Town and country united in a Keep Councils Local rally at NSW Parliament House on August 9. Judging from the range of parliamentarians, former mayors, city councillors and passionate community activists from all over the state who addressed the rally, this is going to be a major election issue next March.
The rally was organised by the Demerge NSW Alliance (DNA) and Residents for Deamalgamation.
“The timing couldn’t be better with the Cootamundra-Gundagai demerger recommendation before the Minister of Local Government and Canterbury Bankstown Council deciding recently to undertake a demerger business case,” DNA Coordinator, Grantley Ingram said.
Addressing the state government, he added: "We will fight this to the next state election [in March 2023]. Ignore us at you peril!"
The shadow minister for local government Greg Warren told the rally: "A Labor government will not forcibly merge or forcibly demerge any council in NSW.
"We will allow referendums so that communities can have their say. And if those communities decide through referendum to demerge or merge, so be it."