Town of Port Hedland mayor Peter Carter resigns from school board after scandalous webcam call

The mayor of a WA council has resigned from his local school board after he was seen being fed strawberries by a woman in a Vietnam hotel room during an online meeting. Town of Port Hedland mayor Peter Carter apologised for the “stupid mistake”, admitting he accidentally left his camera on during the Microsoft Teams meeting on March 31. Mr Carter said he had not seen a screengrab or recording of the vision so was unsure what had been broadcast, but confirmed he quit the Hedland Senior High School board this week after being asked to by principal Janine Keall. “It’s an embarrassing situation,” Mr Carter said. “Do I wish it never happened? Absolutely. It’s not a good look. It’s not the reputation that I want, put it that way.” Mr Carter said he was told a board member had complained about “inappropriate behaviour” but he had “no idea” what was seen by those who took part in the meeting, which included representatives from the big iron ore miners. He declined to say who the woman in the vision was but he had been assured by the school principal that there was no nudity broadcast. “That’s personal. It’s no one’s business who it was. If it was my wife, my girlfriend, fiancee — it doesn’t matter,” the mayor said. Mr Carter said he was in the meeting for about five to 10 minutes before leaving due to the “really bad connection” that stopped him from hearing what other board members were saying. He said he was told about the incident about a month later and he had wanted to attend the next meeting to apologise in person, but was advised that he should resign. “I didn’t want to resign. I wanted to come to the board meeting and apologise to people who saw ... because it was embarrassing,” Mr Carter said. “You don’t do it intentionally. I mean, you don’t go and do that stuff. It’s just embarrassing, a stupid mistake.” Mr Carter was elected mayor in 2020 and re-elected for another four years last October. He said he would not quit the council. Education Department director-general Lisa Rodgers confirmed a complaint was received by the board chair and principal about what appeared to be inappropriate conduct during an online board meeting. “What was seen did not appear on the screens of the board chair and principal. As soon as the complaint was received, the principal acted. The board member was asked to resign and did so,” she said. Education Minister Sue Ellery added: “I understand that when Mayor Carter was first made aware of the incident that he had broadcast into the school board meeting, he did not offer to resign. It appears he did not appreciate that the broadcast made his school board position untenable, which is disappointing.”