WITH a convert’s zeal, NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro on Friday declared the council merger process “all stops today”.
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Why this sudden epiphany struck him the day after Premier Mike Baird called time on his leadership is more about politics than policy.
Desperate to parry off suggestions the new government is the “same monster with a different face”, Mr Barilaro has put a line in the sand when it comes to the deeply unpopular mergers push.
The same policy was largely responsible for the Nationals’ dramatic capitulation at the Orange by-election in November.
Much like the greyhound ban backflip, we should welcome the fact the Nationals have finally realised mergers are not in the best interests of communities.
But we should remain deeply cynical about their motivations.
Mr Barilaro was silent as a trappist monk when the government was cutting a swathe through communities in the Riverina and beyond, as were colleagues like Cootamundra MP Katrina Hodgkinson.
Perhaps the government thought time might cool the molten anger that flowed in affected towns. If so, they were wrong.
In Gundagai, a “council in exile” was recently formed to intensify the merger fight while this week in the Federation Council, three councillors from the former Urana council turned their back on the newly-formed council in disgust.
Ratepayers in those communities shouldn’t put too much stock in Mr Barilaro’s words.
His carefully scripted statement on Friday failed to address the fate of the already merged councils, instead focusing on the ones still locked in legal battles.
You can’t be half pregnant and if the Nationals are fair dinkum about opposing mergers, they should push for a wind back of the already merged councils. It might be an expensive exercise but who cares.
This is an opportunity to abandon forced mergers completely and restore democracy.
The new Premier, most likely Gladys Berejiklian, has been gifted a chance to right the grave wrongs of their predecessor. Ditch the forced mergers and send those councils who were denied elections last year to the polls in September.
Let the people decide how they want to proceed and, in the process, restore a modicum of faith in government.