Chaffey officially declared Member for Parkes

Jamie Chaffey MP has newly been declared the Member for Parkes.

He was relieved to have the AEC declare the polls on Tuesday, a month on from election day.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of the Parkes electorate,” he said.

“[During] 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 his new role in the Shadow Ministry will give him a greater voice for the people of the Parkes electorate.

“[The electorate] 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,” he said.

“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.”

Since officially becoming the Member for Parkes, Mr Chaffey has called for Labor to bring back interest-free loans for farmers from the Regional Investment Corporation (RIC), impacted by Australia’s drought and floods.

Mr Chaffey said farmers across Australia have been simultaneously devastated by recent floods as well as drought.

“In 2020 the Coalition introduced a two-year interest free period for loans up to $2 million for farmers experiencing hardship during the drought,” Mr Chaffey said.

“The zero per cent interest rate applied to new and existing drought loans and to refinance existing debt from a farmer’s commercial bank, to give farmers some breathing space, saving them cashflow and giving them time to restock and replant.

Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud has written to Agriculture Minister Julie Collins, requesting support for the thousands of farmers dealing with floods and drought.

Mr Chaffey said current assistance doesn’t go far enough.