Mr Mike Augee, who served on the Wellington Shire Council for seven years between 2005 and 2012, says he had no intention of running for council after that service but believed experienced people were needed to represent Wellington in the first term of the merged council.

If elected he will stay for only one term and then stand down, he says.

The DRC will have 10 councillors with two elected from each of five wards. Wellington is one ward, Dubbo has four wards.

Mr Augee said he believes experienced candidates are essential at this stage of the amalgamation. 

He said the first term is going to be essential in establishing the nature of that partnership. 

“Amalgamation was the only answer, however it is essential that it is a merger and not a take-over,” he said.

“It has been my experience in the short time that we’ve been under amalgamation that there is a strong tendency toward takeover.

“The first council is when the relationship is going to be established properly, it will be a good thing and we can become a united local government area but retain our community status and not be a suburb.

“It is essential that we maintain our community status and that the merger is a friendly, long-term partnership.”

Mr Augee emphasised the importance that Wellington is represented by councillors equipped with adequate experience with concerns the ward will become a “sitting target” for unequal negotiations. 

“It takes a knowledge of the Local Government Act and of how councils work, there is going to have to be a lot of very serious negotiating,” Mr Augee said.

In addition to his experience on council, Mr Augee said if elected he would bring a strong environmental focus and a pipeline for residents to share their views.

“Wellington citizens have no way of getting their ideas across, you have no contact, so I think it is essential a councillor from Wellington has a set time and place to be available to citizens,” he said.

“That is the problem, particularly for people in Stuart Town and Euchareena. They may as well be living on the moon.”

Mr Augee said he only intends on standing for one term – a strong believer in “generational changeover”. 

“I had no intention for ever standing for council again, but at the moment these negotiations are going to require a lot of experience, understanding of how local government works, and after that I’m quite happy to mentor any enthusiastic young people and get them ready,” he said.

“We need that combination of willingness to work with fellow councillors, but you also need to stand on your principals and stand up for Wellington,” he said. “It’s going to take negotiation.”