Kiama MP Gareth Ward has denied community consultation surrounding the naming of the new railway station at Dunmore was "a sham process".
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New signs proclaiming the name "Shellharbour Junction" appeared on the $39 million station's platforms before it was considered by the Geographical Names Board (GNB), which called for submissions on the proposed name in July and August.
Transport for NSW said the signs had been "erected in error".
"I am angry that either the Department of Transport or the Geographical Names Board didn't effectively do their job," Mr Ward said.
"But that is disproportionate to the elation I feel about delivering the project."
A GNB spokesman said the name "Shellharbour Junction" as proposed by Transport for NSW was considered at its board meeting on Tuesday night.
"The board is preparing a report for submission to the Minister of Finance and Services [Dominic Perrottet], for his consideration," the spokesman said.
The station, built to replace the existing Dunmore (Shellharbour) station, was initially known as Flinders under the previous Labor government, but in March 2013 Mr Ward announced the station would instead be called Shell Cove, following "a strong community campaign" and evidence it would help support tourism.
The use of the name Shell Cove was condemned by Shellharbour City Council, which wrote to Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian expressing disappointment at the lack of consultation. The council suggested the names Shellharbour or Shellharbour City. After months of debate, both Flinders and Shell Cove were ruled out as options by the GNB and eventually the name Shellharbour Junction was proposed.
Shellharbour MP Anna Watson said "the whole saga gets more embarrassing by the minute".
"What's the point of the GNB and its independent, statutory status if the state government is just going to thumb its nose at the community exhibition process and pre-empt any final decisions?" Ms Watson said.
"This whole controversy could have been avoided had Gareth Ward not played the role of a little Caesar and went around naming things by himself. The state government should have put out a list of proposed names and let the local community have a say in making the decision.
"Many local residents have said to me they'd prefer it was called what it currently is called - Dunmore (Shellharbour), which is the position I put to the GNB in a submission."
Mr Ward said he was not going to be lectured by people who made promises they didn't keep about building the station.
He said the Liberal Party had made a commitment the station would be open by the end of 2014.
As for the name Shellharbour Junction, Mr Ward said he "would have been happy with a name that better reflected [its location]".
"I am happy to go down to the old station with a drill, undo the old Dunmore (Shellharbour) signs and relocate them to the new station to save taxpayers money. However, there are guidelines in place and the people who oversee these guidelines have a different view to me.
"The hullabaloo this has caused and the amount of column inches this has taken up ... someone should be doing a custodial sentence for oxygen theft."