Residents of a remote West Australian tourist town say their health service is buckling under the strain of more than 150,000 visitors each year.
The Easter long weekend kicks off the peak season at Exmouth, 1,200 kilometres north of Perth, on the edge of the Ningaloo Reef in the state’s north west.
While visitors will enjoy front-verandah access to a UNESCO world heritage site and the rare chance to glimpse whale sharks, some locals are worried the community is at risk.
Multiple residents told the ABC a recent suicide had laid bare the challenges facing both health and mental health services in the town, which hosts a year-round population of just over 3,000 people.
Zayden Boogaard said it drove home the importance of mental health.
“We don’t want to lose any more mates,” he said.
Mr Boogaard told the ABC he faced…