The Snowy Valleys mayor says he has "no idea" why his council was forced to amalgamate after a week of passionate public hearings examined the issue in Tumut and Tumbarumba.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
James Hayes has backed NSW Labor's calls for a parliamentary inquiry into a sweeping 2016 policy which created 19 merged councils, announced by then-premier Mike Baird.
"I don't think it would hurt to find out why some councils were merged and why others weren't merged. I think there are a lot of questions unanswered," Cr Hayes said.
The state opposition has called for an inquiry into the mergers in the same week that the Local Government Boundaries Commission heard from frustrated Snowy Valleys residents.
The Boundaries Commission has held three public hearings in the region as it examines a proposal to demerge the former Tumut and Tumbarumba shires.
Cr Hayes said he spoke at two separate hearings in Tumbarumba and Tumut and welcomed the commission's investigation.
"Basically what I said to the commission was that I won't try to influence their decision, that they needed to talk to the community," Cr Hayes said.
"At the end of the process we will abide by the referee's decision."
Save Tumbarumba Shire's Neil Hamilton believes there are "no grounds" to keep Snowy Valleys merged after hearings concluded on November 5.
The community group has been protesting since the forced amalgamation, regularly appearing with orange uniforms and signs at public events whenever government leaders are due to appear.
"We had overwhelming support. We had more than 70 people speak in favour of the demerger and only a couple against," Dr Hamilton said of the first day of hearings.
In other news:
Minister for local government Shelley Hancock referred the Snowy Valleys and Cootamundra-Gundagai amalgamated councils to the Boundaries Commission in February after almost three years of community backlash.
Shadow local government spokesperson Greg Warren said a thorough inquiry was needed to understand why shires were combined in the first place, a move he claimed had exacerbated some councils' financial predicaments.
"Many of them are struggling to make ends meet. And that has a direct effect on the social and economic impact on local families, workers and businesses," Mr Warren said.
"I'm of the view that the government should establish an inquiry to get to the bottom of these matters, to ensure that community has certainty and we can map out a plan for the longer term future of councils that have been merged."
The Boundaries Commission is an independent authority which will consider a range of factors when assessing the Snowy Valleys and Cootamundra-Gundagai mergers, including finances, community sentiment and the impact on council operations and staff.
It will hold public hearings in Cootamundra and Gundagai later this month.
The Daily Advertiser contacted the NSW Office of Local Government for a comment but they were unable to respond by deadline.