Mayor of Queanbeyan

Queanbeyan mayor Tim Overall is preparing to hit back at Coda Conduct's comical attack on his beloved hometown with his very own rap.

Yes, the city councillor is penning a song in response to Is it a Quanger?!, which was recently performed by Canberra all-girl rap duo Sally Coleman, 23, and Erica Mallett, 22, as part of the weather forecast on Triple J's breakfast show Matt and Alex.

"Queanbeyan! What a wannabe! Copied our forecast, got it free. But it's not a shock, cos you're basically... just part of the ACT," its most offending line reads.

Queanbeyan's opening hours, oversupply of takeaway joints and residents' tendency to don socks and sandals did not escape the girls' wrath.

Quanger rapper: Mayor Tim Overall hits back.
Quanger rapper: Mayor Tim Overall hits back.  Photo: Digitally altered
Cr Overall said he was impressed with Coda Conduct's wit but a reactionary rap was underway and set to be a social media sensation. 

"I thought it [Is it a Quanger?!] was clever and amusing but totally out of order," he said.

Canberrans and Queanbeyanites will have to wait in anticipation for more with Cr Overall remaining tight-lipped about the remainder and launch of the ditty.

But a performance could be in the works with the mayor "talking to a local rap group".

He said he was confident his rap would go viral and expected Coda Conduct's reaction to be one of "shock and horror".

No word if light rail or Skywhale feature.

"It is critical it goes viral to restore the integrity and prestige of Q town," he said. 

"There is no way anyone can claim it will be nil cost after year six as at the moment we don’t have any financial information, a business plan or a business model from the proponent."

Cr Overall said ‘‘game playing’’ by a few councillors was obstrucing progress after five years of investigations and nine months of ‘‘detailed negotiations’’.

He said the proposal had been thoroughly scrutinised through three workshops with councillors and senior staff, market studies and analysis as well as 20-year financial and funding plans that had been ‘‘worked and reworked’’.

“If I sound frustrated, I am – so much time and energy to bring another priority of the community’s vision to fruition to be wasted in a few moments by game playing by some [not all] and being disguised as a lack of due diligence,” Cr Overall said.

“I can assure residents that the cinema proposal ticked all the boxes as a low risk, no-cost-to-ratepayers project, and it is a travesty that it has not proceeded to the next stage, which is a memorandum of understanding that would allow things to move forward to the next level.”

The memorandum was needed to secure the cinema operator’s confidence in Queanbeyan.

"It’s been 18 years since we last had a cinema proposal in Queanbeyan,’’ he said.

"Should we not support this it will be many years, if at all, until we see a cinema complex in Queanbeyan."

Cr Overall said a Facebook page had been created to provide the community with the facts.



Queanbeyan

Queanbeyan, is a regional centre on the Southern Tablelands in south-eastern New South Wales adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory. The city's mixed economy is based on light construction, manufacturing, service, retail and agriculture. It is the council seat of the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. At the 2011 census census, Queanbeyan had a population of 37,991.


Following the founding of Canberra, Australia's federal capital, just 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the west, Queanbeyan has become an integral part of the capital city's economy. The word Queanbeyan is the anglicised form of Quinbean – an Aboriginal word meaning "clear waters".