Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge has been appointed Acting Perth Lord Mayor following the election of Basil Zempilas to State Parliament.
Section 25.4.1 of the City of Perth Act 2016 stipulates that in the case of a Lord Mayor vacating the seat, the Mayor of Western Australia’s second city, Fremantle, automatically assumes the position.
Lord Mayor Fitzhardinge will hold the role until a new Lord Mayor can be elected in the October local government elections.
“It’s an honour to step into role of Perth Lord Mayor and also to congratulate Basil on his election not only to State Parliament, but also as Leader of the Opposition.
“Given Basil managed to juggle his job at Seven West Media and his campaign for the seat of Churchlands, all while holding the role of Lord Mayor, I don’t think I’ll find that being Mayor of Perth and Freo at the same time is too difficult. Women are renowned for multi-tasking, after all.”
The Lord Mayor said she would not accept any payment for her new role as Perth Lord Mayor, but said she would happily bring the Ore Obelisk, affectionately known as the ‘Rock Kebab’, to Fremantle, in lieu of payment.
She named a number of possible locations for the world-renowned artwork, such as outside the Fremantle Council building at Walyalup Koort, in Esplanade Park or in front of Fremantle Prison.
Lord Mayor Fitzhardinge said she also was keen to bring Fremantle’s reputation as a city of the arts to Perth.
“While Perth City remains unrivalled in the art of spontaneous public ballet dancing around major landmarks, I’m looking forward to bringing some Fremantle know-how in the arts to the City, beginning with a new public artwork.
“Freo people and visitors alike love getting a selfie down at the Containbow, so I think it’s time Perth looked beyond the Belltower as its major selfie landmark. I think moving the Blue Boathouse from Mounts Bay Road to Elizabeth Quay would be a great start,” she said.
Lord Mayor Fitzhardinge said she would also like to bring a Freo major sporting event to the city.
“With a rich history of sports ranging from John Gerovich’s iconic mark for Souths to the America’s Cup in the 80s, I think Perth could benefit from our great Freo sporting heritage. Later this year I will bring the annual hacky-sack and slacklining championships from South Beach to Kings Park, and in keeping with the City of Light theme, I will be working with Tourism WA to bring the 2026 World Fire-twirling World Fire-twirling Games to Perth.”
