When asked by the Guardian to respond to comments by the Local Government Minister, Paul Toole, urging councils to “have a conversation with their communities about how they plan to build a sustainable future”, Cr Hoban said the council had been having those talks for at least the past 10 years.

“And for the last six years since I have been mayor, we have absolutely been focusing on our infrastructure and the future - we have been fixing our roads and bridges and future proofing our water with the off-river water storage project and also our sewerage with the upgrade of the Nambucca Heads facility,” Cr Hoban said.

“The community has also been dipping into its pockets via a series of rate rises to ensure our sustainability - governments fail to recognise what the community has been doing for its own sustainability.”

She said she was perfectly happy to have the conversation but suggested the NSW Government might also like to have a chat with the community about its own plans for sustainability.

“If someone could show me the benefits of amalgamation, where it can be seen to provide financial sustainability or extra benefits for the community, then I would give it serious thought.

“But where are the cost-benefit analyses of the Queensland and Victorian experiences? Where are the glowing examples?”

While she said she didn’t disagree that local issues were best dealt with at a local level, she added “only if the funding comes with it - there is far too much cost-shifting without additional dollars”.

She did however welcome the State Government’s acknowledgment that something had to change in the system. 

The Minister’s comments were made in the light of a Department of Local Government analysis received last week showing that last year two-thirds of NSW councils were operating in the red, running combined deficits exceeding $400 million.