SOUTH FREO’S vice president says they’re a team to keep an eye out for in 2025 after a rebuild, with their sights set on rejoining the finals after finishing a disappointing sixth last year.  Bulldogs’ VP Anthony Van Der Wielen is confident the team will have what it takes to be a finals-worthy competitor: “We…

AT the time of the Chook’s publication the WA Electoral Commission still had not called who had won  Fremantle, where the vote count is on a nail-biting knife’s edge.  A shock win by independent Kate Hulett would be a huge disappointment for Simone McGurk, who has held the seat for the last 12 years.  But…

TWO potted lemon trees have caused public outcry after the City of Fremantle placed them in front of a popular sleeping spot for Freo’s homeless population. Fremantle resident Sarah Davis says she was “mortified” and “deeply upset” to see the trees in front of the vacant Hungry Jacks building in an effort to prevent homeless…

THE City of Perth will investigate a night-time park curfew following a rise in anti-social behaviour. At the council’s recent ordinary meeting, deputy lord mayor Bruce Reynolds flagged the harsh measure in response to resident complaints about “disruptive and unsafe” behaviour in Wellington Square and Victoria Gardens. “Issues such as public drinking, drug use, violence,…

BILLIONAIRE mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has been given the go-ahead to erect a sign five times the size allowed by Perth council’s planning rules after lord mayor Basil Zempilas intervened in the approval of a much smaller version. Hancock Prospecting was given temporary approval for a 40sqm sign at its Ventnor Avenue headquarters…

WA’s GREENS are calling for an environmental review of AUKUS’s impact on Cockburn Sound.  The Greens and the Conservation Council of WA say there have been no assessments of the impacts of dredging WA-controlled waters to take Australia’s proposed fleet of nuclear-powered submarines and visits from US and UK vessels. The Department of Defence is…

AN East Fremantle park was closed this week after the discovery of asbestos. The local council says asbestos was detected in the Silas Street Dog Park mid-February, when residents were advised of the Park’s closure.  Mayor Jim O’Neill says the threat to public health is low, but the park will be closed “until further notice”…

THE recent misogynist rant by an eastern states radio shock jock is yet another reminder that many Australian men still have not grown up to accept women as their equals.  The attack on the Matildas national soccer team was as insulting as it was ridiculous.  The bloke obviously likes the men’s game better.  Yep, if…

THE Maritime Union of Australia will strike this weekend over claims vulnerable workers are being exploited on a bunkering vessel at Fremantle Port. The MUA’s WA branch say that workers aboard the Absolute, which is owned by multination oil and gas company BP, have had their pay cut by nearly $10,000 since marine services company…

A NEW tradition kicks off at Hilton Park later this month when two historic football clubs go head to head in a festival celebrating Sicilian culture. Fremantle City Football Club and Balcatta Etna FC will showcase both clubs’ men’s and women’s teams on the same day, which Fremantle’s vice president Sam Tomeo says is a…