Federal takeover of NSW Liberals a 'band-aid fix' for council bungle

Maitland Liberal councillor Ben Mitchell was one of 140 candidates who were not nominated for the election before the cut-off. File picture by Jonathan Carroll

A Maitland councillor who the Liberal Party failed to nominate for council elections has called the federal Liberal Party's takeover of the NSW division a "band-aid solution".

Ben Mitchell was one of two Maitland Liberal members caught up in the statewide blunder that saw the party miss the 12pm deadline on August 14 to register 140 candidates in numerous council areas across the state, including Newcastle and Cessnock.