Tourism Whitsundays SocialMedia activities to be investigated

The Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, today has requested the Minister for Tourism, Jan Jarratt, to investigate the SocialMedia activities of Tourism Whitsundays.

The request by the Premier to the Minister for Tourism and local member for Whitsunday, Jan Jarratt was in response to a request from this editor to investigate why several Directors and all the Marketing Staff of Tourism Whitsundays, and the Tourism Queensland representative, were willing members of a hate site that 'took the piss' out of this editor for being sick with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer that has a survival rate of around 40%.

A Mr John Nayler (E Central, Channel Whitsundays, @ch_whitsunday) set up the hate site while as a Director of Tourism Whitsundays and made many posts ridiculing my health and possible short life span, like the one above. If you are or you know someone suffering with cancer, then you'll probably be disgusted if you received that comment. Some have interpreted it as a death threat.

Mr Nayler  (E Central, Channel Whitsundays, @ch_whitsunday) is now very active in Airlie Beach Rotary, where his 'services' are used for the My Whitsunday Phonebook and Online Directory (@mywhitsunday).

Mark O'Donnell (The Computer Doctor, ex President of Rotary Airlie Beach) was also involved in the hate site, however the amount of involvement is unknown. Mr O'Donnell and Mr Nayler know each other very well. (Mr O'Donnell advised that he would take down the hate site if I supported the Airlie Beach Rotary Ambassador program - this appears to implicate Rotary Airlie Beach with the hate site). Rotary Airlie Beach operate the Telephone Directory 'My Whitsunday'.

Ms Keli Medford (Director of Tourism Whitsundays, Manager Boathaven Resort, @29turtles) (Note: now at PRD Whitsundays) was also involved in the hate site - I have been advised by several members (and ex-members) of TW that Ms Medford touted TW members to become friends of the hate site. Ms Medford and Mr Nayler know each other very well. Ms Medford has advised the local paper of her intentions of running for Councillor in Division One in the upcoming Whitsunday Regional Council elections.

A Full list of members of the Hate Site (those who remained after being told its hidden agenda) will be published here next week.

Previous reports and further information about this sorry affair can be found here http://bit.ly/wYX42x .

I look forward to the conclusion of the investigation by the Minister for Tourism and her findings will be printed here when they become available.

Note: The Hate Site was pulled down just before Renewal notices for advertising in the Rotary Whitsundays Phonebook were sent out.

Contact via Twitter:
John Nayler @ch_whitsunday
Keli Medford @29turtles
Rotary Airlie Beach @mywhitsunday