As far as Council meetings go, this one on 26 November 2025, was largely concerned with tidying up of processes and spreadsheets as we approach the end of the year and, very soon, the final Council meeting for 2025!
Mark your calendars now for 10 December 2025, because that agenda will no doubt be a bumper edition where everyone tries to get their projects through before shutting up shop.
Our newly elected Council are no doubt starting to feel the demands of representing their ratepayer base, with public question time putting forward thorny issues including its budget, demonstrating value for rates, mitigating the impact of the Fremantle Traffic Bridge closure, amd so on.
Cr Graham also pointed out that he has yet to receive a response to his questions regarding loss of revenue from paid carparking bays resulting from the closure of Henderson Street to cars.
City staff confirmed that while the figures need to be compiled for certainty, a series of activations by Fremantle Markets and adjoining businesses are also planned for the new mall, and yes indeed Fremantle Markets will be paying for their portion of the outdoor activation.
Cr Williamson-Wong noted that she, Cr van Dorssen, and Cr Clark met with Simone McGurk MLA for Fremantle and Government Minister, regarding the closure of the traffic bridge, which she described as a productive meeting, where they put forward three recommendations to the State to help manage the impact of the bridge closure, being:
- Incentivise public transport by allowing bicycles on trains
- Allow free Smartrider travel on the Fremantle train line much like the Armadale line
- No freight rail during peak periods
- Implement low cost temporary road interventions to discourage rat-running
Watch this space for further news.
Cr Mofflin also spoke of the White Ribbon Day speech and display at Fremantle Library recently where he and Dr Jenny Gray presented on the horrific statistics associated with family and domestic violence. Yours truly and Jean Hudson, our Shipping Correspondent, attended that morning.
Cr Clark attended Changefest last week, which is the biggest indigenous-led gathering of people across the country aimed at addressing how to bring about positive change especially for First Nations people and this represents the first year the festival has been held in WA. Cr Clark thanked City crew and all involved, remarking it was confronting but beautiful and meaningful, and a very impressive conference.
SIR FREDERICK SAMSON RESERVE MASTERPLAN AND MANAGEMENT PLAN
After extensive community engagement and hard work by the City with the Samson Park Reference Group over the past year, the masterplan and management plan for Samson Park have now been drafted and are ready for comment.
Excerpt of the Samson Masterplan from 26 November 2025 OCM City report attachments
The officer report informs us:
“Sir Frederick Samson Park (Samson Park) is a significant natural area in the suburb of Samson, City of Fremantle. Covering 14.08 ha of mostly undeveloped bushland, it is the City’s largest remnant vegetation area, with extensive jarrah, marri and tuart woodland supporting over 50 bird species, reptiles and bats. The land lies on Whadjuk Noongar Country and is recognised as Bush Forever Site 059. Part of the site was used as a military camp during World War II and was vested in the City in 1985 when the suburb was developed.”
Out of the entire City, Samson residents have the highest ratio of park floorspace per person at the equivalent of 7.70 ha per 1,000 residents. Locals such as the Friends of Samson Park volunteer organisation show their love for the remarkable reserve through advocacy and education, weeding, planting, watering, and hosting wildflower walks.
A series of enhancements have been made to the reserve in recent years, including –
• Co-designed interpretive and cultural signage and bush node with Whadjuk Elders and Samson Primary School
• A new car park featuring accessible paths and native verge plantings
• Establishing the Samson Tree Festival
Engagement for the project commenced in September / October 2024 and reached a staggering 1,170 people over various modes of communication, including bush walks and meetings.
The masterplan works will be conducted in stages over multiple financial years to allow it to be accounted for under the City’s Long Term Financial Plan, although the City is seeking Federal funding for the Seasonal Wetland, Boardwalks and Drainage which may expedite the project.
The current project budget for Samson Reserve, from 26 November 2025 OCM City report attachments
Stage 1 is planned to commence in 2027 and include:
• Drainage and associated infrastructure upgrade
• Irrigation renewal
• Sellenger arrival and community lawn
• Playground, picnic area and multicourt
• Central pathway from Sellenger to McCombe
The current project staging for Samson Reserve, from 26 November 2025 OCM City report attachments
There are other potential items that are envisaged for the reserve that can be funded under existing City programs such as “accessibility to the school and recreation centre, verge biodiversity planting and road safety improvements” which will be considered for future works.
Cr Mofflin thanked City staff for all their work in engaging the community to develop these plans, the passion and advocacy of the Samson community in leading to these, and expressed his excited in seeing this culminate in a beautifully updated Samson Park. The remarks were echoed by Mayor Lawver.
I should add that it’d be remiss of me not to point out that the Masterplan alone is a very charming document filled with cute characters such as this bobtail
Council unanimously resolved that it:
Endorse the Draft Samson Park Masterplan and Management Plan, as provided in the Attachment 1 and 7, for the purpose of community engagement.
OUTDOOR EVENTS POLICY
The City’s current Commercial Events Policy was adopted initially on a trial basis during the height of the pandemic in response to challenges and uncertainty faced by event organisers, and to streamline management of events. The policy has been tinkered with since, including renaming to the Outdoor Events Policy, to improve delivery while also extending the trial.
Now that the trial is up, the City seeks to adopt a permanent policy and invites public community input to inform it.
As an FYI, currently for 2026 we have the following events in the calendar:
• January: Wild God Show (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
• February: Ocean Alley & Second Act TBA
• March: Foreshore
• November: BeerFest
Courtesy of This is Fremantle website – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
I must be just outside of the target generation because I haven’t the foggiest inkling of what half of these are. Luckily Cr Williamson-Wong is, who has fielded many public questions about bringing the Laneway Festival back to Fremantle. Which is not actually held in a laneway, to my understanding. The next one will be held at Joondalup Arena, where I used to sit bored through sports carnivals. Never dreamt that they’d manage to pinch an event from us. But I digress!
The six-page Outdoor Events Policy classifies event locations on a rating of Gold, Silver, and Bronze to evaluate their capacity for event scale and associated suitable management:
Gold venues – Highly sensitive locations that can host a maximum of two large or major impact events per year. Their popularity stems from their size or location, but events here can significantly affect residents or restrict public amenity.
Silver venues – Suitable for up to five large or major impact events per year. These sites have a moderate community impact, with fewer nearby residents, and are valued for their capacity to support regular activations.
Bronze venues – Not suitable for large or major impact events but well-placed to host small to medium events on a regular basis.
Excerpt from draft Outdoor Events Policy in 26 November OCM report attachments
In terms of what this changes from the existing policy, it proposes changes to event allocation at the following outdoor event venues:
• Fremantle Park – increase to a maximum of two Major or Large impact events per year (currently one Major or Large).
• Fremantle Oval – increase to a maximum of one Major and four Large impact events per year (currently three Major and/or Large).
• Esplanade Reserve – increase to a maximum of one Major and four Large impact events per year (currently three Major and/or Large).
• Bruce Lee Oval – the addition of Bruce Lee Oval as a ‘bronze’ outdoor event venue.
• Hilton Park – the addition of Hilton Park as a ‘bronze’ outdoor event venue.
No more than one event will typically be granted approval at the same venue per day, subject to CEO discretion and the managed impact on the reserve and ordinary recreational use of it.
The policy itself will not apply to:
• Low and Medium scale events;
• Council-managed events;
• Street events including community street parties, neighbourhood gatherings, processions, street festivals, triathlons, or fun runs;
• Ongoing markets (where a lease or licence has been issued by Council);
• Designated sporting games held at Fremantle Oval.
In respect to the background, the officer report also advises:
“To support the events industry during the challenges of COVID, Council also approved:
• A 25% discount on venue hire fees (as per the 2020–2021 Fees and Charges Schedule) until 30 June 2021.
• A suspension of the Expression of Interest Process (a new process introduced under the policy) for the 2020–2021 event season, to enable a wider range of events to take place during the trial period with minimal additional approval requirements for promoters to follow.”
This updated policy now seeks to remove the Expression of Interest process altogether as it previously required event applications to apply up to 12 months in advance. Events will now be reviewed on a “first come, first served” basis.
A few more sad facts in respect to Fremantle’s events scene since COVID:
“Fremantle has lost two cornerstone festivals—St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, which relocated to Perth in search of a larger venue for up to 20,000 patrons, and Falls Festival, which returned briefly in 2023 but faced prohibitive increases in staffing, logistics, artist, and safety costs. The Falls Festival promoters subsequently announced an indefinite hiatus. The absence of these events has created a noticeable gap in Fremantle’s event calendar.”
Current 2025 – 2026 event fees are charged as follows (summarised from the policy):
• Venue hire fee of $1,000 – $15,400 per event, per day, depending on the venue and scale
• Standard bond: ranging between $500 to $50,000 based on the event and site conditions
• Ground restoration bond: $500 – $50,000 based on the event and site conditions.
The level of noise generated by these events are governed under the Environmental (Noise) Regulations 1997 and play a major part in whether the events are likely to be approved. During 2022-2025, the City received 25 complaints relating to noise from large and major events related to the policy. Investigation of the events by the City’s Environmental Health team confirmed that none of the events actually breached their permitted noise levels.
Engagement with internal and external stakeholders has been continuous since the City adopted the Commercial Events Policy in June 2021 to determine the policy’s efficacy. A formal consultation process has yet to occur given that sadly, annual events have not fully returned to Fremantle and thus the annual allocation of outdoor venue events has not been reached.
The officer report advises that “the Expression of Interest process has, to date, resulted in only two new events (Juicy Fest, and a new event which is yet to be announced publicly).”
To date, event organisers have advised that they wish to see the City:
• “Reduce regulatory burden and Council processes.
• Lower venue hire fees where possible.
• Shorten approval timeframes to allow for responsive programming.
• Create a more supportive environment for promoters operating in an already high-cost, high-risk industry.”
This updated policy will be open for public comment for 11 weeks over summer and invites both stakeholder and broader community input via workshops, surveys, and online engagement.
Cr Williamson-Wong did display her stripes from her involvement in the Community Emissions Reference Group and similar advocacy to move an amendment to ensure the policy referenced the Fossil Fuel Advertising and Sponsorships policy, which was carried. Not all councillors supported it as that policy will apply regardless of whether it is cited here or not, however. That question often pops up for local planning policies, and the quandary there is whether you ought to point out how nebulous the planning system can be in a single paragraph, or trust the reader to know that cross-referencing is a must when developing. Usually a note pointing out that the local planning scheme, City’s policy framework, and the Residential Design Codes apply as such and such.
Cr Sullivan remarked on the importance of the policy and considered that it has made things significantly easier for event organisers and City officers since its introduction in 2021.
Council unanimously resolved that it:
Endorse the proposed Outdoor Events Policy, as provided in Attachment 1, with an amendment to include the following dot-point under Clause 2 ‘Standards for Events’:
- To adhere to the City of Fremantle Policy – Fossil Fuel Advertising and Sponsorships.
to be advertised for public consultation.
REVIEW OF THE SHORT STAY ACCOMMODATION LOCAL LAW AND SIGNS, HOARDINGS AND BILLPOSTINGS MODEL LOCAL LAW
Following changes implemented at both City level and State Government level which affect virtually all local governments in Western Australia, the City now seeks to repeal the Short Stay Accommodation Local Law 2008 and the Local Government Model By-laws (Signs, Hoardings and Billposting), No. 13.
This work occurs as part of the grand tidy up associated with the Local Government Amendment Act 2024, under which the City of Fremantle must review any local laws due for a review within a two-year period, prior to 7 December 2026, unless they have been reviewed within the previous 8 years.
In respect to Short Term Rental Accommodation, which used to be known as “Short Stay”, previously exempt operations in many instances now require Planning Approval as a consequence. That’s a relief to many neighbours and an impost to all operators (excluding competitors).
The officer report sums it up best:
“As of 1 January 2025, the City’s Short Stay Accommodation Local Law no longer has effect following the introduction of a mandatory STRA Register under the Short-Term Rental Accommodation Act 2024, which centralises registration for all short-term rentals across WA.
This requires all hosted and unhosted accommodation to be registered before advertising or accepting bookings. Hosted accommodation is exempt from requiring planning approval, and unhosted accommodation, can operate for up to 90 nights per year without planning approval, and beyond this, planning approval is required.”
Changes to the City’s Local Planning Scheme have been introduced to reflect the changes and thus Amendment 88 to the scheme is being advertised as we speak on the City’s MySay page. Once that amendment is gazetted, the City will apply changes to its Local Planning Policy 1.7 – Exemptions and introduce new Local Planning Policy 2.27 – Unhosted Short-term Rental Accommodation.
As for signage, the current Local Law originally introduced in 1963 is now deemed largely redundant and is covered by other City instruments, principally:
• Local Planning Policy 2.14 (Advertisement Policy) – exterior signage on private property
• Activities in Thoroughfares and Public Places and Trading Local Law 2005 (signage in public places and thoroughfares.
Council unanimously resolved that:
1. Approves local public notice be given of the review of the Short Stay Accommodation Local Law 2008 and Local Government Model By-laws (Signs, Hoardings and Billposting) No.13 (Additional Information 3 and 4), in accordance with section 3.16 of the Local Government Act 1995, and invite public submissions for a minimum period of 6 weeks.
2. Approves local public notice to be given, in accordance with section 3.12 of the Local Government Act 1995, of its intention to make the City of Fremantle Short Stay Accommodation Repeal Local Law 2025 (Attachment 1), the purpose and effect of which is as follows:
Purpose: To repeal the City of Fremantle Short Stay Accommodation Local Law 2008
Effect: To repeal an obsolete local law within the City of Fremantle.
3. Approves local public notice to be given, in accordance with section 3.12 of the Local Government Act 1995, of its intention to make the City of Fremantle Local Government Model By-laws (Signs, Hoardings and Billposting), No. 13 Repeal Local Law 2025 (Attachment 2), the purpose and effect of which is as follows:
Purpose: To repeal the City of Fremantle Local Government Model By-laws (Signs, Hoardings and Billposting), No.13.
Effect: To repeal an obsolete local law within the City of Fremantle.
4. Notes that a further report will be presented to Council after the public submission period, including any submissions received and recommendations for adoption of the repeal local laws.
IN OTHER NEWS
The City also considered the Fremantle Park Caretaker Period (confidential discussion), mid-financial year budget amendments, and various financial contracts.
Thanks for reading on to the end, if you read it all or skimmed for your topic of interest.
Hopefully we’ll see you out and about now that the sun’s shining and there’s still plenty of interesting public forums on amidst the Biennale exhibitions, not least of all the DesignFreo “Carmaggedon” talk on the Fremantle Traffic Bridge at Tannock Hall on Thursday 27November and Politics in the Pub – Ending Homelessness on Tuesday 2 December!
Nighty night, Shipees!
* By Gayle O’Leary. If you’d like to catch up on more by Gayle here on Fremantle Shipping News, look right here!
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