May 29, 2020
A petition organised by South Burnett councillor Kathy Duff to save the Target Country store in Murgon has fallen on deaf ears.
The change.org petition was organised after an emergency meeting of the Murgon Business and Development Association on Monday night.
Within hours of it appearing online the number of signatures had reached more than 1000.
By 2:15pm on Friday, the number had grown to 2782 and was still rising.
Signatures were also being gathered on paper petitions around Murgon and Cherbourg – the two communities which will be most hit by the closure.
Cr Duff was hoping that if the petitions garnered 2000 local signatures by June 30, Wesfarmers might relent and convert the Murgon store into a mini Kmart hub rather than closing it.
The idea attracted a lot of support online – and was widely shared on social media – with commenters emphasising the importance of keeping the store open for local shoppers.
However, a company spokesperson said the decision to close the store was final.
“We informed our team at our Murgon store last Friday and reached out to a number of stakeholders in town, including the Mayor, immediately following this announcement to the team,” the spokesperson said.
“We appreciate that the actions outlined in our recent announcement will have a significant impact on many people, particularly Target team members, customers, and on regional towns where Targets will be closing.
“The decision to close our Murgon store was not one we made lightly, however we can confirm that this is a final decision.
“Our focus now is on supporting our 10 team members and securing redeployment opportunities for them.
“We’re committed to doing what we can to support the team through to the store closure next year.”
- External link: Cr Duff’s online petition
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