PAUL Toole has certainly earned the nickname "Backflip Boy" after changing his mind on many important issues when he went from independent to Nationals MP and now trying to distance himself from the National Party.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Toole was an independent politician from 1995 to 2012, as local government councillor at Evans Shire, an independent councillor on Bathurst Regional Council and an independent mayor of said council.
As an independent politician he publicly signed a letter years ago stating he would never forcibly amalgamate local councils.
READ ALSO:
As a member of the National Party, he not only supported forced amalgamations, he led the charge as the responsible Coalition minister.
Since joining the Nats, Mr Toole’s list of backflips on policy has continued.
There was the closing and reopening of the Kirkconnell Correctional Centre; his opposition to and then support of the sale of NSW electricity assets; a similar change of heart on the sale of Mt Piper power station, which came at the cost of 700 local jobs; and the backflip on support for a ban on greyhound racing.
The list goes on.
As the Nationals continue to lose credibility and the election draws nearer, Mr Toole’s latest backflip is to separate himself as much as possible from that party.