Illawarra Labor MPs have hit back at suggestion Shellharbour City Council’s merger lawsuit be dropped, saying the majority of councillors were in favour of the action.
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Liberal Kiama MP – and the region’s parliamentary secretary – Gareth Ward will on Tuesday use a notice of motion (NOM) to call for the council’s Labor mayor, Marianne Saliba, to pull the plug on legal proceedings.
The council-initiated action returns to the Land and Environment Court on Friday and could continue on Monday.
Mr Ward said “hundreds of thousands of ratepayers’ hard-earned dollars” were being spent on “a Labor vanity exercise”.
He urged Labor Member for Shellharbour Anna Watson and Opposition Illawarra spokesman Ryan Park to “call their Labor mayor to heel and put ratepayers first”.
Mr Park said Mr Ward needed to explain why, despite his no-amalgamation stance, the two councils had to merge.
“Gareth Ward should be the last person talking about wasting taxpayers’ money when his government has spent millions of dollars promoting a process that is simply a political stitch up,” Mr Park said.
“He needs to remember that he gave commitments that Illawarra councils wouldn't be merged, when clearly what we have seen is a shambolic process that flies in the face of this commitment.”
Ms Watson echoed that sentiment, saying Mr Ward’s “silly notices of motion” were designed as a cover-up.
“I know Mr Ward has difficulty counting, but he seems to forever forget that two Labor representatives out of seven on Shellharbour Council doesn’t make it a majority,” she said.
“The council made a unanimous decision to initiate this court action and that vote included the former Liberal mayor, Kellie Marsh.”
Ms Watson indicated she would move an amendment to Mr Ward’s NOM when it is debated. The change would delete every word except “that”, which is usually the first written on NOMs.
The amendment noted the Shellharbour councillors’ unanimous support for the legal battle and called on Mr Ward to “respect the independent judicial processes in New South Wales and refrain from political interference in judicial proceedings”.
Ms Watson will also use her amended NOM to ask the government to reimburse Kiama Municipal Council all costs related to its May 7 merger plebiscite.