Woollahra Council was expected to vote to take the Baird government to court on Monday night, setting the stage for a protracted legal battle, probably in the Supreme Court, over the process to force councils to amalgamate.

The council has legal advice that the government has used the wrong sections of the Local Government Act – it relied on a streamlined process introduced in 1999 – which Woollahra says is only to be used when councils voluntarily agree to merge . Woollahra argues this mistake has invalidated every step taken by the government so far and would require the government to recommence the amalgamation inquiries for forced mergers under a different section of the act.

Woollahra Council is relying on second reading debates when the new streamlined process was introduced to back up its claim. In the Hansard, the then minister for local government, Harry Woods, repeatedly refers to providing a faster path for voluntary amalgamations.

But a letter from the Crown Solicitor, reveals that the government is preparing to defend the case vigorously and will argue that the legislation should be interpreted as it was passed, with no reference to Hansard.