HUNTER mayors’ have called for Scot MacDonald to be given back the job as the government’s representative in the region after the resignation of Catherine Cusack.
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Ms Cusack quit the job as parliamentary secretary for the Hunter in sensational fashion on Thursday, after an email she sent to Premier Gladys Berejiklian criticising the makeup of her cabinet was leaked to media outlets.
And while the man himself says he “honestly” doesn’t know whether he’ll be asked to take over, the Hunter’s mayors have called for Mr MacDonald, the previous parliamentary secretary for the Hunter, to be given the job back.
Cessnock’s Labor Mayor Bob Pynsent, the chair of the Hunter joint organisation of councils, said the government should take a “common sense approach” to appointing a new parliamentary secretary for the region.
“Scot MacDonald has held this role previously and is the obvious choice to return to the position,” he said.
“Hunter communities have built a relationship with Scot MacDonald since his appointment to the role in 2015 arming him with valuable local knowledge.”
Muswellbrook Mayor Martin Rush agreed, saying giving Mr MacDonald the job back would “ensure we can get back to getting the job done for our community, as he already has a strong understanding of the challenges unique to our area”.
And Maitland Mayor Peter Blackmore said he also supported Mr MacDonald returning to the position.
“During my tenure as chair of the Hunter joint organisation of council’s Scot MacDonald supported us magnificently,” he said.
Mr MacDonald, who was moved to parliamentary secretary for the Central Coast and Planning in January’s ministry shakeup, said he didn’t know whether he’d be asked to take the job back.
“I’ll do whatever the Premier asks me to do, but I very much enjoyed my time as parliamentary secretary for the Hunter and if that’s what the premier decides that’s what I’ll do,” he said.
After a factional meeting of moderates on Wednesday night, Ms Cusack fired off an email to Ms Berejiklian in which she threatened to “join the crossbench” if the Premier continued to insist her ministry was appointed “on merit”.
In her nine-page email attack Ms Cusack took aim the government’s new upper house leader Don Harwin, whose performances in parliament have been subject to debate since he took over.
“We are working with Don’s dreadful performance as you know he is no orator ... he is easily flustered, he is wafer thin skinned and this is all resulting in gross embarrassment in the Upper House,” Mr Cusack wrote to the Premier.
Speaking to reporters in Sydney on Friday Ms Berejiklian defended the government and said the comments should be put in “perspective”.
“It was an email from one person,” Channel Nine reported Ms Berejiklian as saying.
She said she’d accepted Ms Cusack’s resignation “based on the comments she made in the email”.
“I don’t blame people for being disappointed at not being in cabinet,” the Premier said.
Also on Friday, Jodi McKay, Labor’s shadow minister for transport and the former Newcastle MP and minister for the Hunter said Catherine Cusack had merely said “what everyone was talking about behind closed doors”.
“Every body has been talking about Don Harwin’s performance and all she did was give an honest verdict on what has been the gossip in the hallways,” she said.
“She’s also exposed these factional issues within that are going on in the government at the moment. I think this obviously shows that the Premier’s cabinet is not made up of merit based appointments.”
Ms McKay, who was in Lake Macquarie on Friday with Swansea MP Yasmin Catley, said the government should use the resignation as a chance to reappoint a minister for the Hunter.
“You need to have a voice around cabinet,” she said.
“You have no power as a parliamentary secretary.”
Hunter Labor MPs are not as fond as Mr MacDonald as the region’s mayor though, a number of them saying Ms Cusack had taken a more “conciliatory” approach since taking the job.
Though only in the job for a short period, Ms Cusack managed to make one major announcement – a $40,000 grant to give the Newcastle Show a lifeline.
In her email Ms Cusack threatened to move to the crossbench if Ms Berejiklian continued to insist her cabinet was appointed “on merit”.
But Brad Hazzard, the minister for Health who was in Newcastle on Friday, said he hoped Ms Cusack remained in the Liberal Party.
“Catherine is a friend of mine and that’s up to Catherine but I hope she stays in the Liberal Party because we’re all working well together,” he said.
He denied the government was in turmoil after the resignation, and talked down speculation about government MPs being disgruntled with the ministry.
“I’ve been in lots of organisations, teams, groups, and you’ll always get, from time to time, somebody who might have a slightly different view,” he said.
“I’m not the slightest bit angry and I’ve been around for 25 years, I’m very happy with the way the NSW government is working because, you know what, we’re delivering.
“This government has got a fantastic group of ministers who are doing an incredible job for NSW and there is no question in my mind, I’ve been around a while they’re all talented people and I’m enjoying working with them.”
Asked if he supported Mr Harwin the minister said he was a “a very good fellow and a hard working minister”.