Premier Mark McGowan shares vision for Fremantle Port as hub for hotels, hospitality and even a film studio

Fremantle Port could be replaced with new hospitality offerings, hotels or even a film studio, according to Mark McGowan. The Premier yesterday announced plans that could see an outer harbour built in Kwinana by 2032, ending Fremantle’s era as a working port. Mr McGowan said a master planning process would first need to take place to determine what could go up in place of the historic Fremantle facilities. “We’ll do a master planning process, obviously, and it will take some years but proper hotels, hospitality, film studios, life activation is exactly what these areas are suited for and exactly what Fremantle is about,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is put something in place that is a long-term, visionary plan for WA. This harbour (Fremantle) is going to fill, it’s in the middle of a residential area … all you’ve got to do is get the traffic out and have a modern efficient port that meets the long-term needs of the State.” But Maritime Union of Australia WA branch secretary Christy Cain argued Fremantle had capacity to operate for another 50 years and that Mr McGowan should hang his head in shame over the outer harbour decision. “It is ludicrous to look at building an outer harbour when the world is in crisis and the Government could use the money to support the recovery from COVID-19,” Mr Cain said. “Entire industries are being shut down and Western Australians are out of work. We need to focus on protecting jobs and assisting the recovery. These issues are what is important to working-class people.” But Mr McGowan said there would be thousands of jobs created by building an outer harbour. “Construction jobs, transport jobs, maritime jobs, stevedoring jobs — it’s great for the State, an efficient port will be good for everyone,” he said. Ports Minister Alannah MacTiernan said there would be changes in the type of work done at a new port but there would, overall, be a generation of jobs. “Obviously we’re a trading nation — the vast majority of what we produce here in WA is traded internationally — so we need to be competitive if we are going to drive jobs right across the economy,” she said. “We’re also very confident that while there will be modernisation of the port, just as when we established the container port in the 1960s … that created a change in the types of jobs and the nature of jobs. Now that is obviously going to happen with the new model port. “The jobs won’t be exactly the same as they were in this port. But we are confident overall, both in the port sphere and in the economy generally, this will be a job creator.”