General News
6 May, 2025
Chaffey wins Parkes for The Nationals
Jamie Chaffey has won the seat of Parkes
The Nationals have retained their seat in the Division of Parkes but a significant swing to the Labor Party hints at shifting attitudes amongst constituents.
Jamie Chaffey is now the Member for Parkes after his predecessor, Mark Coulton announced his retirement from federal politics after 17 years at the helm.
Parkes is the largest electorate in NSW and the seventh largest in the country, taking in 406,755 square kilometres west of the Great Dividing Range or just over 50 per cent of the state.
Mr Chaffey said in a media statement on Monday that he is grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of the Parkes electorate.
“Over the last nine months of the campaign, I have met so many incredible people and I would like to thank everyone who gave me their vote and supported me during the campaign,” he said.
“Once the polls are declared I will get to work to fight for every single person in the Parkes electorate to make our area an even better place to live.”
Mr Chaffey was joined by his wife Judy, their four children, their partners and grandchildren, Mark and Robyn Coulton and loyal supporters to watch the results come in at a function in Gunnedah.
“I would like to thank Mark and Robyn Coulton, and we thank them for their tireless service over the last 17 years for the Parkes electorate,” Mr Chaffey said at Gunnedah.
“I do believe we are just trying to make our country a better place for future generations.”
It is important to note that the final result for the Parkes electorate will not be known for some time as the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) waits to receive thousands of postal votes from constituents across the electorate.
Postal votes must be sent within 13 days of election day (Saturday, May 3), which could see the final count being released by the AEC in June.
The Nationals previously held the Division of Parkes with a margin of just over 18 per cent at the 2022 federal election but early voting results indicate that margin has significantly decreased.
At the time of writing this report, the Labor candidate for Parkes, Nathan Fell has seen a five point one per cent swing towards the centre-left political party according to the AEC Tally Room.
114 of 166 polling places have been returned in the Parkes electorate and 99.79 per cent of ballot papers have been counted thus far as of Sunday, May 4.
While Mr Chaffey received over 62 per cent of the two candidates preferred (TCP) for Parkes (compared to 68 per cent in 2022), Mr Fell increased the Labor party’s margin receiving just over 37 per cent of the TCP compared to 31 per cent at the last federal election.
Right-wing populist party, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party improved their performance in the Parkes electorate receiving a six per cent swing towards the party.
One Nation candidate for Parkes, Mark Carter, is currently sitting in third on the AEC Tally Room receiving just over 13 per cent of first preference votes in the electorate.
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, Stephen Pope would be pleased with his campaign efforts recording a four per cent swing towards the party according to the AEC Tally Room.
Mr Pope recorded just over six per cent of the vote at the time of writing.
Greens candidate, Trish Frail, led a campaign focused on the environment and recorded a one per cent swing towards the party in Parkes and registered just over six per cent of first preference votes.
Libertarians for Parkes, Sally Edwards led a strong campaign and was extremely visible across the electorate since announcing she was running for the seat earlier this year.
However, at the time of writing, Ms Edwards has received just over three per cent of the total vote but recorded a three and a half per cent swing towards the Libertarian party.
