THE Australian Labor Party has finally announced its candidate for Parkes, Broken Hill local Nathan Fell, a month out from the Federal Election.
The announcement followed rising pressure from the community to reveal a candidate as the election, set for Saturday, May 3, looms.
Mr Fell, who has lived in Broken Hill for more than twenty years, said the process to select an ALP candidate for Parkes took longer than other parties due to checks and processes from head office.
“I’ve lived here in Broken Hill for the last 22 years this year; I moved here when I was nine with my family – we were supposed to be here for about two years and we just never left,” he said.
“I’ve worked in mining most of my life. I’ve done a few different community group things.
“I’m now currently working with Landcare Broken Hill, the Trades Hall Trust and the Barrier Industrial Council.
“I’ve run for Council on the Labor ticket twice now, once in 2021 and then again in 2024. I was unsuccessful both times unfortunately, but we did manage to increase our vote in the last local government election.”
Due to this late start, Mr Fell is beginning his campaigning immediately, setting on his tour of the region tomorrow, with a trip to Sunset Strip to discuss issues with the river and Menindee Lakes.
“The next stop will probably be Friday next week when I’ll be driving down towards the Forbes and Parkes areas. That’s the current plan.”
Mr Fell said his main campaign pillars are keeping Rex flying, boosting healthcare and workers rights.
“Keeping Rex in the air – that’s a big one for communities like ours,” he said.
“We really need that access to the larger population centres, not just for people doing university, but for our healthcare professionals to be able to come in and out.”
Mr Fell said that the funding for Rex outlined in the Federal Government’s 2025-26 Budget, which will only occur if ALP wins the election, is a great start.
The other issue Mr Fell is focusing on is workers rights, with the ALP affiliated with the Mining and Energy Union.
“The ‘same job, same pay’, legislation that went through has been a massive win for us and workers all over the country,” he said.
The Parkes electorate includes Wilcannia, which consists of 61.8 per cent Indigenous people.
Mr Fell pointed to funding for a new Renal Dialysis Unit provided by the Labor Government.
