Mornington Peninsula chief executive John Baker to lead Sunshine Coast Council
One of Victoria’s best paid local government executives just got a $125,000 pay bump, after accepting a new role in Queensland.
South East
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One of Victoria’s highest paid local government executives is swapping one holiday playground for another, moving from the Mornington Peninsula to the Sunshine Coast.
John Baker announced his resignation on Thursday, telling councillors and staff in an email that he was finishing up as Mornington Peninsula chief executive after six years.
Mr Baker, who has received a $425,000 package a year since 2021, will finish up at the council’s Rosebud headquarters on December 6.
The generous package put him in the state’s top ten earners in local government when it was first announced.
His new role will see him receive a $550,000 package to lead the Sunshine Coast Council, one of the Australia’s largest municipalities with a population of 311,211.
The five year deal includes superannuation and a car allowance.
Mr Baker told staff and councillors his “greatest accomplishment” had been the shift in the organisation’s culture.
“Watching us grow from a reactive to a proactive, success-driven workplace has been one of the proudest achievements of my career,” Mr Baker said.
“Knowing that 81 per cent of our people now love coming to work each day fills me with joy and hope for the Shire’s future.”
However, the shire struggled to win over ratepayers who rated it Melbourne’s worst council in a 2022 community satisfaction survey.
The council’s report card for the following year was even worse, finding public perception of shire services had “largely deteriorated”.
The council bounced back in 2024 recording a 220 per cent improvement on the previous year’s results – but still failed to reach the state average.
Mr Baker cited the completion of Yawa Aquatic Centre and creating Citizens Panels as stand out projects during his time.
He was also proud of the organisation work with community and emergency services during the 2019 Black Saturday Mallacoota evacuation exercise and more recent responses to “ever increasing major weather events”.
Sunshine Coast mayor Rosanna Natoli was “delighted” the council had been able to secure someone of Mr Baker’s calibre to lead its organisation.
“He demonstrates values-based, collaborative leadership, he values strong community engagement and prioritises excellent service delivery,” she said.