About The Honking Goose

I. The Necessity of Noise

While the press is busy transcribing press releases and photographing prize-winning vegetables, The Honking Goose exists to point out that the emperor is not only naked but is currently drafting a three-year plan to study the feasibility of her own trousers. We are here to provide the Hinterland with the one thing it lacks: an uncomfortably loud wake-up call.

II. Vigilance, Not Veneration

The goose is no “peaceful” bird. It is territorial, suspicious, and highly vocal, impossible to ignore. We adopt this bird as our mascot because our world is currently being overrun by gilded ganders in high office and golden geese in property development. When we honk, it is a signal that someone, somewhere, is attempting to pull the wool over our eyes.

III. The 500-Word Sticking Point

If an idea cannot survive being condensed into 500 words, it is likely a lie or a bureaucratic stalling tactic. We have no time for the "strategic visions" or "stakeholder synergies" that clog up our local discourse. We deal in the sharp, the short, and the stinging. We provide the "Scuttlebutt", the truth that everyone whispers but no one dares put in print.

IV. No Friends, No Favours

The Honking Goose is entirely unaligned, unapologetic, and unbought. We do not want your "media partnership" and we certainly don't want a seat at your table. We prefer the view from our paddock, where the perspective is clearer and the target is broader. We are not here to build bridges; we are here to point out the structural rot in the ones you've already built.

V. The Final Honk

Our editorial policy is simple: If it's absurd, we shall mock it. If it's corrupt, we shall name it. If it's boring, we shall ignore it. We are the grit in the Hinterland's oyster, irritating, persistent, and entirely necessary.

The 'Honk' Categories

1. The Concrete Canopy

Coverage: Environment, development, and town planning.

2. The Parish Pump

Coverage: Local and national politics, council blunders, bureaucracy, and the machinery of public life.

3. Culture Vultures

Coverage: The arts, festivals, and high society.

4. Pulpit and Podium

Coverage: Geopolitics and the global theatre of certainty.

5. Scuttlebutt and Small Talk

Coverage: General news, gossip, and the rest.

The Geese

Our Geese are residents of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland and surrounds: people with a working knowledge of the region, its communities, and its peculiarities. They honk under their own handles. Their perspectives are their own, their overlap is intentional, and their identities are their business.

Transparency

The Honking Goose is written by real people with real opinions and, occasionally, real frustrations. AI tools assist with structure and drafting. The ideas, the arguments, the editorial judgment, and the honking are entirely our own.

We figure if we're going to point out that the emperor has no clothes, we should probably be honest about what's in our own wardrobe.

Acknowledgment

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which this publication is based, and pay our respects to Elders past and present. We recognise that this place has a longer history than the one we usually write about.