WITH all eyes on Mandurah this weekend for the Canning byelection, it came as quite a surprise to me to see our city described as an “overdeveloped, cashed-up bogan paradise” in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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This, along with references to Mandurah gracing the cover of a long ago – albeit brilliant – Triffids album, was supposed to background readers on a city which, along with the rest of the Canning electorate, holds the fate of Tony Abbott’s career in its hands.
The reporter missed so much, though.
Where was the mention of our ice problem?
The growing disparity between the rich on the water and the poor in the Centrelink queue?
Why not also mention our problem with unemployment and anti-social behaviour?
I mean, if you’re going to trash talk Mandurah, why stop at pithy one-liners we’ve all heard many times before?
Alternatively, you could even – God forbid – do some actual research and discover that while Mandurah may have plenty wrong with it, it has more that’s right.
We have a thriving arts scene and a world-class entertainment centre which sees some of the biggest national and international acts perform right here.
We have engaged and engaging politicians – for the most part – who listen to their constituents and do their best for their electorates.
We are even home to Western Australia’s Young Person of the Year with Rhys Williams and his Makers continually putting Mandurah on the map for positive reasons.
It’s not hard to discover these things; a simple Google search yields these plusses for out city.
What is harder is describing the taste of caught-that-day blue manna crab, and the way the waves break off Doddis beach at sunset.
You have to look harder still to find the community garden blooming with fresh herbs which are yours for the taking.
There are wonderful surprises throughout the entire Peel region.
It’s just a shame our friends on the east coast didn’t look for them.