IT is big, broad and in a few months' time, the electorate of Parkes will be a battleground. Boasting a greater landmass than Germany, Japan and Norway, Parkes is a physically large target, but it's issues are commensurately broad and, at times, labyrinthine. READ MORE: The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party has taken aim at western NSW and plucked two seats from the NSW Nationals at the state election. Barwon and Murray were reeled in, while the Shooters further entrenched themselves in Orange. Mark Coulton is the incumbent Parkes MP and he will contest the seat for the fifth time this May. The state seat of Barwon resides snugly within Parkes, but the Shooters state election heist hasn't "spooked" Mr Coulton. He won the 2016 election with 58 per cent of the first preference vote and 2 per cent swing for the Nats. Mr Coulton said there were a number of factors which played into the Shooters' hands in the Barwon election. The federal MP said the electorate had changed in recent years especially with the addition of Broken Hill which has a long affiliation with the Labor Party. He suggested some of the Labor vote might have jumped across to the Shooters. He said the retirement of Kevin Humphries also made the seat vulnerable. Despite this, Mr Coulton admitted there was frustration within the vast region he covers and the coalition needed to be better at explaining what it was doing for the community. The drought, water and the stark fish kills in Menindee loomed large in the Barwon election and Mr Coulton said the pain and pressure people were feeling due to the conditions might have manifested as a protest vote. "People are in a lot of pain, the drought has been going on for a long time," he said. "I think to a degree people have hit out at the frustration around the drought." Mr Coulton expected the Shooters to run against him in Parkes, but he wasn't "spooked" by the prospect. "I work at this job every day of the year and you can't win an election in five weeks," he said. The Shooters' NSW leader Robert Borsak said the party would contest Parkes, but it hadn't confirmed a candidate yet. He said it would be difficult to unseat the incumbent MP especially so soon after a resource-heavy state election for the Shooters' party. But Mr Borsak said the issues which won Barwon, would be at play in Parkes. "I think the failures in Parkes are similar to those in Barwon especially around issues of water management," Mr Borsak said.
IT is big, broad and in a few months' time, the electorate of Parkes will be a battleground.
Boasting a greater landmass than Germany, Japan and Norway, Parkes is a physically large target, but it's issues are commensurately broad and, at times, labyrinthine.
READ MORE:
The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party has taken aim at western NSW and plucked two seats from the NSW Nationals at the state election.
Barwon and Murray were reeled in, while the Shooters further entrenched themselves in Orange.
Mark Coulton is the incumbent Parkes MP and he will contest the seat for the fifth time this May.
The state seat of Barwon resides snugly within Parkes, but the Shooters state election heist hasn't "spooked" Mr Coulton.
He won the 2016 election with 58 per cent of the first preference vote and 2 per cent swing for the Nats.
Mr Coulton said there were a number of factors which played into the Shooters' hands in the Barwon election.
I think to a degree people have hit out at the frustration around the drought.
Mark Coulton, Parkes MP
The federal MP said the electorate had changed in recent years especially with the addition of Broken Hill which has a long affiliation with the Labor Party.
He suggesRead More – Source
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