The mayor of an Australian Outback town has infuriated local women by calling for “beauty-disadvantaged” females to move to his community to relieve the dire shortage of mates for resident men.

John Molony, from Mount Isa in northern Queensland, said the lack of young, single females meant that local men - predominantly miners and cowboys - were not as fussy as they might be when it came to love. Men heavily outnumber single women in the mining town, which has a population of almost 25,000 and hosts Australia’s biggest rodeo.

Mr Molony suggested to the Townsville Bulletin newspaper last week: “If there are five blokes to every girl, we should find out where there are beauty-disadvantaged women and ask them to proceed to Mount Isa. Quite often you will see walking down the street a lass who is not so attractive with a wide smile on her face. Whether it is recollection of something previous, or anticipation for the next evening, there is a degree of happiness.” He added: “Often those who are beauty-disadvantaged are unhappy with their lot. Some, in other places in Australia, need to proceed to Mount Isa, where happiness awaits. And, really, beauty is only skin deep. Isn’t there a fairy tale about an ugly duckling that evolves into a beautiful swan?”

Many women in the town have sent e-mails and text messages encouraging each other to meet on the steps of the Town Hall to address the issue.

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Mr Molony refused to apologise and would not comment when contacted by The Times yesterday. But the women of his constituency were much more forthcoming. Patricia O’Callaghan, from the Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce, said that most of the town’s women found the mayor’s comments offensive. “He’s not really painting a fair representation of the women in Mount Isa. They are not very flattering comments for people who live here,” she said.

“We have enough problems already attracting people to our town because it is a mining town, so there are always the usual stereotypes that come with being a mining town. Comments like this don’t help.”

But local men said there was a problem, with some reluctant to take their girlfriends to the area for fear that they would fall prey to other men.

One 26-year-old man described the town as the “beer goggles capital of Australia” because the male population was not at all choosy when it came to the opposite sex. Paul Woodlands, 25, a builder, told the Townsville Bulletin: “There’s definitely a lack of beautiful women. Blokes are not as picky - you take what you can get.”

According to the paper, in 2006 there were 819 females aged between 20 and 24 living in the town, compared with 994 in 1996.

Many Australian women complain about the lack of eligible young men in the cities, but the reverse holds true in rural areas. Earlier this month a rural dating agency was charged by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission with defrauding its customers, some of whom said they had lost A$20,000 (£9,500) in the false hope of finding a wife.

The topic was also featured in a popular reality TV programme –The Farmer Wants A Wife – which followed the quest of a group of farmers looking for love. The show proved a ratings hit and at last count had managed to play cupid for two of the lucky farmers.

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