Member for Murray Helen Dalton is willing to support policy for a statewide plebiscite giving residents of Coleambally, Darlington Point and Jerilderie a say on council mergers.
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The forced merger of the former Murrumbidgee Shire to Jerilderie Shire in 2016 angered many residents including resident James Tongue.
Mr Tongue claims the community consultation process behind the merger was done hurriedly and ultimately ignored 'overwhelming' opposition from residents of Darlington Point.
"This amalgamation was never going to work, we got ambushed," Mr Tongue said.
"It would have been better if we had merged with Griffith, were 35 kilometres from Griffith and we're 100 kilometres from Jerilderie, eventually all of this infrastructure will trickle down there.
"We have too small a population for the size of the shire, the tyranny of distance has always been a big problem in Australia."
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Meanwhile a report by Kerry McMurray from the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW in 2016, requested by the shires, said that the merger should not go ahead.
While a bill for the plebiscites was introduced in 2017 by the Member for Orange Phil Donato, however it was shot down 47 to 37 votes in the lower house.
With NSW Labor also having promised to commit $60 million for a statewide plebiscite as part of their 2019 state election promises, their defeat in the election has for a time poured cold water on dreams of a plebiscite.
However, Mrs Dalton has said she would be willing to pursue the plebiscite further should policy similar to the 2017 bill from the Shooters party return before the lower house.
Ms Dalton has also said she will support Mr Donato in calling on the NSW Auditor-General to investigate the council mergers.
"We didn't and still do not support the forced mergers of local councils. Local councils are often the biggest employers in regional areas and the first and most direct access to essential services," Mrs Dalton said.
"We don't believe merging two bureaucracies into a super bureaucracies without regard for community opinion and consultation was appropriate."
"Locals have expressed their concerns to me over the years, it was a classic case of throwing something in the too hard basket as one council was financially more stable than the other."
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