Parkes Shire

This article is about the local government area. For the regional town, see Parkes, New South Wales.

Parkes Shire is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Broken Hill railway line and the Newell Highway.

Parkes Shire New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates	33°08′S 148°10′E
Population	14,361 (2021 census)[1]
• Density	2.41037/km2 (6.2428/sq mi)
Established	1981
Area	5,958 km2 (2,300.4 sq mi)
Mayor	Neil Westcott (Unaligned)
Council seat	Parkes[2]
Region	Central West
State electorate(s)	Orange
Federal division(s)	Calare
Website	Parkes Shire
LGAs around Parkes Shire: Lachlan Narromine Dubbo Regional Lachlan Parkes Shire Cabonne Lachlan Forbes Cabonne

The area under administration includes the town of Parkes and the surrounding region of 5,919 square kilometres (2,285 sq mi), with a population of approximately 14,592 as of 2011. The Shire includes the towns of Peak Hill, Alectown, Bogan Gate, Trundle and Tullamore.

The mayor of Parkes Shire Council is Cr. Neil Westcott, who is unaligned with any political party.

Heritage listings

Parkes has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• 39 Currajong Street: Parkes Post Office^[3]
• May Street: Parkes railway station^[4]

Council

Current composition and election method

Parkes Shire Council is composed of ten councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council is as follows:^[5]

Party		Councillors
	Independents	10
	Independent National	1
Total		10

Past councillors

2016−present

Year	Councillor		Councillor		Councillor		Councillor		Councillor		Councillor		Councillor		Councillor		Councillor		Councillor
2016		Neil Westcott (Ind.)		Louise O'Leary (Ind.)		Ken Keith (Ind. Nat)		Kenny McGrath (Ind.)		Wally Biles (Ind.)		Barbara Newton (Ind.)		George Pratt (Ind.)		Bill Jayet (Ind.)		Alan Ward (Ind.)		Patrica Smith (Ind.)
2021										Glenn Wilson (Ind.)		Marg Applebee (Ind.)						Jacob Cass (Ind.)		Daniel Weber (Ind.)

Election results

2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Parkes^[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent (Group A)	1. Matthew Scherer 2. Andrew Wilkinson 3. Ben Drabsch 4. Jeff Powell 5. Michael White 6. Mick Ramsay
	Independent (Group B)	1. Glenn Wilson 2. Daniel Weber 3. Erik Snyman 4. Rob Bradley 5. Tim Hall-Matthews 6. Ray Johnson 7. Nick Lees 8. Justin Hill
	Independent	Marg Applebee
	Independent	Neil Hamilton
	Independent	Douglas Pout
	Libertarian	Samuel Jordan
	Independent	Alan Flavel
	Independent National	Ken Keith
	Independent	Kenny McGrath
	Independent	Graeme Hunter
	Independent	Louise O'Leary
	Independent National	Darren Stevenson
	Independent	Hamish Ritchie
	Independent	Irene Ridgeway
	Independent	Anthony Barrott
	Independent	Joy Paddison
	Independent	Jacob Cass
	Independent	Bill Jayet
	Independent	Neil Westcott
	Independent	George Pratt
Total formal votes
Informal votes
Turnout

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 New South Wales local elections in Central West § Parkes results.[edit]

2021

2021 New South Wales local elections: Parkes^[8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	1. Glenn Wilson (elected) 2. Erik Snyman 3. Matthew Scherer 4. Daniel Weber (elected) 5. Peter Weber 6. Ray Hodge	1,596	19.9
	Independent National	Ken Keith (elected)	1,172	14.6
	Independent	Louise O'Leary (elected)	786	9.8
	Independent	Neil Westcott (elected)	708	8.8
	Independent	Bill Jayet (elected)	707	8.8
	Independent	Jacob Cass (elected)	650	8.1
	Independent	Marg Applebee (elected)	573	7.1
	Independent	Kenny McGrath (elected)	496	6.2
	Independent	George Pratt (elected)	431	5.4
	Independent National	John Southon	332	4.1
	Independent	Johanne Burke	213	2.7
	Independent	Cathy Francis	160	2.0
	Independent	John Coulston	156	1.9
	Independent	Sean White	47	0.6
Total formal votes			8,027	91.0
Informal votes			797	9.0
Turnout			8,824	83.8
Party total votes
	Independent		6,523	81.3
	Independent National		1,504	18.7
Party total seats				Seats	±
	Independent			9
	Independent			1

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2021 New South Wales local elections in Central West § Parkes.[edit]

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Parkes (A)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
2. "Parkes Shire Council". Division of Local Government. Retrieved 28 November 2006.
3. "Parkes Post Office". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00717. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
4. "Parkes Railway Station group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01220. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
5. "Parkes Shire Council: Summary of First Preference and Group Votes for each Candidate". Local Government Elections 2021. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 4 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
6. "KEN KEITH". New South Wales Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
7. "DARREN STEVENSON". New South Wales Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
8. "Local Government Register of Candidates - in Name order" (PDF). New South Wales Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2023.
9. "Parkes". ABC News.

External links

Media related to Parkes Shire at Wikimedia Commons