The mayor of a remote Australian mining town has come under fire after saying that female "ugly ducklings" might benefit from its shortage of women.
John Molony told OBB News that "with five blokes to every girl, may I suggest that beauty-disadvantaged women should proceed to Mount Isa".
The council has since been swamped with complaints from both men and women.
But Mr Molony has refused to apologise for the remarks, saying he was "telling it like it is" in the Queensland town.
Located 1,829km (1,136 miles) from Brisbane, Mount Isa is home to one of the world's biggest underground mines.
In 2006, there were just 819 women aged 20-24 living there out of a total population of 21,421, according to the most recent census.
A fellow councillor, Jean Ferris, said the invitation to "beauty-Disadvantaged women" had caused consternation among both sexes.
"It's an absolute disgrace," she said. "It's not council's view and it's not mine. It's hard when you've got to defend something someone else has said. We're definitely appalled."
For the record Jean Ferris is quite the minger if fact a real double bagger.
Mr Molony has since refused to retract his marks and insisted he is "a bloke who respects women".
"I believe we should look after women," he said. "I'm told men outnumber women here by five to one. If that's the case, then perhaps it's an opportunity for some lonely ugly women, even retarded ones are welcome."Well there are plenty of them in Australia so maybe romance can be found for all. Even people with the face of a bulldog licking piss off a nettle need love too.