We had a couple of interesting stories in the Kalgoorlie Miner this week which became real conversation pieces around the town. Neither story was a conventional hard news lead, but they were issues about which everyone could have a discussion and give an opinion. As an editor they are the type of articles you like to have in a tabloid newspaper.

The first one was about a cleaner who quit her job at a local business because the employer told her to wear a bra. Apparently that hadn’t been discussed at the interview and it wasn’t a condition of her contract. According to the cleaner, he handed her $30 and told her to go and get a bra. She resigned instead.

Our sister paper in Perth picked up the story which was also covered by commercial television. Everyone had an opinion including Federal Minister Joe Hockey, who visited Kalgoorlie on Thursday.

The other story was about racial bias in the Federal Government’s administration of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. A single mum from Boulder contacted us to say she couldn’t get antibiotic ear drops for her son, as recommended by a doctor, on the PBS and had to pay full price. The PBS subsidy is only available for indigenous people.

Our follow-up story rightly crystalised the issue as being that PBS discounts should be available on such medication for people according to need, rather than race.

Both issues had everyone talking.