At a meeting of Orange City Council on Thursday night, Cr Neil Jones claimed he had received a call from a councillor and was asked to withdraw his support for a rescission motion on the development of 655 hectares of land at south Orange.

Cr Jones did not name the councillor, but said he was told to change his vote on the development to avoid a rescission motion on the zoning of the Ploughmans Creek wetlands for public recreation.

A majority of councillors voted to secure the wetlands from residential development at a meeting on Monday.

“Today I got a phone call from a councillor who said to me, ‘We want you to withdraw your support for the rescission motion and we’ll withdraw the rescission motion [on the wetlands]’,” he said.

“I interpreted that as being asked to change my vote so the wetland could be saved ... the Ploughmans Creek wetland has become a pawn in the political game over south Orange.”

Cr Jones also said the phone call made him question “the ethics of this chamber”.

A rescission motion on the wetlands was moved by Orange mayor John Davis and councillors Chris Gryllis and Sam Romano.

Cr Jones said the phone call was not made by Cr Davis.

There is no suggestion it was made by either Cr Gryllis or Cr Romano.

While the motion was ultimately defeated, preserving the wetlands for public recreation, Cr Jones’ allegations caused tempers to flare.

Deputy mayor Jeff Whitton called for an apology from Cr Jones and refused to vote on the wetlands.

“He’s [Cr Jones] making some accusations that there is collusion in this matter,” Cr Whitton said.