The federal seat of Parkes will have a new leader and could welcome new towns after the Australia Electoral Commission released its proposed new borders.
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One of the biggest electorates in Australia, Parkes looks set to keep Gunnedah, Moree and Narrabri while losing Gwydir in the northern part of the state.
The Parkes electorate will be selecting a new representative with current member Mark Coulton stepping away from politics at the next election.
"Overall, the proposed redistribution is not a bad result for the electorate of Parkes - we're gaining some strong towns in Parkes, Forbes and West Wyalong which I'm sure will only add to this great electorate," Mr Coulton said.
"I am sorry to see the upper half of the Gwydir Shire, which includes my hometown of Warialda, move to the New England electorate. That means that once I retire at the next election, I will no longer live in the Parkes electorate which is personally disappointing, having represented this electorate for so long and been so invested in it.
"The biggest challenge for whoever is the next Member for Parkes will be the increase in geographical size of the Parkes electorate.
"Each time there has been a boundary change, the Parkes electorate has grown, and this time is no different.
"The electorate currently covers a geographical area of 393,413 square kilometres - already well and truly the largest in NSW, covering 49 per cent of the state. These changes will see it grow even further to approximately 406,755 square kilometres which will make it more difficult to travel throughout the electorate on a regular basis, meaning more nights away from home for the next Member."
For the 2024 election, the number of members of the House of Representatives will decrease from 47 to 46.
![Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton will step away from politics at the next election. Picture by Belinda Soole Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton will step away from politics at the next election. Picture by Belinda Soole](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/118079462/497abb99-fa8a-4840-b5c5-cb991653e354.jpg/r0_25_1017_599_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
According to the AEC (Australian Electoral Commission), the number of projected electors for Parkes needed to increase, making it one of 24 to do so across NSW.
"Under the proposal, some significant changes would occur, with the boundaries of New South Wales divisions being amended to accommodate the decrease," the chair of the committee and electoral commissioner Tom Rogers said.
"Forty-five of the existing 47 division names would be retained."
There were some calls for Wellington to join the Division of Parkes but the AEC said the move would negatively impact the numbers of the surrounding electorates.
Objections for the potential changes are open until July 15, 2024, with the announcement of the final boundaries to occur later in the year.