It was clear all councillors in the chamber had been briefed on what was allowed (and not allowed) under the Local Government Act and all were aware there was little they could do, outside of appealing to Cr Bourke's sense of "right", to force the former mayor to go.

And it was actually Cr Jess Jennings who, inadvertently, provided Cr Bourke with the best argument of all for staying when he raised the NRL's controversial no-fault stand-down policy for its players.

"The NRL - of which Cr Bourke is a big fan, loves his footy - has a no-fault stand-down policy for crimes which amount to an 11-year jail sentence, or more," Cr Jennings said.

"If it's good enough for the NRL, it's good enough for this council."

It was a decent enough argument, except it only supported Cr Bourke's stance.

The NRL policy applies to players who have been charged with a serious crime, not players who have simply been accused of wrongdoing.

At this stage no one, Cr Bourke included, has been charged in relation to the blackmail letter to Cr Jacqui Rudge. If that changes then so will the conversation about what should happen next.

For his part, Cr Bourke was adamant: he was going nowhere and he would be seeking re-election in September.

It's not easy to get elected to council and, appropriately, it's not easy for that privilege to be taken away.

It will be the people of Bathurst who will decide in September whether Cr Bourke is given the opportunity to add to his 17 years of service in the chamber - and that's exactly as it should be.