“That’s the beauty of our democracy. People can voice their opinion and that’s what we live in,” he said.

Cr Harmon has supported the plan to remove plane trees around the CBD and build a median strip for years. Construction was set to begin on Monday, but has been delayed as the council waits for Roads and Maritime Services approval. 

He felt it was unfair of protesters to expect councillors who supported the plan to attend the rally. He said that he was always willing to talk to locals when they saw him on the street. 

“I think that’s pretty poor criticism for us, that we weren’t there to be shouted at when at any time people can ask questions about it,” Cr Harmon said. 

“We’re just going over the same old ground that we’ve gone over before. The Times has covered this quite extensively before the election, so it’s old news.”

He said he did speak to out-of-towners who were in Inverell during the protest, and explained his reasons for voting for the plan, and answered questions from others who attended the rally.

“I also had a ratepayer come up to me and say they thought council was doing the right thing –  the trees are a nuisance, the trees harbor vermin – so it was encouraging that there were people that were supportive of council, which I have never doubted,” he said.

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