Latest news with #PeterCarter
West Australian
3 days ago
- Automotive
- West Australian
Supercars roll into Hedland for one-off community event
Port Hedland will get a rare taste of Supercars action when the Matt Stone Racing team stops in town for a special community event at Spoilbank Marina on Thursday June 12. Fresh off the track at Perth's Wanneroo Raceway, the Matt Stone Racing team is heading to Darwin for the next Supercars round. Driver Cameron Hill and the crew will stop in Hedland, giving locals the chance to meet the team and see their Gen3 Camaros up close. The free event runs from 9am to 11am and is supported by the Town of Port Hedland, MGM Bulk, and Bruce Rock Engineering. Mayor Peter Carter encouraged the community to come down and take advantage of the rare opportunity. 'Given how remote we are here in the Pilbara, it's not often we get the chance to host an event like this,' Mr Carter said. 'This is your chance to mingle and get photos with the cars, as well as chat to the drivers and team.' To keep the engines — and energy — running, there'll be free bacon and egg rolls on offer, with coffee available for purchase. The event promises to be a hit with car lovers and motorsport fans of all ages.
West Australian
29-05-2025
- Health
- West Australian
New GP clinic opens in South Hedland amid doctor shortage
A new general practice clinic has officially opened its doors in South Hedland, offering a much-needed boost as the region continues to grapple with a critical healthcare professional shortage. Hedland Medical Clinic is now accepting new patients and offers bulk-billing for concession card holders and children under 16. A locum GP is already on-site, with additional full-time doctors expected to join the practice — each contracted for a minimum of four years. The clinic received a $60,000 grant from the Town of Port Hedland's Economic Development and Diversification Fund, which supported fit-out costs to get the facility up and running. The Town of Port Hedland also manages 10 GP houses in the area, leased to medical providers at subsidised rates — a move to help improve doctor retention. In October 2024, the council slashed rates even further, in an attempt to make Hedland a more attractive destination for healthcare professionals. The clinic will soon expand its offerings to include pathology services, reducing the need for residents to travel long distances for basic tests. While the addition of the clinic is a big boost to the town's healthcare services, Rural Health West (RHW) data indicates Hedland and the Pilbara as a whole still have a significant shortage of doctors. In the RHW Annual Workforce Update , published July 2024, the Pilbara experienced the highest proportional movement out of the region, losing 17 GPs or 27.4 per cent of its workforce. The highest reported average clinical hours worked was also in the Pilbara region (44.9 hours per week), followed by the Goldfields region (41.8 hours per week), as was the case in the previous report. There are currently nine Pilbara general practitioner positions listed on Rural Health West, three of which are based in Hedland. Town of Port Hedland mayor Peter Carter said the clinic marked a significant milestone in improving the town's healthcare services. 'Access to reliable healthcare is one of the most critical services in any community, and especially in a regional town like ours where recruitment and retention of medical professionals is an ongoing challenge,' he said. 'By supporting the opening of this new GP clinic, we are delivering on our commitment to ensure all Hedland residents can access high-quality health services close to home.' Radiant Doctors Group business development manager Richard Sykes said he and his team were excited to be able to deliver quality family healthcare to the Hedland community. 'We are focused on family and community health and look forward to the Hedland community being able to access primary health care without extended wait times, which will also alleviate some pressure on our emergency department,' he said.
NZ Herald
22-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Kiwis part of lawsuit fighting for compensation from Singapore Airlines Flight 321
Carter Capner director Peter Carter said the firm was acting for 11 passengers but is also investigating claims for others who experienced significant psychological trauma. 'Many of our clients exhibit PTSD symptoms as a result of this terrifying mid-air experience,' he said. 'They thought they were going to die.' Carter said compensation was not available for PTSD unless it could be demonstrated to have caused a physical change in the passenger. 'To this end, our medical experts are utilising leading-edge brain scanning techniques to image brain abnormalities,' the lawyer said. 'We are optimistic to also be able to recover substantial damages for PTSD injuries for affected passengers, including those who have no other physical injuries.' The firm expected to present compensation demands to Singapore Airlines' insurers by September. Carter believes many passengers will receive awards for damages 'well in excess of $1 million'. If Singapore Airlines proves it had no part to play in the accident, its liability for proven losses for each passenger will be limited to US$180,000, the law firm claims. Carter said the firm believed, after an in-depth investigation, that pilots likely encountered a thunderstorm at too close a proximity as the plane passed over an area notorious for thunderstorm activity in the Intertropical Convergence Zone. 'Other planes took evasive action and changed direction, yet Flight SQ321 headed directly through the suspect area,' he said. 'Interim report confirms that the G-forces applied to passengers' bodies – including a drop in vertical acceleration from +1.35G to -1.5G – was sufficient to cause serious injury even to passengers restrained by a seat belt." The final accident report from the Singaporean Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) is expected to be released mid-year. A Singapore Airlines (SIA) spokesperson said the airline deeply apologised to all passengers and crew members for the traumatic experience on board flight SQ321 operating from London to Singapore on May 20. 'SIA continues to co-operate fully with the relevant authorities in the investigation into the SQ321 incident,' they said. 'We are also firmly committed to providing the necessary support and assistance to the affected passengers.' The airline spokesperson said SIA sent compensation offers directly to the passengers on June 10, 2024. 'While some passengers have accepted these offers, we continue to engage with the others directly or via their appointed representatives. 'We regret that we are unable to provide more details due to confidentiality reasons. The safety of our customers and staff remains SIA's top priority.'
Scoop
20-05-2025
- Scoop
Singapore Airlines Victims Suffering One Year After Tragedy - $1m Plus Payouts Expected
On May 21, 2024, Singapore Airlines Flight 321 carrying many Australians, while flying between London and Singapore hit what the airline labelled at the time 'clear air turbulence' over Myanmar, injuring more than 70 people and killing one. One year later, an Australian law firm with extensive expertise in passenger compensation for aviation accidents has revealed it is still conducting medical evaluations for passengers to determine the extent of their various injuries. Director of Carter Capner Law Peter Carter, who is also a former president of the Aviation Law Association, said the firm was acting for 11 passengers but is also investigating claims for many others who have no physical injury but have experienced significant psychological trauma. 'Many of our clients exhibit PTSD symptoms as a result of this terrifying mid-air experience. 'They thought they were going to die,' he said. Mr Carter explained that there is no compensation available for PTSD unless it can be demonstrated it has caused some physical change in the passenger. 'To this end, our medical experts are utilising leading-edge brain scanning techniques to image brain abnormalities. 'We are optimistic to also be able to recover substantial damages for PTSD injuries for affected passengers including those who have no other physical injuries.' The firm expects to present compensation demands to the airline's insurers by September, with Mr Carter believing that many passengers will receive awards for damages 'well in excess of US$1 million.' If Singapore Airlines proves it had no part to play in the accident, its liability for proven losses for each passenger will be limited to US$180,000. However Mr Carter said his firm's belief after an in-depth investigation is that the pilots likely encountered a thunderstorm at too close proximity as it passed over an area notorious for thunderstorm activity in the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone. 'Other planes took evasive action and changed direction, yet Flight SQ321 headed directly through the suspect area.' He said the interim report confirms that the G-forces applied to passengers' bodies – including a drop in vertical acceleration from +1.35G to -1.5G - was sufficient to cause serious injury even to passengers restrained by a seat belt. The final accident report from the Singaporean Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) is expected to be released mid-year.
West Australian
12-05-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Marathon Port Hedland council meeting sparks fiery public question time over governance, accountability
The Town of Port Hedland's May 7 ordinary council meeting stretched out to five hours, following the collapse of the previous meeting on April 30, which was adjourned due to a failure to meet quorum . Much of the extended session was dominated by an hour-and-a-half of public questions and statements — with residents demanding answers on governance standards, councillor attendance, and mayor Peter Carter's commercial interests. One community member raised the question to Cr Carter: 'What documentary evidence or declarations of interest, if any, have you, Mayor Carter, provided to the town regarding your private commercial interests in sea container housing or dealings with Vietnam-based entities?' Cr Carter responded with 'none at all', before asking the community member to repeat the question, in which a point of order was called by Cr Camilo Blanco. 'Can we go back to good governance Mr Mayor, a point of order was called, I'm assuming you asked for the question again for clarification and now you must come back to the point of order, and make sure you give yourself a determination on the original point of order, please, before you go back to answering any questions,' Town of Port Hedland deputy mayor Ash Christensen said. 'That's just simple and basic principles of running this meeting, please.' Mr Carter took the question on notice. The community member posing the question then said: 'Can I take that if it it's taken on notice, that means you do have an interest.' To which Cr Carter replied: 'I said I would take it on notice, sit down, I've answered your question.' Another member of the public raised the issue of councillor absence at council meetings. 'Boycotting council meetings can have several consequences: governance disruption, public trust erosion, legal and ethical concerns under the legal framework and responsibilities in Western Australia,' they said. 'Under the Local Government Act, elected members are expected to attend meetings regularly and participate in decision making processes. 'Hedland does not require people to be consistently absent, we need a leader that is present, leadership starts at the top.' No reply was given in relation to this statement at the council meeting.
