The Shire of Mornington Peninsula is a local government area in southeastern Metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located to the south of the Melbourne City Centre. It has an area of 724 square kilometres and in June 2018 it had a population of 165,822. History The Mornington Peninsula Shire came into existence on 15 December 1994 when the state government amalgamated the previous Shires of Flinders, Hastings and Mornington. On August 13, 2019, the Shire voted to declare a climate emergency in response to other similar declarations from councils around Australia. The Shire abolished the 150-year-old tradition of reciting a prayer before Council meetings in December 2020. According to the Australian National Secular Lobby, the Shire was the first council or parliament to be removed from their list of government institutions that impose prayers on elected representatives”. Council Electoral representation The Mornington Peninsula Shire is split into six wards and eleven Councillors. The six wards are Briars, Cerberus, Nepean, Red Hill, Seawinds and Watson. The current council, as of December 2020, is: Townships and localities The 2021 census, the shire had a population of 168,948 up from 154,999 in the 2016 census ^ - Territory divided with another LGA * - Not noted in 2016 Census See also List of Melbourne suburbs, for other Melbourne suburbs and municipalities'' Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere Reserve References External links Mornington Peninsula Shire web site Metlink local public transport map Link to Land Victoria interactive maps Local government areas of Melbourne Greater Melbourne (region)