Peter Carter says his fast-food purchases for children show his philanthropy as the mayor’s allowance gets hit

Town of Port Hedland mayor Peter Carter has hit back at councillors who voted to lower his $93,000 yearly allowance and criticised his contribution to the community, saying purchases of McDonald’s and Chicken Treat for youths were proof of his philanthropic side. At the July council meeting, the mayor’s annual allowance was cut from $93,375 to $80,000 by the council. Councillors David Eckhart and Jan Gillingham said they believed the original amount exceeded the effort that was being given by current mayor in the role. Cr Gillingham said the mayor had demonstrated poor behaviour during his time in office and public discontent with his performance had grown. “The standard we ignore is the standard we accept,” she said. Cr Eckhart said the mayor should be more accountable, show more leadership and have more transparency with the public. A 30-minute recess was called by the mayor during public question time when a resident, who was questioning the mayor’s performance, refused to sit after reaching the maximum number of questions he was allowed to ask. During the discussion on the allowance, Cr Gillingham questioned the mayor’s ability to answer questions and said it was common for previous mayors to donate a large amount of their allowance to the community. Cr Carter said the council would be surprised how much he gives back to the community and that his willingness to buy fast food for children in Port Hedland showed his commitment to the public. “The amount of money I spend on buying food for young children at the shopping centre on the weekend at McDonald’s or Chicken Treat; you’d be amazed at how much I spend on our community,” he said. As the deputy mayor’s allowance must be 25 per cent of the mayor’s allowance, that figure was also lowered from $23,345 to $20,000. Multiple councillors said that the adjusted deputy mayor’s allowance was not a reflection of the performance of the current office holder, Tim Turner.