A war of words has broken out between former Dubbo deputy mayor Ben Shields and Dubbo MP Troy Grant as the fall-out from the forced amalgamation of Dubbo and Wellington continues.
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Mr Grant’s championing of a greyhound racing ban and forced council mergers has made his position as MP “untenable”, Mr Shields said.
But Mr Grant defended his record of representing Dubbo, and condemned the “mudslinging” as a “desperate” attempt to win votes.
“There is no doubt that this council merger, along with his championing of the greyhound ban and failure to take notice of public opinion has made Troy Grant’s position as out local MP untenable,” Mr Shields said.
“However, we should act very carefully to make sure future decisions in order to right Troy’s wrongs don’t cost ratepayers a fortune.”
The comments follow calls from former Dubbo mayors Mathew Dickerson, Allan Smith and Greg Matthews for a plebiscite on the merger.
The three men have called for a plebiscite to coincide with September’s local government elections, to decide once and for all whether the community wants to de-amalgamate or remain merged.
But Mr Shields said de-amalgamating would be expensive, and he would “hate to see us waste multiple more millions of dollars just to right Troy Grant’s wrongs”.
“My view is Troy will either not run at the next state election, or be defeated at the next state election,” Mr Shields said.
“He’s got a snowflake’s chance in hell of being re-elected.”
In a statement, Mr Grant said: “Since I entered state Parliament in 2011, my priority has always been to get a better deal for the Dubbo electorate in Macquarie Street, and I remain focused on bringing investment to our communities.
“Our community has seen unprecedented investment in local infrastructure and services, including hospital redevelopments, road upgrades and education spending. I have worked tirelessly since my first day in the job to transform our region and my commitment to our community is unwavering.
“I’m proud to stand my record of service and delivery to the people of our community against those of ex-councillors who are mudslinging in a desperate attempt to win votes.”