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| Adam Carr's Election Archive
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Australian federal election, 2025
Division of Parkes, New South Wales
Named for: Rt Hon Sir Henry Parkes (1815-96), NSW MP 1854-56, 1858, 1859-61, 1864-70, 1872-84, 1885-95, Premier 1872-75, 1877, 1878-83, 1887-89, 1889-91, "Father of Federation."
Western New South Wales: Bourke, Broken Hill, Dubbo, Gunnedah, Moree
Enrolment at 2019 election: 109,639
Enrolment at 2022 election: 109,000 (-00.5)
1999 republic referendum: No 69.5
2018 same-sex marriage survey: Yes 52.7
2023 Voice referendum: No 78.8
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Sitting member: Hon Mark Coulton (Nationals): Elected 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2022. Retiring 2025
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2007 Nationals majority over Labor: 13.0%
2010 Nationals majority over Labor: 18.9%
2013 Nationals majority over Labor: 22.4%
2016 Nationals majority over Labor: 15.1%
2019 Nationals majority over Labor: 16.9%
2022 Nationals majority over Labor: 17.8%
2025 notional Nationals majority over Labor: 18.1%
Status: Very safe Nationals
Nationals two-party vote 1984-2022
2022 results
Statistics and history
Announced candidates:
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Jamie Chaffey
The Nationals |
Division of Parkes
Parkes was created in 1984, based on the mining city of Broken Hill and the western pastoral districts of NSW
(there was an earlier seat of
Parkes in Sydney from 1901 to 1969). At the 2006 redistribution Parkes was abolished
and partitioned between
Calare and
Farrer. To preserve the name of
Sir Henry Parkes, however,
the federation seat of
Gwydir, based on the Western Slopes area, was renamed Parkes. In 2007 the sitting member for Parkes,
John Cobb, contested Calare, rather than the new Parkes.
The 2016 redistribution partly reversed this change, putting Broken Hill back in the seat. Ever
since the federation seat of
Darling was abolished in 1977, Broken Hill has been a problem for NSW redistribution commissioners: it's no longer big enough to have its own seat, but not compatible with any of the
surrounding seats. Since 1977 it has been placed in
Riverina, Parkes, Farrer and Parkes again.
Despite the re-inclusion of Broken Hill, Parkes remains one of the most rural electorates in Australia, with the
third-highest proportion of the workforce engaged in agriculture of any electorate. It has the low levels of median
family income and of non English speaking households typical of rural seats. More than 15% of residents are Indigenous.
Broken Hill has always been a Labor stronghold. Even in 2019, Labor won every polling booth in
the city. But because Labor has very little support in the rural areas of seat, the inclusion of Broken Hill has reduced the
Nationals majority only slightly.
Mark Coulton
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