NEWLY elected president of the National Party’s local branch, John Hannaford, said that the party had had a “very robust” meeting on the issue of the merger “along similar lines” at last Wednesday night’s gathering.
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“From what I’m gathering, everyone is sitting within two camps,” Mr Hannaford said.
“But we cannot get sidelined about who said what, we have to keep our eyes on the ball. If this is what we have to wear we have to get the most that we can,” he said, adding that this was not in a win-win situation.
“I firmly believe if we want a good outcome for this district, we need to get on with negotiating. Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. Let’s put some pressure where it counts. Get some money for our roads. It’s a grand opportunity to put the heat on both our state and federal members.”
Mr Hannaford discounted Cr Rosenbaum’s theory that Mr Johnsen proactively acted for the Gloucester-Dungog merger.
“As a public figure it doesn’t make any sense.”
At the 2015 NSW government election, Michael Johnsen gained 2057 of his 18,384 first preference votes from across Barrington, Gloucester to Stroud and Booral. His closest rival was the Country Labor Party’s Martin Rush, on 1125 votes in the region from a his total of 15,387 first preference votes.
Michael Johnsen’s strong local support when compared to his rival reveals it was stronger in Gloucester and surrounds than it was elsewhere in the Upper Hunter:
Across the electorate Mr Johnsen gained 38.8 per cent of primary votes; Mr Rush gained 32.5 per cent. But the local figures show a stronger proportional vote for Mr Johnsen, with the subsequent inference that Mr Johnsen needs Gloucester.
Mayor John Rosenbaum said that the national party supporters in the hall at Thursday’s public council meeting were concerned about Mr Johnsen’s decision to support a Dungog-Gloucester merger.
“This is going to backfire,” he said.