Following Richard Torbay’s departure from politics last week, the Northern Tablelands has been left without a representative in NSW’s Legislative Assembly.

But Mr MacDonald said he had called staff at Mr Torbay’s electoral office and offered to provide any support required.

“It’s distressing to think that people believed they didn’t have any representation to the NSW Parliament,” he said.

Armidale Dumaresq Council has already referred its concerns about a local government amendment bill to Mr MacDonald after originally proposing it be sent to Mr Torbay.

Mr MacDonald last year accused Mr Torbay of “political opportunism” after the former state MP expressed an interest in running for the federal seat of New England.

He yesterday said candidates for the coming Northern Tablelands byelection needed to produce outcomes for the region.

“That includes making the Northern Tablelands a diversified economic region so we can move beyond the base of agriculture and education,” he said.

“I very much respected [Mr Torbay] as a retail politician, but the Northern Tablelands has suffered from a lack of real outcomes.”

Local members of the Liberal Party have written to the state executive and parliamentary leaders asking for permission to run a candidate at the byelection.

Mr MacDonald supported the idea of a Liberal candidate running for the seat.

“It would be fantastic if somebody was there in the contest,” he said.

The date of the byelection has yet to be named by NSW Speaker Shelley Hancock.