The seven Parkes candidates vying for your vote

So far 109,278 voters have registered with the Australian Electoral Commission for the election that was called by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday.

Standing out are an outspoken Indigenous woman flying the Greens Party flag on environment and climate change, and a young Labor Party union official who wants a sweeping change in Parkes - a seat which has been held by the Nationals since 1984.

"I believe the people in the Parkes electorate have been looking around what has been happening in the environment and becoming frustrated with the government's denial that climate change is real," Greens Party candidate, Trish Frail, a 60 year-old-old cafe owner and Brewarrina councillor told ACM.

"It's here we are living in it...we are extremely concerned with what is happening with our droughts, bushfires, reefs drying and floods."

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Ms Frail said she would also bring to Canberra issues on domestic violence prevention against women and children, women's low wages, and improving Indigenous health, reducing deaths in custody and a treaty on Indigenous land.

Labor's Jack Ayoub, 27, pitched to boost the region's mobile phone connectivity pledging $600 million for massive upgrade of mobile phone coverage and expanding full-fibre NBN for homes and businesses.

"Connectivity is essential in the regions for access to education, health and commerce. If we want young people to stay here, connectivity is critical. We know that if you go to outskirts of many of our communities, connectivity is non-existent," he said.

This is the second time Mr Ayoub, an ex-teacher's aide and ex-army trainee prior to working with AWU, is contesting the Parkes seat which is safely held by Mr Coulton on a 16.9 per cent margin. Mr Coulton's margin is among the top five highest in the 22 NSW seats held by the Coalition.

Mr Ayoub came second in 2019, with almost half of Mr Coulton's amassed votes, and still believes to be "the underdog in this battle" however he is emboldened by feedback across the electorate that "they want to see a change."

"I'm bolstered by the conversation I've been having with voters. I hope they support me to be that change. Our campaign is a grassroots one, its people focused."

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Since Parkes was reinstated as a federal seat for western NSW in1984, the Nationals' held it for 14 years under Michael Cobb. Mr Coulton, a farmer and grazier, overwhelmingly won five elections since 2007 after serving as Gwydir Shire mayor.

He was a frontbencher in Mr Morrison's cabinet from February 2020 until July last year as minister for regional health, regional communications and local government and admits "there is no such thing as completely safe seat."

"But if you are doing the right by your electorate they continue to vote for you, and I will work just as hard for this one as I did in the previous elections since 2007," Mr Coulton said.

Mr Coulton reveals his strongest opponent remains Labor as how it was it the 2019 election. "The choices of the people thus far is between myself and Labor regardless what the independents might do."

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But from tomorrow when he hits the first day of an intense campaign trail in Dubbo to mark the opening of Westpac and St George banks as one branch in the largest regional city in Parkes that he's going to defend in the polls, he hopes "cordiality and respect" prevail.

"I certainly hope all my opponents are treated with respect so we can have a battle of ideas and keep it civil," Mr Coulton said.

Clive Palmer's United Australia Party has again fielded 58-year-old Petrus Van Der Steen who lives at Drake. He said the Liberal Party and National Party coalition has "let him [Coulton] down" following an "internal power struggle" that led to Mr Coulton losing his frontbench portfolio.

"He [Coulton] has always served Parkes with honour, dignity and diligence. He is a formidable candidate not to be ruled out, that's for sure," Mr Van Der Steen said about his opponent.

"Thanks to Clive we're not beholden to lobbyists and so we're not owned by any external influences and we have a strong team spirit."

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Informed Medical Options candidate, Ben Fox, an ex-Dubbo College teacher and chef, is recuperating after a heart attack last Tuesday. "Although the [election announcement] timing is terrible, I do need to focus on my own health right now and look forward to continuing my campaign as soon as possible," Mr Fox said.

ACM has also sought comments from independent candidate Stuart Howe and Liberal Democrats' Peter Rothwell who are both actively campaigning on social media.

Ahead of pre-poll and voting day, AEC commissioner Tom Rogers has warned they won't be "messing around" with rampant disinformation as the AEC launched the disinformation register to detect "misleading and deceptive information about how elections are run" in Australia.

"The Australian vote belongs to all Australians and there is freedom of political communication...if you spread incorrect information about the processes we run - deliberately or otherwise - we'll correct you.

"Scrutiny is important but it must be well informed. Australian elections are too important to let these things go through to the keeper, especially when people aren't acting in good faith."

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