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Parkes
Australian House of Representatives Division
Parkes; Australian House of Representatives Division
	Division of Parkes in New South Wales, as of the 2016 federal election
Created	1984
MP	Mark Coulton
Party	Nationals
Namesake	Sir Henry Parkes
Electors	109,133 (2022)
Area	393,413 km2 (151,897.6 sq mi)
Demographic	Rural
	Electorates around Parkes:

The Division of Parkes is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.

History

Sir Henry Parkes, the division's namesake

The former Division of Parkes (1901–1969) was located in suburban Sydney, and was not related to this division, except in name.

The division is named after Sir Henry Parkes, seventh Premier of New South Wales and sometimes known as the 'Father of Federation'. The division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 11 October 1984, and was first contested at the 1984 federal election. The seat is currently a safe Nationals seat. It was substantially changed by the 2006 redistribution and is now considered by many observers as the successor to the abolished Division of Gwydir. As a result, the then member for Parkes, John Cobb, instead contested the Division of Calare. The current Member for Parkes, since the 2007 federal election, is Mark Coulton, a member of the National Party of Australia.^[1]

According to the 2011 census, approximately 78 per cent of the population within the division identify as Christian,^[2] more than any other electorate in Australia at that time.^[3]

The 2015 redistribution resulted in Parkes expanded westwards to cover the state's Far West, including Broken Hill.^[4] The seat previously lost this area to the Division of Farrer in the 2006 redistribution.^[5]

Boundaries

Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian Electoral Commission. Redistributions occur for the boundaries of divisions in a particular state, and they occur every seven years, or sooner if a state's representation entitlement changes or when divisions of a state are malapportioned.^[6]

The largest electorate in the state, it is located in the far north west of the state, adjoining the border with Queensland in the north and with South Australia in the west. Its largest population centre is Dubbo. It also includes the towns of Broken Hill, Dunedoo, Coonabarabran, Coonamble, Walgett, Narrabri, Moree, Warren, Nyngan, Cobar and Bourke. The division does also include the namesake towns of Parkes, Forbes and West Wyalong by a redistribution since October 2024 - ready for the 2025 federal elections when called apon by May.^[7]

Members

Member	Party	Term	Notes
Michael Cobb (1945–)	Nationals	1 December 1984 – 31 August 1998	Retired
Tony Lawler (1961–)		3 October 1998 – 8 October 2001	Retired
John Cobb (1950–)		10 November 2001 – 24 November 2007	Served as minister under Howard. Transferred to the Division of Calare
Mark Coulton (1958–)		24 November 2007 – present	Served as minister under Morrison. Incumbent

Election results

2022 Australian federal election: Parkes^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Mark Coulton	43,931	49.32	−1.44
	Labor	Jack Ayoub	18,009	20.22	−3.34
	One Nation	Deborah Swinbourn	6,662	7.48	+7.48
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Rothwell	5,723	6.42	−1.64
	Indigenous-Aboriginal	Derek Hardman	4,466	5.01	+5.01
	Greens	Trish Frail	4,214	4.73	+0.56
	United Australia	Petrus Van Der Steen	2,372	2.66	−3.63
	Independent	Stuart Howe	2,191	2.46	+2.46
	Informed Medical Options	Benjamin Fox	1,512	1.70	+1.70
Total formal votes			89,080	92.31	−1.83
Informal votes			7,421	7.69	+1.83
Turnout			96,501	88.53	−2.60
Two-party-preferred result
	National	Mark Coulton	60,433	67.84	+0.93
	Labor	Jack Ayoub	28,647	32.16	−0.93
	National hold		Swing	+0.93