While no-one is surprised by dirty political games these days, WA’s Premier Knit-Wit Cook, aside from calling American Vice President JD Vance a “Nob”, has it in for the Pt Hedland Council, and especially those pesky Councillors who want to tell the world the truth about the shonky Covid jabs, or keep the Council’s activities transparent and accountable.
Following on with Cairns News’ knitting theme, Chief Knit-Wit Premier Roger Cook who thinks they only knit in Pt Hedland, (failing to realise that made him Chief knitter!) wants to again dissolve the Pt Hedland Council (by fair means or foul) in order to get rid of those naughty knitters embarrassing the Chief Cooker. Anyone with a political brain can see he’s doing some Premier manoeuvring to rid himself of them.
Chief Knit-Wit Cook and the Mayor Peter Carter there are cooker buddies and determined to get rid of the four naughty “knitters” on council. Out of nine councillors that started, after resignations, there are now six. The Mayor and one other knit together nicely, and generally oppose the other four who, aside from leading the wake-up of Australian councils re Covid, truly want to advance Pt Hedland economically.
Most of all, Chief Knit-Wit Cook wants to nobble, or dissolve the council to rid himself of two of the naughtiest knitters Cr Adrian McRae and ex Mayor and businessman Cr Camilo Blanco (Milo). They are real thorns in his side, or pains in the Chiefs’ proverbial. Chief Knit-Wit’s taken every opportunity to take pot-shots at McRae, and he’s long been upset with Blanco for putting Pt Hedland in a solid financial position years ago when he rated the big miners, so the small businesses were no longer the only ratepayers carrying the rate can.
Blanco is articulate, and when the big miners challenged in court and lost, he stood his ground, and oversaw the Pt Hedland Council raise their revenue from around $15m to c. $75m. It’s the biggest bulk commodity export port in the world, worth $billions to WA and Australia.
However, this didn’t cut it with the State Govern-mental players. The big miners told the State if they were paying Council rates they weren’t going to pay the State rent for their mining land. At that time, Blanco received a visit from the Chief Mates demanding he reverse the situation. He sent them packing and stood his ground.
After “complaints”, with a bit of inside dealing and manouvering (2019) the State got what they wanted – a dissolution of Council. Rumours are that the State met with Councillors promising certain favours upon resignation, with at least three refusing. (It’s a matter of record as one councillor who resigned aired it at the last public meeting chaired by the Commissioner (administrator)). In amongst all this, Pt Hedland was the only council in the State where elections were (conveniently) suspended.
In any case, the State government was able to suspend council pending an inquiry, and then dissolve council when Councillor (now mayor) Peter Carter, conveniently resigned to force a “no quorum” position. What was he promised??
A Commissioner was appointed to manage the Council and in early 2021 Peter Carter was made “interim mayor” before the elections at the end of that year, where he was elected. Promises kept???
But things didn’t go their way. The “accountables” voted to reduce Councillors’ allowances, which took the mayoral allowance from $150k to $100k.
However worst of all, especially for Chief Knit-Wit Cook who was the Health Minister throughout Covid, was the Pt Hedland Covid motion which is sure to reverberate.
In the run-up to the WA election (8/3/25), Adrian McRae thought he might tip his hat at the WA Legislative Council (WALC) (upper house), but in order to do this, upon winning he would have to resign from Pt Hedland Council.
So, what’s Cookin? The Mayor, Peter Carter, has denied he’s been putting it out that he’d resign to force a Commissioner (himself!!??) to be appointed if McRae won the WALC seat. This would force the dissolution of Council on the basis there is no quorum – the dream of he and the Chief Knit-Wit to rid themselves of the lot.
Since he’s a businessman from Pt Hedland and that region is his first allegiance, Adrian McRae withdrew from standing for the WALC. He had an excellent chance of success given his high profile for standing up to corruption and Covid misinformation – not to mention the Premier Cooker!
The two cookers sniffing in the cauldron’s smoke thought they had McRae – that he’d resign, and they could dissolve Council.
They’d then be rid of the naughtiest knitters who are leading the unravelling of the Covid scam by showing other LGA’s Australia-wide how they were roped into being complicit. The Chief Knit-Wit himself compliantly promoted the bio-weapon jabs, so the Pt Hedland Council action will ultimately come back to bite Cook. Then, Mayor Carter has his own issues – a prior no-confidence vote and other history, including a deformation action against Blanco, who we hear just might be able to prove what he said was true. So these two are a marriage made in Knit-Wit heaven, naturally drawn to cover each other’s bums any which way.
Like Cr Blanco, Cr McRae is a businessman, has skin in the game when it comes a healthy Pt Hedland economy, and understands the needs of the community – as it seems, do the other two renegades of which the Chief Knit-Wit and his Mayor Mate want to rid themselves.
What dirty tricks can we expect after the elections, especially if the Chief Knit-Wit Cook gets in again?
For now at least, it’s Check-mate, Chief Knit-Wit and Mayor Mate! They wouldn’t have expected McRae to stand down (if he won, he must resign from council), but he put Pt Hedland first. They’ll have to go back to knitting up more conspiracies to dissolve the Council, but even if Chief Knit-Wit Cook gets in on 8/3/25, the climate is a changing, and I don’t mean the weather. People are waking up, and Cook’s international diplomacy manner, such as calling American Vice President JD Vance a “Nob”, might even incur a “tariffic” Trumpian tax that affects Pt Hedland and WA! Check-mate again??
Watch out for these State knitters knitting up conspiracies, throwing more mud, denigrating Pt Hedland council and councillors by putting it out that it’s hatred and vendettas to forcefully dissolve it. Could it just be that they don’t like the accountability and transparency! Good local people have stood up as Councillors, made Pt Hedland independent of the State finances, and are getting battered by the State for it.
