Ms O’Halloran, who taught at both Griffith High and Wade High School early in her career, said the new arrangements “defy common sense”.

“When I came to Griffith I was 21 and I really enjoyed my time and believe I learnt a lot as a teacher ... but I’m almost certain I wouldn’t have left my family to come here if it wasn’t for the transfer system, and it would have been a great loss to me and the town,” she said.

“The thing about this whole staffing dispute is it just defies common sense. What the minister is doing makes me wonder if he has any concern for country communities at all. I expect he doesn’t have much experience in country areas.”

Seventy teachers from Griffith and the surrounding towns joined the federation president on Wednesday night for dinner. They were among thousands of teachers in NSW who went on strike on Thursday, May 22.

Griffith High’s Teachers Federation representative Richard Wiseman was among them and said it could be the beginning of a drawn out fight for teachers.

“The department keeps saying it’s only a minor adjustment but that minor adjustment is going to have a drastic effect on Griffith schools,” he said.

Mr Wiseman will join 300 other teachers set to vote on further industrial action in Sydney on June 14.

Griffith teachers are particularly unhappy about the phase-out of the service transfer scheme. The scheme gives priority appointments to teachers who accumulate points over years of service in remote regions or areas that find it hard to attract staff.

Ms O’Halloran said with 16,000 teachers eligible to retire by 2012, and that figure rising to 25,000 by 2016, it is clearly possible to allow transfers to occur and accommodate more local choice.