PHOTO: Mark Coulton will be doing even more travelling than normal as the Parkes Electorate increases in size.
Last week, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) announced its 2024 redistribution proposal for New South Wales, which will see the Division of Parkes grow to include the Bland, Forbes and Parkes shire councils, while losing the remainder of the Gwydir Shire to the Division of New England.
The electorate, represented by Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton 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. The redistribution will see the number of members in the House of Representatives decrease from 47 to 46…