Phil Donato says he has seen evidence that a number of the state’s regional Local Area Commands (LACs) will be merged under planned re-engineering of the NSW Police Force.

NSW Police Minister and Dubbo MP made the “smears and lies” claim when speaking with the Daily Liberal earlier this week in the wake of the Nationals holding on to both Cootamundra and Murray.

“While every electorate is different, the Shooters and Fishers campaign in Cootamundra was disgraceful and made up of smears and lies, but people are starting to see through those,” Mr Grant said.

The comment was refuted by Mr Donato, who says the re-engineering process will see mergers between the Cootamundra and Wagga LACs, as well as Dubbo and Mudgee, and Canobolas and Lachlan.

“There were no smears or lies on my behalf. I’ve seen evidence that some police and administration staff won’t have jobs,” he said.

“It will be a case of having more ground to cover, with less leadership and supervision as senior officers will be the main ones affected.

“Talking about my patch, with Canobolas and Lachlan, you have Canobolas centred around Orange while Lachlan stretches to Peak Hill and Lake Cargelligo.

“It flies in the face of the Bradshaw Report, which recommended local police on the ground to promote engagement with the local communities.”

Meanwhile, NSW Deputy Commissioner Regional Field Operations Gary Worboys has spoken out after several officers from the Cootamundra LAC spoke to the Young Witness.

“The re-engineering taskforce is continuing to progress stakeholder consultation about the proposed structure of policing in regional NSW,” he said. 

“The framework is designing a District Command that will have better outcomes for both police and the community.”