The mayor of a remote Australian mining town is under fire for saying that female "ugly ducklings" might benefit from the town's shortage of women.
John Molony says Mount Isa in Queensland has five men to every woman, and has suggested that beauty-disadvantaged women should make their way to the town.
Mount Isa's council has since been swamped with complaints about the comments from both men and women.
But Mr Molony has refused to apologise, saying he was simply "telling it like it is" in the Queensland town, which is home to one of the world's biggest underground mines.
According to the most recent census, Mount Isa has just 819 women aged between 20 and 24 out of a total population of 21,421.
