Cr Bourke was a key player in making Cr Morse mayor in September 2012, and it was his decision to change his vote that handed the mayoral reins to Gary Rush a year later.

Tensions on council following last September’s vote had seemed to die down in recent months, but Cr Bourke has spoken publicly to reveal the uneasy truce had become an unworkable war, with Cr Morse at the centre of the conflict.

Cr Bourke said Cr Morse had reacted badly to losing the mayoralty and he fears her “negative” mindset is affecting planning for Bathurst’s bicentenary.

“Monica has to pull her head in and I’m calling on her to step down from this committee for the sake of the bicentenary,” he said.

“I thought it was worth giving Monica a go as mayor but there were a few things I wasn’t happy with so I decided to support Gary in September.

“I feel in the months since the election, though, that Monica has not been working as an effective team member.

“As the only woman on council, Monica should be showing more leadership and co-operation with other councillors.”

Cr Morse yesterday hit back at Cr Bourke’s claims, defending her record on the bicentenary committee and questioning the reasons for Cr Bourke’s outburst.

“I don’t know that Bobby knows anything about the bicentenary committee,” Cr Morse said.

“He’s not on that committee and I have not discussed the committee with him.”

Cr Morse said she had dedicated countless hours to ensuring Bathurst’s bicentenary celebrations were the best possible.

“I have been to every single meeting for the past two or three years and I’ve put in a huge amount of time and effort promoting 2015 and speaking to community groups.

“I don’t think criticism of my support for 2015 is altogether fair.”

Cr Rush, who chairs the bicentenary committee, would not buy into the dispute, saying only that the committee had now made its recommendations to council.