As it happened: WA news on Monday, August 25

The Town of Port Hedland ’s mayor has resigned, citing continued dysfunction among councillors as the reason for his sudden departure.

Peter Carter’s resignation means the council no longer has the five members needed to form a quorum.

Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley said she had been monitoring the dysfunction and governance issues at the town “for some time”.

“I am currently considering the options available to me, including the appointment of a commissioner or commissioners,” she said.

“My priority is to ensure good governance for the Town of Port Hedland and that services continue to be delivered for the community.”

Carter was elected mayor in 2020 after the former council was dissolved for being left without quorum when he resigned as a councillor in 2019 during Camillo Blanco’s reign as mayor.

A WA man has been accused of driving a stolen vehicle through a service station, leaving a wake of flames in his path.

The 28-year-old Ryansbrook man has been charged with trespassing, stealing a motor vehicle, burglary and stealing over the incident which occurred around 12.15am on Sunday at a service station in Kojonup.

It’s alleged that after the crash, the man forced entry into the service station and stole a number of items. He was arrested a short time later and is due to appear in Albany Magistrates Court next month.

We’re bringing our live blog to a close for the day now, thank you for joining us.

Here’s a recap of some of the day’s headlines:

• A major investigation has been ordered into how an accused criminal managed to escape custody for more than 24 hours.

• West Australians heading to Bali have had their travel plans cut short after an engine issue forced an Air Asia flight to turn back last night.

• New figures have revealed that more families made use of the state government’s student assistance payments this year – increasing by nearly 8 per cent on 2024.

• A WA man has been accused of driving a stolen vehicle through a service station, leaving a wake of flames.

• One of the two court cases that have been standing in the way of a final decision over Woodside’s massive North West gas project has been adjudicated, three years after the process began.

• The Town of Port Hedland’s mayor has resigned, citing continued dysfunction among councillors as the reason for his sudden departure.

Thanks again for tuning in. We’ll see you back here tomorrow for more news you need to know.

The Town of Port Hedland ’s mayor has resigned, citing continued dysfunction among councillors as the reason for his sudden departure.

Peter Carter’s resignation means the council no longer has the five members needed to form a quorum.

Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley said she had been monitoring the dysfunction and governance issues at the town “for some time”.

“I am currently considering the options available to me, including the appointment of a commissioner or commissioners,” she said.

“My priority is to ensure good governance for the Town of Port Hedland and that services continue to be delivered for the community.”

Carter was elected mayor in 2020 after the former council was dissolved for being left without quorum when he resigned as a councillor in 2019 during Camillo Blanco’s reign as mayor.

A WA man has been accused of driving a stolen vehicle through a service station, leaving a wake of flames in his path.

The 28-year-old Ryansbrook man has been charged with trespassing, stealing a motor vehicle, burglary and stealing over the incident which occurred around 12.15am on Sunday at a service station in Kojonup.

It’s alleged that after the crash, the man forced entry into the service station and stole a number of items. He was arrested a short time later and is due to appear in Albany Magistrates Court next month.

West Australians heading to Bali have had their travel plans cut short after an engine issue forced an Air Asia flight to turn back last night.

The flight left Perth around 6.45pm, but shortly after, passengers said they saw flames coming out of the right-hand-side of the aircraft, and heard several loud bangs, before all lights in the cabin went black.

Air Asia confirmed the aircraft had suffered an engine failure, with the pilot forced to circle offshore near Rottnest Island several times, burning fuel, so the plane was a safe weight for landing.

The plane arrived back at Perth Airport safely around one hour later.

Most passengers have been rebooked on flights out this morning.