Deputy Premier John Barilaro has labelled former Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull a "disgrace" following his endorsement of Upper Hunter independent candidate Kirsty O'Connell.
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"Great to be in Aberdeen supporting Kirsty O'Connell," Mr Turnbull said in a tweet that featured a photo of him and Ms O'Connell at Aberdeen on Saturday.
Ms O'Connell, a member of the Friends of the Upper Hunter community group, believes the region cannot sustain any new coal mines.
Mr Turnbull, who owns a property in the Upper Hunter, has also called for a moratorium on new Hunter mines. Last month he objected to the expansion of the Mt Pleasant coal mine near his 1092-hectare property.
"She (Kirsty O'Connell) won't sell-out the health of the community in the way the National party has done, in the way they've cuddled up to the big mining companies with no regard to what the people need here," Mr Turnbull said.
His endorsement has infuriated the Nationals, who fear Mr Turnbull's endorsement could be enough to influence the outcome of the May 22 byelection.
If the Nationals, which hold the seat by a 2.6 per cent margin, lose the Berejiklian government will become a minority.
"It is one thing to lecture regional communities from the comforts of his Point Piper mansion, but to parade himself across the Upper Hunter and actively campaign against the livelihoods of thousands of people...he is an absolute disgrace," Mr Barilaro told the ABC.
"He actively destroyed the Morrison government's majority in the Wentworth byelection and now he is actively campaigning to destroy the Berejiklian-Barilaro Government."
Mr Turnbull's comments about the impacts of mining forced NSW Energy and Environment Minister Matt Kean to dump him as chair of the government's Net Zero Emissions and Clean Economy Board last month.
Mr Turnbull said mines were destroying the Upper Hunter's landscape and shortening lives by reducing air quality. He also warned they could potentially leave taxpayers with a huge environmental remediation bill.
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The push to unseat the Nationals gained further momentum when Ms O'Connell and Dungog's Tracy Norman last week agreed to preference each other first ahead of the major parties.
"We are aligned on most issues that are in play in this byelection and particularly on the value of putting an Independent MP into Parliament," Ms Norman said.
Ms O'Connell, who has won the top spot on the byelection ballot paper, said the region was at a "tipping point".
"With such significant changes happening globally, we can't afford to wait another decade to develop a comprehensive plan for our future."