A surprise announcement this week caused discontent among many locals in the region who believe they should have been consulted before our northern-most township was named Capital of the Whitsundays.
Following discussions at a state level, all regions in Australia are now being asked to nominate a capital town as part of a nationwide movement that will see individual regions work more autonomously and with a more centralised approach.
The decision has been made using such credentials as which township showcases the best beaches, provides the most industry and income for its region, has the friendliest townsfolk and is generally better than the other towns in the region.
Mr Loof from Airlie Beach said that he has resided in the Whitsundays for 20 years and believes it should have been Airlie Beach instead.
“This must be a joke!” he said.
“Airlie Beach is the best town by far – we are the gateway to the Whitsundays – we have all the restaurants, bars and nightlife – we are the most progressive place to live by far!”
Ms Jan Kidd from Proserpine disagreed, saying that they should have picked a country town that is steeped in history and has a wealth of farming knowledge.
“Proserpine was the first town in the Whitsundays and therefore should be the one named as its capital,” she said.
A resident from Collinsville also voiced her concerns, stating that the mining town of Collinsville always gets overlooked when in fact it is the one bringing in all the money for the region.
“We have the mines here in Collinsville - it is all our hard work that makes the rest of the region rich, so we should be the best – I will be complaining about this for sure!” said Ms Longnose.
Meanwhile, many locals and business owners in Bowen are celebrating the news and welcoming the special treatment which will undoubtedly follow.
“This news is great for our town and finally means that we have an answer to the age-old question about which town in the Whitsundays is the best - now we all know it is Bowen,” said Mr Gotya.
“Hopefully this will mean that we get a larger portion of state and federal funding – because we deserve it!”
It seems that so far this rash move by the state is only breeding contention and divisive behaviour which is the opposite of its original intention.
Due to the uproar that has ensued, the state is asking for residents to stop calling directly on the matter and to please submit all correspondence in a calm and orderly fashion through the proper means and send all letters directly to aprilfoolsjoke@state.gov.au.
“This news is great for our town and finally means that we have an answer to the age-old question about which town in the Whitsundays is the best - now we all know it is Bowen,” said Mr Gotya.
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