MEMBER for Bathurst Paul Toole has been warned to prepare for a fight at the next election.
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It comes after the Oberon Anti-amalgamation Committee (OAAC) decided to support an independent candidate in the next state election due to be held in 2019.
OAAC chairman Brian Dellow said the campaign against the NSW Government and Mr Toole – who as Minister for Local Government has led the controversial push to merge Oberon and Bathurst councils - had just begun.
"OAAC are seeking an independent candidate with a view to giving the current member Paul Toole the fright of his life,” Mr Dellow said.
He said the committee was seeking a “high profile independent candidate who values local government”.
“We need someone who has strong views on the difference between rural and regional, is honest and willing to listen to the views of the community.”
Mr Dellow said the campaign would continue regardless of any court decisions on the proposed forced amalgamation of Oberon and Bathurst.
Oberon and Cabonne councils' court challenge against their respective forced mergers concluded at the end of June and a verdict has not been handed down.
The Land and Environment Court last week rejected Woollahra Council’s challenge against its forced merger with Randwick and Waverley councils.
The NSW Government says the mergers will create stronger councils.
Mr Toole says councils that have been merged are already making significant savings.