What made the news in Cockburn – 5-12 December 2025

Friday 12 December:
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers  has given the green light for the South Korean defence conglomerate Hanwha to take a larger stake in the Australian Henderson-based shipbuilder Austal, after months of protracted deliberations that saw the government consult national security agencies while walking a diplomatic tightrope with Japan.
Read the Treasurer’s statement.

The Jandakot Transperth bus depot will soon support a major fleet of electric buses as part of the Cook Government's commitment to phasing out diesel buses.
A $9.6 million contract has been awarded to JET Charge for the installation of EV charging equipment to support up to 90 electric buses at the Jandakot bus depot.

Henderson-based business Franmarine Underwater Services and O'Connor’s Safer Swimming Australia will deliver an enclosure at Bathers Beach in Fremantle starting next week.
The State Government committed up to $500,000 to the City of Fremantle for the installation of the beach enclosure as part of WA's shark hazard mitigation strategy. Coogee Beach also has an enclosure funded by the City of Cockburn.

The last thing snorkel enthusiast Harriet Fitzgerald expected to find as she walked waist deep out of the water at Catherine Point was a mobile phone. But she did!

Thursday 11 December:
It may soon become harder to prune or remove trees in the City of Cockburn.
he council voted unanimously without debate at its December 9 meeting to introduce a tree protection policy under which the city’s approval will be needed for works such as the removal or pruning of some trees on private property.
See the City’s Media Release on our website.

A veteran WA fish and chips business owner has pulled the pin on the classic Aussie meal after 17 years, declaring the business is “too hard to scale” and “no longer profitable” amid soaring costs.
Danny Arnold, the man behind the popular Fishy Fishy Aubin Grove, has ran five fish and chip shops across WA and said the industry shifted dramatically after 2023 as interest rates, power bills and food costs surged. “I stopped doing fish and chips in Aubin Grove. I sold the last shop and now my focus is on donuts”.
 
Four City of Cockburn businesses have shared in $2.4m matched funding from the State Government’s Local Capability Fund's Digital Transformation Round.
A hundred WA small and medium-sized enterprises will be able to invest in digital tools and systems that improve productivity, efficiency, resilience, and safety.
Local businesses to benefit are CADDS Group Pty Ltd and OLEOLOGY of Henderson, FRESH FOOD INDUSTRIES of Jandakot and SQP ENGINEERING of Bibra Lake.
 
A total of 55 schools across Western Australia, including two from the City of Cockburn, will share in $150,084 in WasteSorted Schools Grants to help fund projects that reduce the impact of waste, improve recycling, and support a circular economy.
Hammond Park Catholic Primary School will receive $1,477.58 to purchase four raised garden beds, vegetable seeds, tools and soil to close the loop on its organic recycling. Perth Waldorf School in Bibra Lake will use a $5,000 grant to purchase machinery that will turn old plastic, such as bottle lids, into new and practical items. 

Wednesday 10 December:
At the City of Cockburn’s Ordinary Council Meeting on Tuesday 9 December, Council adopted several recommendations, including a Tree Protection Policy.
For more information, see the Agenda.
Please note that due to Council decisions, some items that appear in the Agenda may not have been carried as recommended. Updated decisions will be detailed in the Minutes on the City’s website once published in about 10 working days.

When the sliding doors at Perth Airport open, welcoming Grace Barbé back home to her adopted city, she feels grounded, comfortable and keen to reconnect with her close-knit family and community, including some special pockets of Cockburn.
Grace is Quinessentially Cockburn!

Retired Fremantle Dockers gun Nat Fyfe has given an answer on his desire to return to football and gave a peek into his post-retirement life during a surprise visit from AFL legend Sam Newman.

A crash in Perth’s south has closed a major road, adding to a spate of incidents causing major traffic delays around the metropolitan area. An incident involving a tilt tray truck on Farrington Road around 9.10am has resulted in the closure of all eastbound lanes.

Tuesday 9 December:
The AUKUS defence pact with the US and the UK is full steam ahead, after months of uncertainty.

Monday 8 December:
The Fremantle Dockers have secured star forward Eden Zanker in one of the biggest deals of the AFLW trade period, with Melbourne teammate Lily Johnson also joining the Dockers.

As part of West Tech Fest at Curtin University until 12 December, the State Government has also announced 21 recipients for the latest rounds of the Innovation Booster Grant and Commercialisation Bridge Grant, including a Bibra Lake company that manufactures vanadium flow batteries for residential solar installation.

Friday 5 December:
Five public schools across Western Australia, including Lakeland Senior High School, have been awarded for their creativity and ingenuity in the Minister's Innovation Challenge 2025.