The Central Western Daily thinks it might not be a bad idea.

Orange, Cabonne and Blayney councils have been affected by merger uncertainty since 2013 when the Independent Local Government Review Panel suggested an amalgamation could be of benefit.

The uncertainty has only worsened as Cabonne Council waited for the NSW Land and Environment Court decision on its challenge and once that was dismissed, the ongoing wait on the Woolhara case, which is yet to be handed down.

Mr Toole could reasonably argue that he has agreed not to take any action on the Cabonne case until seven days after the Woolhara decision is made in order to give Cabonne a chance to appeal.

Asking him to confirm or rule out a merger now could be seen as preempting legal processes.

However, leaving an issue this significant to chance in a byelection is not fair on voters who deserve to know what they’re in for and legal process does not seem to be a consideration at this point.

If the Coalition confirms that it will amalgamate the three councils in the event Cabonne does not appeal, it will make the byelection a true test on the issue.

The voters who oppose amalgamation would presumably vote against The Nationals anyway, while the people who do not mind whether the councils stay independent will vote as they see fit.

It is clear there are significant pockets of opposition to mergers, but others who either don’t care or even support amalgamation, especially in Orange itself.

Leaving it open, on the other hand, could well put the issue into greyhounds territory, where people might not support the industry per se, but object to the government’s handling of the issue.

Nationals candidate for Orange Scott Barrett said at the forum the cards had been dealt on amalgamations and it was a fight the region had lost, subject to an appeal, of course.

The government chose to act on the greyhounds issue.

In light of what has already been said publicly, surely acting on this one as well won’t hurt.