyn, (Research Fellow- Climate Adaptation Lab, La Trobe University), Erik Zimmerman (CEO Sitetech Solutions).