Independent to run in Freo as teals move beyond Perth’s western suburbs

Fremantle business owner Kate Hulett is set to challenge Labor Minister Simone McGurk as an independent in the upcoming state election, as the teal movement spreads from Perth’s affluent western suburbs.

Community group ‘Voices4Freo’ will formally announce the Kate and Abel store owner’s candidacy at a launch in Fremantle on Friday after a six-month consultation process.

Voices4Freo is expected to formally announce Kate Hulett’s candidacy at a launch in Fremantle on Friday.

The Fremantle Citizen of the Year nominee sits on the local government’s tourism, retail and hospitality marketing body and is heavily embedded in the port city’s arts community.

Hulett said she had been given a mandate to take the community’s concerns to state parliament, claiming constituents felt Labor had turned a blind eye as it grappled with the rising cost of living and concerns around climate change.

“Fremantle feels completely ignored by Labor — as a community, we’re not prepared to let our magnificent port city crumble as those in power look away,” she said.

“Fremantle is on the front line of a housing crisis, a cost of living crisis, and a climate crisis – all of which Labor has completely failed to address.

“Labor doesn’t seem to care about Freo, but Freo really, deeply cares. I’m ready, I’m willing, and I’m listening.”

McGurk staunchly defended her record as the local member of more than a decade, insisting she was constantly advocating for the community and touting the value of Fremantle having a senior member of government.

The Minister for Water, Industrial Relations and Training and Workforce Development pointed to infrastructure upgrades, housing reform and the government’s cost of living measures; from electricity rebates to free public transport.

And she also stood by the government’s record on the environmental front, lauding its plan to retire state-run coal-fired power stations by 2030, its investment in renewables, the native logging ban and the plan to phase out single-use plastics.

“I won the seat of Fremantle from a chaotic Green-turned-Independent. Ever since, I’ve worked hard to both listen and respond to the concerns of my community, and I’ve never taken it for granted,” she said.

“Since being elected, the Labor Government has committed hundreds of millions of dollars towards new infrastructure – including a new police station, a new traffic bridge, upgrades to Fremantle Hospital and to local schools.

“We’re also transforming Victoria Quay and continuing with our commitment to manage freight and traffic by stopping Roe 8 and Roe 9 and planning for a new modern port.

“Of course there is always more to be done, but I’m proud to be part of a state government with experience and runs on the board – and one that knows how special Fremantle is.”

Water Minister Simone McGurk has held the seat since 2013.Credit: 9 News Perth

The announcement comes as the teal movement which swept the country during the federal election in 2022 gains ground in the west, but marks a shift in strategy.

At a state level, the movement has been concentrated in the once blue-ribbon seats of the western suburbs, from which federal teal Kate Chaney rose to power.

The seat of Fremantle, which takes in the suburbs of Beaconsfield, Hilton, Hamilton Hill, Spearwood and North Coogee, has been a Labor stronghold for almost a century.

The seat was briefly held by Greens candidate-turned-independent Adele Carles after Labor was outpolled at the 2009 by-election.

But Labor’s McGurk won the seat from the independent in the 2013 election and has retained it with a 23 per cent margin.

Hulett is the latest woman to nominate as an independent candidate ahead of the March poll.

Last month, City of Stirling councillor Lisa Thornton announced she would challenge Perth Lord Mayor and Liberal candidate Basil Zempilas and Labor member Christine Tonkin in Churchlands as an independent; where Chaney garnered support in the 2022 federal election.

Nedlands has also gained a community independent in Rosemarie de Vries, with the Subiaco councillor also running against businessman Liberal candidate Jonathan Huston in what had been a safe blue-ribbon seat until the Labor bloodbath in 2021.

Labor’s candidate is Mary Monkhouse, with Nedlands MP Katrina Stratton — who came to power when the seat fell to Labor for the first time in its history — preparing for a move to the upper house.

Sarah Howlett is running as an independent for Midland.

And family GP Rachel Horncastle will face off against former executive director of the Property Council’s WA branch Sandra Brewer in Cottesloe, one of only two lower house seats retained by the Liberals at the last election.

Member for Cottesloe David Honey held on to the seat with a 7.4 per cent margin.

Thornton, de Vries and Horncastle have each publicly declared funding contributions to their campaign war chests, something Chaney made of a point of doing as part of a push for greater transparency on political donations.

Those declarations show they have garnered financial support from Climate 200, the political funding vehicle founded by Australian businessman and political activist Simon Holmes a Court.

The organisation backs independents who advocate for climate change, as well as political integrity and gender equality.

Hulett graduated from the University of Western Australia with a degree in Psychology, Philosophy and Fine Art in 2000 and spent more than a decade working in marketing and communications overseas before establishing her business in Fremantle in 2013.

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