ANTI-AUKUS campaigners have returned to Fremantle council, accusing defence authorities of failing to deliver on promises made after last year’s electors’ meeting.

Speaking at the City of Fremantle’s AGM of electors on Monday night, Stop AUKUS WA representative Leonie Lundy said the community was still waiting for answers. 

“At the 2025 AGM a motion was passed for council to support holding an AUKUS public meeting,” she said.

“One would have thought Defence would quickly jump at council’s paving the way for it to attempt to garner some semblance of ‘social licence’ — Not so!”

Ms Lundy said it had taken eight months for the Australian Submarine Agency to hold a session in Fremantle, which she described as inadequate. 

“It was announced with less than two weeks’ notice and was largely a spruik of the AUKUS submarine program and the importance of ‘nuclear stewardship’. It ticked their box,” she said.

“We were assured… that we would receive a written response to the various questions we’d submitted prior to the meeting. Four months down the track, irrespective of repeated requests and reminders, we are still waiting.”

• Fremantle mayor Ben Lawver joined Stop AUKUS WA protestors for a photo before they headed in to the electors’ AGM. Photo by Steve Grant

She said the meeting also failed to include key participants they’d requested including federal Labor MP Josh Wilson and a defence policy spokesperson, while their call for a First Nations representative and members of various anti-nuclear groups to go on the panel were ignored.

Ms Lundy warned of local risks from nuclear-powered submarines. 

“WA defence industry minister Paul Papalia has confirmed the remote safe anchorage is Gage Roads,” she said. 

“Hence any nuclear powered submarine experiencing a radiation leak would be towed straight past Fremantle — only several kilometres from here. The impact on Cockburn Sound would be catastrophic.”

Catastrophic

She said the community deserved a proper forum. 

“Undeniably AUKUS impacts on public health and safety, social well being, marine ecology, our environment and our community economy,” she said. 

“The community has a right to hear all sides of the argument, to be consulted, receive factual and honest answers and have a voice.”

Ms Lundy asked the city to back a new meeting. 

• Stop AUKUS WA targets a UWA Defence and Security Institute gathering at the Left Bank, which was partly hosted by the UK government. Photo supplied

“Will The City of Fremantle please support and agree to work with us… to convene a proper public meeting consistent with the 2025 AGEM motion… preferably to be held in the Fremantle Town Hall in late April or May 2026?” she said.

The day after the AGM, Stop AUKUS held a protest outside the Left Bank hotel in East Fremantle where UWA’s Defence and Security Institute was holding its regular “think and drink”, which she believes was partly hosted by the UK government. 

“We believe it is all in view of spruiking the UK’s presence,” said.

“There is a UK Astute nuclear powered sub on its way to Australia at the moment,” she said. 

“So it is basically get out there and promote how wonderful it is to have the UK looking after us again, back down under, as if our colonial past wasn’t enough, right?”

Ms Lundy said unanswered questions about nuclear waste were also fuelling concern. 

Waste

“Because the nuclear waste facility… isn’t built yet or up and running or operational… we don’t know if, during this sort of operations maintenance, they’re going to be generating any low level waste there,” she said. “But look as usual, no more secrecy, no more lies. We’re not getting the answers.”

She said campaigners were returning to council because last year’s motion had not been properly actioned. 

“That’s why tonight we’re taking this motion,” she said. 

“Well, yeah, it’s really a question, because we already had the motion passed last year, so we’re taking it back to council saying, so given all that’s happened, will you now support us having a proper public meeting.”

by STEVE GRANT