AN upcoming Melbourne Water review is set to shape the future of the Kananook Creek corridor.
At their February meeting, Frankston councillors received the report on the status and management of the Kananook Creek corridor and noted that “the most appropriate mechanism for addressing future management priorities for the Kananook Creek corridor is through Melbourne Water’s forthcoming Healthy Waterways Strategy review.”
The council decision last month followed a debate which occurred in July last year, when councillors voted to review the 2015 Kananook Creek Corridor plan and “liaise with all relevant owning external stakeholders (MPs, DEECA, Melbourne Water) in seeking practicable opportunities for stakeholder collaboration and funding to improve the plan and outlook for the creek.”
Councillors asked that the February report list relevant documents and “key achievable advocacy priorities.” Council officers were also asked to “clarify the ownership and management role and responsibilities for the Kananook Creek.”
The management of Kananook Creek is shared across Melbourne Water; Parks Victoria; the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action; and Frankston City Council. Frankston mayor Sue Baker said council currently spends $180,000 each year on maintenance dredging of the mouth of the creek, with additional funding of $110,000 from Better Boating Victoria.
“Leadership means bringing the right organisations together to deliver solutions, not working in isolation,” Cr Baker said. “Our focus is securing coordinated investment and working together to protect and enhance Kananook Creek, delivering long-term environmental outcomes that benefit the whole community and future generations.”
Kananook Creek Association honorary chairman Rob Thurley has expressed concerns that last month’s motion, paired with council’s 2025 decision to discontinue the Kananook Creek Governance Group (“Council’s Kananook Creek call concerning” The Times, 6/2/2025), will cut residents out of the creek’s future. He said that council has “decided to outsource leadership for future management priorities of the Kananook Creek corridor to Melbourne Water.”
“Coordinated management and support are the most vital aspects for achieving community goals for this beloved community asset – the glue that holds the whole show together. Frankston City Council must take the lead role in stewarding a future governance model for Kananook Creek on behalf of the community,” he said.
Thurley has called for council to address sediment and silt buildup in the creek, complete the Seaford Park Arboretum, and update the Kananook Creek Management Plan. The motion approved by Frankston councillors last month read that “through council advocacy, the investigation of creek desilting is now recognised as a placemaking action in the Dandenong Catchment Integrated Water Management (IWM) Action Plan, coordinated by DEECA, providing a pathway for multi-agency funding collaboration.”
Cr Baker has defended council’s role in the waterway’s management. She said “council has not stepped back from leadership of Kananook Creek. We continue to lead, advocate and coordinate partners and ensure Frankston’s voice is strongly represented in decisions that affect the creek.
“Community passion for Kananook Creek is incredibly important. By working together across agencies and with the community, we can protect and enhance this special place for generations to come.”
First published in the Frankston Times – 10 March 2026