Rarely A Dull Moment - Natural areas, LPS 5, Outdoor Events, Samson Park, Stevens Street, Leighton Beach 30kph, CEO Survives Gongs

Welcome back to our regular feature, Rarely a Dull Moment where we report on the highlights of City of Fremantle Council meetings and activities. We would have titled the feature Never a Dull Moment, but didn’t want to overpromise!

In 2026, we are very pleased to welcome Jenny Archibald to the RADM desk. Jenny will be well known to many Freo folk as a former Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillor of the City of Fremantle. Jenny brings a wealth of experience to her new role as our RADM reporter and we are sure many Shipees will look forward to her regular RADM reports.

Welcome readers to our RADM report for the Ordinary Council Meeting of 25 February 2026. A relatively quiet affair with general agreement all round but covering some significant topics.

Public Question Time

To start the night off, Josephine Clarke of Friends of Cantonment Hill fame and representing the voice of all “Freo Friends” groups, put forward a request for one or two dedicated staff to support the City’s natural areas program, arguing that contract labour doesn’t provide continuity of local knowledge on best management for these areas. Covering more than 1,000 hectares, and being supported by many volunteers weekly, Josephine argued that such support was critical. This follows the not-so-encouraging staff response to the group’s question put at the recent AGM of Council by Jenny Thomas, also from the Friends of Cantonment Hill group. It is reported that 10,915 seedlings were planted in these natural areas by 8 Friends of groups during their planting days in 2025 – see Corporate Report July-December 2025 – Item C2602 – 20. Perhaps a topic worthy of Council consideration during the upcoming 26/27 budget discussions??

Petitions

Lyn Pritchie of Amherst Street, and representing a number of locals from the area, has petitioned for a pedestrian refuge at the intersection of High and Amherst streets. Following Cr Clarke’s “love it when people see a problem and find a solution”, the petition was presented by her to Council for consideration.

Elected Member Communication

The best of the night – Cr Graham, when prompted to comment on the recent WALGA Zone meeting, reports that there was “nothing much except for the (proposed) all-in all-out spill of all councils at the next (local government) election”. Mayor Lawver added – “that sounds like an interesting discussion” – and indeed it will be! WALGA is apparently seeking feedback from local authorities on a possible State Government initiative to “spill” all local government elected members at the next election cycle in 2027. Rumour has it that this process may involve discussion of some pretty hefty topics, including compulsory voting and alignment of local government elections to every four years.

Following invitation to mayors of our region, Mayor Lawver mentioned a catch up with US Senator and former Mayor of Richmond, Virginia, Tim Kaine (a former civil rights lawyer). The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how local communities may feel about the AUKUS program – the Mayor noted a “constructive conversation” was had…

Establishment of Planning Framework Committee

While not discussed in detail by elected members, this item is well worth noting. C2602-14 for the Establishment of Planning Framework Committee is to be chaired by Cr Williamson-Wong, with deputy chair Cr Sullivan. The committee’s task is to provide a forum for the preparation of a new Local Planning Scheme (LPS). The robustness of this new LPS (#5) will be critical for proactive planning for the City in the future. This is particularly so with the erosion by State Government of local planning decision making.

Cr Mofflin sought reassurance that members of this committee would set a timeline for its work so that Councillors “can hold themselves to account”. Relating to this important topic is the recent podcast by our FSN editor with renowned cultural heritage expert, Professor Richard McKay AM. When asked about future planning for Fremantle’s cultural heritage in the CBD, Richard suggests we might project over, say, a 50 year period and consider the cumulative impacts of planning approvals which currently may seem reasonable – definitely worth a listen.

Outdoor Event Policy

Then onto the revised Outdoor Event Policy C2602-15 which was approved unanimously – with several councillors arguing that this will likely provide greater flexibility for applicants and attract an increased variety of events. Cr Williamson-Wong noted that public feedback included comments seeking “fewer loud and alcohol driven events” and Cr Camarda reflected that a number of Fremantle businesses felt that the City wasn’t “sufficiently presenting its difference from other municipalities”.

And Everything Else

The Sir Frederick Samson Park Masterplan and Management Plan Project C2602-16 was finally approved – this has set the framework for the future upgrade, renewal and conservation works at Samson Park over the coming years.

And the much-discussed Stevens St Traffic Calming Project- change of design C2602-17 was finally concluded following minor amendments by Cr Williamson-Wong and Cr Sullivan to enhance it as a key east-west bike route.

A document always worth a read – the Corporate Plan Report C2602-20 for the July-December 2026 period – reported 227 development application approvals covering some $222m of proposed investment, urban canopy increase from 13% to 20%, and an impressive attendance at the Fremantle Aquatic Centre Health and Fitness Centre with completion of the gym upgrade – including an increase of 610% to 7,163 users.

On a lighter note, the Response to Petition – Leighton Beach Boulevard Speed Limit Reduction C2602-21. With this petition only presented to Council at its meeting of 11 February, the petitioners had outright success with approval not only from Council, but also from Main Roads, to reduce the speed to 30kph. An extraordinary turnaround!

The Acceptance of Minutes and Consideration of Motions from the Annual General Meeting of Electors Held Monday 2 February 2026 C2602-22 were approved. Of note was elected member support for, and comment on,several recommendations from Officers to work on issues relating to homelessness. These focussed on community safety initiatives, strengthening partnerships with outreach providers and advocating for improved mental health support services, as well as ongoing liaison with WA Police.

And finally – the CEO survived another review (CEO Performance Review Committee Report February 2026C2602-29), though the details remain confidential. That said, Cr Sullivan stated that the CEO was “enthusiastic about the next five years”. Lots of gongs given to the CEO and staff during the meeting.

Signed off at 7.18pm. Goodnight Freo.