Rarely a Dull Moment - What Happened at the Strategic & General Services Committee Meeting on 9 September?

Welcome back to our regular feature, Rarely a Dull Moment where we report on the highlights of City of Fremantle Council and occasionally Committee meetings and other 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 is well known to many Freo folk as a former Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillor of the City of Fremantle. Jenny brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her new role as our RADM reporter and we are sure Shipees will look forward to her regular RADM reports.

Here’s Jenny’s RADM report on the Strategic and General Services Committee meeting of 9 September 2026.

Welcome readers to our RADM report for the Strategic and General Services Committee Meeting of 9 September 2026. A modest mix of topics with not a great deal of discussion but two important items that relate to climate change. With no public in attendance, no petitions and no elected member communications, we move on …

THE HEADLINE STORY – CLIMATE

Item SGSC2609-3 DRAFT CLIMATE ACTION FRAMEWORK sought support for the draft Climate Action Framework …to establish the overall vision, principles and priorities for the City’s climate action and sustainability initiatives. The draft Climate Action Framework is intended as a corporate document that provides the strategic architecture connecting the priorities of the Strategic Community Plan and existing Council commitments regarding the Climate Emergency and Net Zero; to action plans, strategies and policies either existing or undergoing development within the City. A significant task given the current framework of science being undertaken on this topic.

The Climate Council has just released its report on Rising Seas, Rising Bills: How sea level rise will cost every Australian. The report provides some timely reading, and Fremantle was included in the area expected to be impacted by rising sea levels over the next few decades.

Just for information – a snapshot of the potential impacts in Western Australia was provided in the diagram below:

A minor deviation in this RADM, Dear Readers, to reflect on this topic locally … the effects of climate change and sea level rise have already induced erosion in areas of our local beaches, and particularly at Port Beach.

This was discussed recently at the Ordinary Council Meeting on 26 August (PSC2608-12 REQUEST FOR COMMENT ON THE METROPOLITAN REGION SCHEME AMENDMENT TO LIFT THE URBAN DEFERRED ZONE IN NORTH FREMANTLE), as we reported here.

The information from the Climate Council report includes:

• The UN projects tracking towards 2.8⁰ C global average rise if we continue under current policy scenarios(UNEP 2025)

• Around 91% of the excess heat caused by the burning of coal, oil and gas has been absorbed by the global ocean, mixing down into deep waters. This has caused the ocean to warm and expand, melted ice-sheets and glaciers and raised the global average sea level by at least 22 cm over the past century (CSIRO 2024).

• The ocean-ice system has massive inertia, so even if all climate pollution ceased today and atmospheric temperatures were stabilised, sea levels would keep rising for centuries because ice sheets and ocean depths take a longer time to respond and change. Because of this inertia, the amount of sea level rise we can expect by 2050 is already locked in. Australia can expect at least 14 cm of sea level rise by 2050relative to the ‘present day’ (2011-2030), because of the climate pollution that has already been released and the overheating that has already occurred (ACS 2026).

In referring back to the item on North Fremantle from the meeting of 26 August, it would seem critical that these issues are considered.

In contemplating future planning for such challenged areas, the Climate Council report reiterates planned retreat of exposed coastlines is recommended and to use protection (such as sea walls etc) should be a last resort. The funding for these expected works is unclear but is a critical consideration for local governments. There is also the potential liability of future impacts depending on how such projects are approved. And there are challenges for insurers, banks and owners in how to measure the risk and manage it.

The Fremantle Council’s view over many years has remained consistent on the Urban Deferred zone and planning for this North Fremantle precinct in general – that the “key matters that remain inadequately resolved to date are: • Coastal Planning / Development Setbacks • Integrated Transport Plan for North Fremantle”.

Back to Item 3 – the Climate Action Framework – which contemplates “that the new strategy be bespoke to the City of Fremantle and respond to existing Council commitments…..it would provide strategic guidance to prioritise, rationalise and integrate sustainability decision-making across the organisation. It would also provide more emphasis on climate change mitigation and adaptation, specifically carbon emission reduction at both the corporate level and in the community.”

It also reports that an annual Action Plan will “subsequently be developed in consultation with the City’s internal Sustainability Steering Group, prioritising deliverables that align with the key themes and desired outcomes of the Framework. Annual reporting against the Action Plan will be delivered to Council and communicated with the community”.

Certainly, these are significant considerations for Council. Cr Slaughter was keen to ensure that reporting on the Framework was done every two years, along with bringing the Annual Action Plan back to Council by December 2026. With her amendment moved and approved to achieve this, the item as a whole was then approved unanimously under Committee delegation.

In line with this theme, the Committee also considered Item SGSC2609-4 SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM UPDATE which reported on progress on the City’s Community and Corporate Emission Reduction Actions, endorsed the proposed Community Emission Reduction Actions for the 2026/2027 Financial Year, and noted the reporting on the Life Cycle Assessment pilot program and the intent to update LPP 2.13 with a sustainability checklist through the scheme renewal process.

Cr Sullivan queried what progress had been made with respect to the opportunity for electric car chargers as part of the pending South Fremantle project to underground power. The CEO, Glen Dougall responded that staff are looking at options of both independent third parties as well as Western Power to facilitate this, and that they are looking at sites that will allow local access at sites generally within walking distance from residents’ homes. The item was likewise approved unanimously under Committee delegation.

And everything else

For the three remaining items on the agenda, two were reports on petitions submitted to Council by residents. The first – Item SGSC2609-1 RESPONSE TO PETITION – TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES FOR HOPE STREET, WHITE GUM VALLEY – sought traffic calming measures in response to changes in traffic in the area. Staff recommended that the provision of traffic calming devices or a 40km/h speed zone on Hope Street, White Gum Valley will be considered in the development of the 5-year program to reduce vehicle speeds across the City and be assessed as part of the City’s annual budget process.

The second petition was in Item SGSC2609-2 RESPONSE TO PETITION – ROAD MARKING IN SOUTH FREMANTLE. This was another favourable outcome for residents, with Officers recommending that Committee supports the officer’s proposal to implement yellow line marking to the locations as detailed in the report and that officers will assess options in respect to introducing time restricted parking in the surrounding area. While Cr Graham noted that locals parking in front of Galati’s in Wray Ave were testing the already implemented system, he remarked that some shoppers commented “…oh bugger it – I’ll just zap in and risk it”. Cr Mofflin added he was pleased “to see some clarity on the area at the corner of South St and Hampton Rd” where many vehicles at the car rental juggle for space and access.

Both items were approved unanimously by under Committee delegation.

And lastly, Item SGSC2609-5 DRAFT COUNCIL POLICY – GRANTS AND SPONSORSHIP which considered two sections for this report – one, the revised Grants and Sponsorships Policyand the other, the Rates Exemptions and Community Group Rates Concessions Guidelines 2026/27. The final policy will be an important one for many community groups accessing important support from the City. The item was approved unanimously by the Committee and will now go on to the next Council meeting for final consideration.

Signed off at 6.31pm. Goodnight Freo.

*By Jenny Archibald