The Local Government Amendment (Amalgamation Referendums) Bill 2017 passed the Legislative Council in June this year but was defeated 47-37 in the lower house on Thursday.

The decision puts to bed any faint hope communities had of overturning forced amalgamations, much to the dismay of Donato and his colleagues in the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party.

“Forced council amalgamations were the cornerstone of anger across rural communities in the recent Murray and Cootamundra by-elections, and the issue was at the forefront in last year’s Orange by-election,” Mr Donato said.

“The main reason by the government for opposing this was that it would make it harder for future council mergers. That just shows that there’s more to come.

“The National Party and Liberal Party government don’t listen, and they are more than happy to have one rule for some people and another rule for others.

“45 Local Government areas remain forcibly amalgamated, and despite the New South Wales Government backing down from some mergers, there are still people across the State who did not get a say about their Council’s future.

“I cannot believe that this National Party and Liberal Party Government continues to ignore the people who voted for them.”

The amalgamation of Dubbo and Wellington councils into a new Dubbo Regional Council was one of 20 mergers involving 45 former councils.

Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party MLC Robert Borsak said that the 2019 State election will be the opportunity for people to have their say on these amalgamations.

“Since our bill to give people a vote on council amalgamations was not voted on, the 2019 State election will be people’s chance to have their say,” Mr Borsak said.

“This is just one of many issues where the Nationals have done the bidding of the Liberal Party at the expense of their own rural communities, and we will make sure people don’t forget this betrayal.

“Some forced council mergers, like Hilltops Council, have still not been properly funded by the State Government.”