The fight over New South Wales council amalgamations will intensify after Woollahra Council was granted a full High Court appeal in Canberra today, hoping to overturn a Supreme Court decision upholding its proposed merger.

The High Court today granted Woollahra Council, in Sydney's east, special leave to appeal against the NSW Government's forced council merger.

Woollahra's appeal may inspire High Court action from five other dissenting councils — Mosman, Lane Cove, Hunters Hill, Strathfield and North Sydney — all awaiting separate Supreme Court rulings on merger proposals.

Scott Bennison, a Liberal councillor with Lane Cove Council, is opposed to any merger, and is already seeking formal approval to fund a High Court action, ready to be lodged if unsuccessful in the Supreme Court.

"We have a council meeting next Monday, and I'll be seeking to get council's support to seek leave to the High Court. Subject to legal advice saying we have reasonable basis," he said.

Mr Bennison believes councils were denied due process when the State Government blocked access to financial modelling prepared for the State Government by consultants KPMG.

Through appeal to the NSW Civil Appeals Tribunal, he obtained heavily redacted KPMG documents, which he claimed showed consultants using data from New Zealand to demonstrate financial benefits for mergers in NSW.

He said many of the savings projections were flawed.

"When they put this information together they relied on projected savings from Auckland's amalgamations," he said.

"But Auckland doesn't have a state government, so it's totally irrelevant as a comparison."

He also said the document suggested job losses of up to 7.4 per cent of staff would occur at merged metropolitan councils over three years of attrition and forced redundancies.



Speaking at a small rally outside Parliament House, Phil Jenkyn, spokesperson for the Save Our Councils Coalition, said the High Court milestone would galvanise his activists in an ongoing campaign.

"We are absolutely determined and committed to winning this battle," he said.

"We're winning at the ballot box, as you noted at the recent by-elections, massive swings, in both the country, in Orange, and the city over this issue. North Shore, Manly and Gosford."

Upper House crossbencher Fred Nile MLC, opposed to forced mergers, described the Government's current approach as dictatorial.

Woollahra's road to Canberra

A Court of Appeal judgment on December 22 ruled against Woollahra Council, paving the way for a merger with the Waverley and Randwick municipalities.

But Woollahra Council, which takes in the leafy areas of Paddington, Vaucluse and Point Piper among others, lodged an application to appeal to the High Court.

Today, during a brief session in Canberra, the council secured its right to a full hearing by the court.

Woollahra Mayor Toni Zeltzer said the council was pleased to have the chance to challenge the merger.

"There are other council's that are currently before the NSW Court of Appeal, this may have some ramifications for them," she said.

"But we are actually here on behalf of our own community and we couldn't be happier.

"This is only the beginning, it means that our leave has been approved and we can present our case before the full court in due course."

Residents launch separate challenge

Meanwhile, eastern suburbs residents have launched their own legal action in the Land and Environment Court seeking a judicial review.

Greens MP David Shoebridge said: "Whichever way the High Court rules, this is not going to go away for the Berejiklian Government."

"They don't know how to bed down the resident revolt in the eastern suburbs."

Mr Shoebridge said the battle to save the councils would continue, regardless of the High Court outcome.

"The bloody-minded, deeply undemocratic and arrogant Government can keep trying to do a job on local residents, but what we're seeing now is that residents aren't going to stand for it," he said.