The prospect of cheaper houses and reliable sunshine has apparently been enough to send many of us Down Under.

The number of Brits emigrating to Australia increased from 8,749 in 2001/2 to 23,290 in 2005/6.

But I've never been tempted. I can't see myself as an Australian. Maybe the hours I wasted as a teenager on vacuous Australian soaps are to blame, but I seem to have developed a prejudice against the Aussie male in particular.

Sport-obsessed, out-datedly sexist, anti-intellectual, hostile to foreigners ... So goes my prejudice anyway.

But Australian men have an admirably straight-talking side as well, which can sometimes come across as bigotry when it isn't.

I'm thinking of John Molony, the mayor of the remote mining town Mount Isa.

The most recent census said there were just 819 women aged 20-24 in the town, out of a population of 21,421.

Molony told a newspaper that "with five blokes to every girl, may I suggest that beauty-disadvantaged women should proceed to Mount Isa".

But it seems you can't even mention the fact that some girls are prettier than others without incurring the wrath of someone. Even if you try to soften the blow with politically correct formulations like 'beauty-disadvantaged'.

Molony's comments were denounced as "an absolute disgrace" by Mount Isa councillor Jean Ferris.

"We're definitely appalled," she added.

Refreshingly, Molony is unrepentant.

He said: "Some, in other places in Australia, need to proceed to Mount Isa where happiness awaits. Really, beauty is only skin deep.

"Isn't there a fairy tale about an ugly duckling that evolves into a beautiful swan?"

Maybe by citing The Ugly Duckling, he was suggesting that women could become beautiful in the eyes of the lonely men of Mount Isa.

Beauty is, after all, relative. So why the outrage?

When choosing a university, I remember sitting with male friends looking through prospectuses.

I wouldn't say the ratio of male and female students was the determining factor in which institutions we applied to, but we were always keen to know what it was. University these days might be a debt trap that does little to improve your long-term earning power, but it remains a good place to pull.

Flippant?

Not me. The search for love is a prime motivating force for all of us, and if we can apply a bit of simple mathematics to improve our chances, that seems fair dinkum to me.

Molony is not a scourge of women; he's a straight-talking gent and a friend to the romantically unfortunate.

Would that there were more politicians like him.