Jamie Chaffey officially declared as federal Member for Parkes

Jamie Chaffey has been officially declared as the federal Member for Parkes.

The Australian Electoral Commission conducted a poll declaration event in Dubbo on Tuesday.

Official results show Mr Chaffey, of The Nationals, winning the electorate on a two-party preferred count of 62.97 per cent to Labor’s 37.03 per cent.

Mr Chaffey, who was pre-selected at an event at Narrabri’s The Crossing Theatre last year, now officially takes over from Mark Coulton following his 17 years of representing the Parkes electorate in Canberra.

As reported by The Courier last week, Mr Chaffey was also announced in the Shadow Ministry as the Shadow Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Resources.

Mr Chaffey said he is grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of the Parkes electorate.

“Over the election campaign I met so many incredible people, and I would like to thank everyone who gave me their vote and supported me during the campaign. I am now looking forward to getting to work to fight for every single person in the Parkes electorate to make our area an even better place to live,” Mr Chaffey said.

“My new role in the Shadow Ministry will also give me a greater voice for the people of the Parkes electorate, which 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.

“I also acknowledge that people are doing it tough, and as I heard during the campaign, people are really concerned about the lack of access to childcare, healthcare and aged care.

“Once you leave the town boundaries it’s the state of our roads and telecommunications. I want to see sustainable investment continue in the Parkes electorate, including the Inland Rail to drive economic growth and our population, that means the right projects in the right locations across major infrastructure like road, rail, air, processing and manufacturing.

“I want to see truly local, small and medium businesses supported, so that our locals are at the heart of our future success. That’s my vision for the Parkes electorate and one I’m keen to start advocating for.”