Nationals candidate for Parkes Jamie Chaffey’s federal election campaign tour stopped in Narrabri this week.
Mr Chaffey said if he’s elected, and The Nationals help form government at the forthcoming election, $600,000 will be provided to renovate the recently purchased – Nurruby Children Service’s Barwan Street facility.
“Today’s an important announcement supporting Narrabri and the wider region,” said Mr Chaffey.
“We are struggling with huge waiting lists in our childcare facilities.”
He said the funding boost would allow Nurruby Children Services to operate a 22-place service for children aged 0-3 years.
“Everywhere I go in the Parkes electorate it’s about the 3 Cs, childcare, healthcare and aged care. The Nationals understand that investing in early childhood education will improve the educational outcomes for children, which will also have long-term benefits for the Narrabri community,” Mr Chaffey said.
“We need to get these three care sectors right, to ensure we can retain locals and to attract new people to our communities to fill the abundance of employment opportunities and grow our regional areas. If we are going to get the balance right to grow our regional communities, this investment is a must.”
“This is my commitment, and The Nationals commitment to Narrabri, because we believe in regional communities and want to support projects that have been championed by the community for the community,” Mr Chaffey said.
Nurruby Children Services are contributing $600,000 towards the project, bringing the total investment for the Narrabri community to $1.2 million.
Nurruby Children Services managing director Prue Jamieson said there has been a critical shortage of childcare in Narrabri for years, especially for the 0–3-year-old age group.
“We are thrilled that this project may soon become a reality, thanks to the $600,000 campaign commitment. This new service will provide much needed education and care for our youngest children,” Ms Jamieson said.
Previous reporting by The Courier and feedback from readers highlight concerns about the need for more staff, not just more childcare facilities. Sparking discussions about ways to recruit and entice qualified educators to the region.
Ms Jamieson said, “Like many sectors we are struggling with staff shortages especially qualified educators. Nurruby continues to look to our local communities, growing our own educators and supporting people to obtain formal qualifications.”
Mr Chaffey was joined at Nurruby for the announcement on Monday by his wife Judy, retiring Member for Parkes Mark Coulton and his wife Robyn and Shadow Minister for Regional Education Darren Chester.
Mr Chester said the campaign commitment demonstrated The Nationals’ strong focus on delivering for regional communities.
“Regional Australia has been left behind by Labor’s city centric childcare policies that haven’t done anything to address access in regional Australia. The Nationals are committed to delivering care to our regions because we know it is key to attracting the critical skills that allow communities like Narrabri to thrive,” Mr Chester said.
The Nationals announced Mr Chaffey as the candidate for the Parkes electorate in August last year.
“Born and raised in regional NSW, I have lived in the Gunnedah community since 1991,” states Mr Chaffey on the Nationals’ website.
“Side by side over the last 31 years, my wife Judy and I have raised four children and now enjoy being grandparents to three wonderful grandchildren.
“Our home is on our family grain and cattle property near Gunnedah, where I am an active member of our Anglican church and have volunteered for many years with Gunnedah Rotary and the Carroll RFS brigade.
“My career began as a supermarket store manager after leaving school, before I returned to our region to join the family engineering business.
“For over five decades we’ve served the agriculture, industrial and commercial sectors employing as many as 100 locals, and in my professional life I am proud to have served as Gunnedah mayor since 2016.
“I am passionate about regional Australia and will work hard to continue the legacy of Mark Coulton MP, advocating tirelessly to ensure our region gets its fair.”
The Courier asked Mr Chaffey what other issues have been raised by voters as he travels around the electorate.
“I’ve been campaigning for eight and a half months,” he said.
“Cost-of-living is overwhelming. Everyone is really struggling with less money in their pocket.
“But without actions and investment to approach the shortfall in childcare facilities, we won’t be able to continue to grow.
“We won’t see people who want to live in our community stay because they’ll have no option,” he said.
“It’s about the cost of living and the power prices but also access to quality aged care within the community.
“I mean most of our aged care facilities are doing it tough, and they’re full.”
Mr Chaffey said people were worried about older residents having to move hundreds of kilometres away from their loved ones to access care.
“And sometimes that means that unfortunately it’s a sentence to die alone, because other family members can’t travel to see them.
“I mean that is just devastating to hear that sort of thing happening,” he added.
“And then healthcare, very similar to the aged care argument, getting in to see a doctor, getting a family doctor, having a baby.”
Mr Chaffey said concerns about telecommunications and road networks were also hot topics of conversation.
The Courier asked Mr Chaffey about the Save Our Wee Waa Hospital campaign, and he urged “Hunter New England Health to actually do their job and see services back operational to the community of Wee Waa.
“One hundred per cent support seeing the services provided.”
When asked for his views on calls to split the Hunter New England Local Health District, Mr Chaffey said: “I was the mayor of Gunnedah for eight years. I had major issues with Hunter New England Health.
“I know there are major problems within the communities that are serviced by Hunter New England Health when it comes to their operations, is splitting Hunter New England Health in half the answer?
“I don’t know if that is the 100 per cent answer, but I know that what they’re doing at the moment isn’t working, hasn’t been working for a very long time.
“And there’s no signs that it’ll work into the future unless there’s some change.”
Geographically, Parkes is the largest electorate in NSW and seventh largest in the country. It takes in 406,755 square kilometres west of the Great Dividing Range or 50.1 per cent of the state.
The retiring Nationals MP Mark Coulton has held Parkes since 2007, with the electorate considered a very safe seat for the National Party.
With the Nats’ winning track record in Parkes, The Courier asked Mr Chaffey if he was feeling confident and who he thought would be Prime Minister after voting day on May 3.
“I wish I was confident. I’m certainly campaigning as hard as I possibly can, taking absolutely nothing for granted,” he said.
“There are six candidates at the moment, and the ballot draws on Friday, we’ll know exactly how many candidates and what political party they come from.
“I know the work that Mark’s done over 17 years … I won’t be complacent about what that outcome might be.
“My comment on who’ll be the Prime Minister in the future, look, it’s my hope for the people of the Parkes electorate that it’s Peter Dutton and it’s a Coalition government.
“An outright majority would be the best, absolutely best possible outcome for the people of Parkes.”
- BY ALI SMITH & GENEVIEVE MAUNDER
