“MOREE NEEDS KMART!!! That is all,” wrote Angela Turner.

Less than 24 hours and more than 100 comments later, the thread was closed by administrators after heated online exchanges. 

“I had to turn my phone on silent,” Mrs Turner said. “I couldn’t believe the response, it just kept going.”

Mrs Turner’s initial post was signed off with a smiley face but the mother of two said it was motivated by frustration. “I needed to buy three different things that day and I’d searched all over town and I couldn’t get them anywhere,” she said. “I know for a fact they are stocked by Kmart.”

Among those items was clothing for her children, 10-year-old Tarley and eight-year-old Jax. 

“I just wanted decent clothing for my kids that wasn’t going to cost $40 or $50 an item,” Mrs Turner said. 

So she turned to social media to try and drum up support for a campaign to get the discount giant to come to Moree. 

While many responded with enthusiasm others raised concerns about its effect on small and independent businesses. Mrs Turner responded by saying she would continue to support local enterprise if a big, discount retailer came to town. 

“The boutique shops are great and we love going down to one of the cafes on Saturday morning and having brekkie, browsing the shops and spending money there too,” she said. “But we’re talking about a different type of shopping.” 

Mrs Turner and her family have lived in Moree for six years. She runs daycare from home and her partner works on a farm.

In a bid to try and build a campaign Mrs Turner also posted on the Kmart Facebook page. By early Wednesday it had received 296 likes, 57 comments and 24 shares. A Kmart spokesperson asked residents to submit a customer feedback form. Mrs Turner did and was contacted by Kmart who said they would look into the viability of building a store in Moree. 

Mrs Turner said the ball was in Kmart’s court now but conceded there were several factors which would make the bid difficult. 

“There are not many places in Moree you could put a big shopping centre for one,” she said. 

Moree Plains Shire Council economic development officer Mark Connolly said the council had been working for a decade to get a discount department store to come to the shire. 

“We appreciate all the enthusiasm and support for the future growth and wellbeing of our great shire,” Mr Connolly said.  

“MPSC continues to maintain a positive relationship and regular dialogue with various operators of discount department stores,” he said. “It has long been the goal of council to secure investment and new opportunities for our residents and visitors.”

Those efforts would continue, Mr Connolly said. 

However, he said it was important for the community to understand big, retail operators based store locations on factors such as population growth, site identification, demographics, building costs and transport logistics. 

Projects like the Gateway, the solar farm and ski lakes all help to build the profile of Moree and contribute to a business case for additional investment, Mr Connolly said. 

He added that a discount retailer would not be permitted under the zoning of the Gateway project. 

“The current economic climate is difficult but this will not deter council from continuing to promote Moree to the various discount department store operators and build a case for that investment,” he said.