David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

Today I rise to recognise the special achievement of one of the most unique towns in my electorate. Cooladdi, between Quilpie and Charleville in western Queensland, has recently taken out the title of Australia's tiniest town, with a grand population of two. Cooladdi actually wrestled this title from another famous town in my electorate: Betoota. Betoota lost the title after media moguls the Betoota Advocate based their media empire out of the town.

The two new locals, Carol Yarrow and Jo Cornel, love everything about Cooladdi and can't imagine ever leaving. In fact, Carol and Jo love Cooladdi so much they purchased the famous Fox Trap Roadhouse. This special buy means the roadhouse will keep functioning as a pub, a general store and a post office, allowing Cooladdi to retain its postcode and therefore maintain its status as a town. But just imagine the enormous burden that Carol and Jo now have. The entire town's existence relies on them, but thankfully they're up for it, and western Queensland is better for it. Thanks to this pair, remote outback stations will keep having access to a mail run, while travellers have a place to stop and meet a new friend or two and have a beer. Congratulations, Carol and Jo, for your efforts in making sure that Cooladdi doesn't get lost to history. These two epitomise the very best of the Aussie spirit. They are what we admire about our rural communities, and I wish them all the best for their exciting future in Cooladdi.

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