General news
4 April, 2025
Election May 3 as ALP names candidate
Nathan Fell named as ALP candidate for Parkes
WITH less than a month to go until the federal election on May 3, 2025, the race for the seat of Parkes is gathering momentum, with five confirmed candidates and now finally, an ALP nominee - Nathan Fell of Broken Hill.
Jamie Chaffey from the National Party, Maurice Davey from Family First, Sally Edwards (Libertarian) Trish Frail from the Greens and Fell are the candidates for NSW’s most expansive electorate so far. However, it’s the delay of a named candidate from the Australian Labor Party that has raised eyebrows, with some like outgoing MP Mark Coulton, questioning the party’s commitment to regional Australia despite a strong rebuke from ALP powerbrokers their candidate will have enough time to promote their message. Is a mere month though enough time to understand the issues facing 20 LGA’s and 51% of the state for Nathan Fell and the ALP?
Jamie Chaffey, a former Gunnedah Mayor and long-time member of the National Party, is well-established in the region and has been actively campaigning since August 2024. His candidacy is backed by a wealth of local experience, with a platform focused on regional development, agricultural support, and infrastructure investment. As a member of the Nationals, Chaffey is positioning himself as a staunch advocate for rural and regional communities, emphasising the importance of reliable infrastructure and services in areas like healthcare, education, and transport. His experience as Mayor of Gunnedah, Country Mayors and other boards, combined with his deep ties to the electorate, has made him a familiar and trusted figure across the vast and diverse electorate of Parkes.
“From Moree to Broken Hill, we need a government that understands the challenges we face here in regional Australia,” Chaffey said during a recent campaign stop in Dubbo.
The issue is, the electorate is cottoning onto campaign slogans and platitudes and then nothing changing either and the National’s may wear the brunt of it at the polls after Coulton had a 1.4% swing against him at the 2022 election.
Trish Frail, who announced her candidacy in March 2025 from her hometown in Brewarrina, is the first confirmed candidate for the Greens in the Parkes electorate. A strong advocate for environmental sustainability, Frail’s platform focuses on climate change action, renewable energy, and social justice for rural Australians.
With her background in community advocacy and her connection to western New South Wales, former councillor, Frail is hoping to present the Greens as a viable alternative for voters who feel their concerns are not being adequately addressed by the major parties.
“We need to protect our environment and invest in sustainable solutions that will benefit rural communities,” Frail said in her announcement.
Frail is already actively engaging with local communities, attending town halls and connecting with voters who are keen on progressive policies, particularly those related to climate change, healthcare, and the rights of Indigenous Australians.
Maurice Davey is a fourth-generation farmer and grazier in the central west of NSW and is very thankful for his multi-generational Christian heritage. Married to Merren for 41 years, they have four married children and nine grandchildren. His focus is very strongly on the preservation and active nurture of the family unit, recognising it as the basic building block of a happy and prosperous society. As such, he has found it to be a natural progression to align himself with Family First. He loves working with people and community, adheres strongly to the Judeo-Christian ethic and endeavours to approach issues in life with logic and commonsense. He is reminded that Family First’s foray into the political arena must be viewed, not as a sprint, but as a marathon, and that we have been called “for such a time as this”.
Libertarian Sally Edwards has spent her lifetime living and volunteering across rural and remote Australia. For the past 18 years Sally, her husband and family have farmed in the Warrumbungle region, they love life on the land and being a part of a rural community. Sally is a passionate advocate for Rural Australia – its people, its land and water, and to helping these communities survive, and hopefully thrive.
Sally’s background includes experience across tourism and hospitality, roles across the beef supply chain, small business owner, and over a decade of experience in Rural Community Development.
Fell, a miner from Broken Hill, has only been announced this week and will need to hit the ground running. Already he is six months behind Chaffey who has visited most towns and villages two or three times and with time running out it is unlikely he will get to many even once. In his defence, the area is bigger than most European countries. That won’t matter to voters though.
The seat of Parkes has been significantly altered by the recent electoral boundary redistribution, which now includes north portions of Michael McCormack’s old Riverina seat. This change brings new demographics and potentially new political dynamics to the seat, making the race even more competitive. However, with the electorate now covering an even greater expanse up from 49% of NSW in 2022 - from Moree and Gunnedah out to Broken Hill, and across to West Wyalong and Forbes up to Dubbo - campaigning is a logistical challenge for all candidates. The election on May 3, 2025, is now only 28 days away and with four of the five candidates only declaring their hand in the past month, is it long enough for them to cut through with constituents and understand the specific issues within LGAs of the electorate? We shall see but history says, no it's not.
Read More: West Wyalong
