Council
6 June, 2025
Chaffey in LNP Shadow Cabinet as election confirmed by AEC
Chaffey straight to work after election result as McCormack steps back from frontbench
CONFIRMED MEMBER for Parkes, Jamie Chaffey has reasons to smile this week as Leader of The Nationals, The Hon. David Littleproud MP announced his team, that will join the Liberals, to create a Coalition Shadow Ministry, that will be dedicated to holding the Labor Government to account for the next three years.
“I am proud to be included in the Shadow Ministry, and to serve as Shadow Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Shadow Assistant Minister for Resources,” Chaffey said.
"The Parkes electorate is made up of diverse economies across 20 local government areas, and the Unincorporated Far West Area, with two of the major economic drivers being the agricultural and resources sectors. As the newly elected Member for Parkes, my duty will always be to serve the people of the Parkes electorate, and in this new role I will have a greater capacity to advocate on their behalf and hold the Labor Government accountable.
"Under the leadership of The National Party, we held all of our Lower House seats at the recent election. It is my belief that our values, and focus on regional Australia, combined with our strong policies, will give strength to our Coalition partners to enable a Coalition Government to come to power at the next election," Mr Chaffey said from the AEC Office in Dubbo where his election was declared this week.
In other LNP news, Member for Riverina, and former Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack has stepped down from the Shadow frontbench.
In a statement on his Facebook page, McCormack said - “As I step down from the Coalition frontbench, I reflect with gratitude on the past three years serving as Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific. This role has been amongst the most rewarding of my Parliamentary career, offering opportunities to forge meaningful partnerships and advocate for our Pacific neighbours. I am disappointed in the decision not to include me in the frontbench but, as I told a media conference today - there are people, at the moment, quite frankly, who are shovelling mud out of their homes, there are farmers looking to the skies and hoping it will rain, there are women who will discover lumps in their breasts today, there are men who won’t be able to see their kids at night because of some court order. There are so many people far worse off than me in this world.”
"As I return to the backbench, I remain committed to the values that have guided my work in international development: compassion, collaboration, and a steadfast dedication to improving the lives of those in our neighbouring countries. Congratulations to my colleagues who are returning to shadow portfolios and especially to those who have been promoted to a shadow portfolio for the first time. I look forward to continuing to serve the Riverina community."
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