Jamie Chaffey starts his election campaign in Dubbo | Daily Liberal | August 2024
No election date being set hasn't stopped Jamie Chaffey from officially launching his campaign for the seat of Parkes after being pre-selected as candidate.
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00:00On Saturday, the members of the National Party across the Parks Electorate came together in Narrabri
00:06and they selected Jamie Chaffey, Mayor and businessman from Gunnedah,
00:11to contest the next election for the Parks Electorate on behalf of the Nationals.
00:18As everyone knows, I'm not contesting after nearly 17 years in the job.
00:25So today, I wanted to introduce Jamie to the electorate, to Dubbo,
00:33so that his campaign can be up and running because it's a big job, it's a big area,
00:39and if he's to be successful at the next election, he's got a lot of miles to cover to get himself known.
00:46I'm very pleased that my leader, David Littleproud, has come to town to show his support for Jamie as a candidate.
00:52David is doing a great job on the national stage in Parliament as the Leader of the Nationals in Opposition,
01:00and I'm really pleased that he's taken time to come down and spend time with Jamie and I
01:07to get to know the new candidate and maybe a bit of sage advice in the next coming months.
01:15So I might hand over to David, who will introduce Jamie. Thanks very much.
01:20Well thanks Mark, and can I just pay tribute to you and the 17 years of service you've given to the people of Parks.
01:27The legacy that you leave is one that you can see every day.
01:30If you walk the streets of Dubbo or Broken Hill or Moree, you can see the legacy that you've been able to leave
01:37in what you've been able to secure in funding, whether that be the cancer clinic here in Dubbo,
01:43or the inland rail that's going across much of your electorate.
01:47It's been your advocacy, your hard work, and that's because people respect Mark from both sides of the aisle.
01:54And he's been able to get Parks fair share because people respect him and honour him.
01:59He'll be a big loss to our party room. He brings balance to our party room, Mark Colton.
02:04He brings some common sense, and we wish him and Robin every success.
02:09I'm losing a mate out of the parliament, and you don't often get the call to meet people in the Australian parliament mates.
02:15But Mark, you can because he's always dealt with not only his colleagues, but those on the other side of the aisle
02:21with integrity and honesty. And that, I hope, will continue on in our new member if he's fortunate enough to be elected.
02:28But it is great to be here. I couldn't be here Saturday, but I wanted to show respect to the people of Parks.
02:34I hope that the National Party take this election very seriously, and that Parks is not a safe seat.
02:40There's no such thing as a safe seat. We intend to continue on the legacy that Mark has fought hard for,
02:46and making sure that the Nationals can continue to represent the people of Parks.
02:51We only represent the 30% of Australians that live outside of the capital city.
02:55That is the National Party's whole model, and therefore we are regional Australia's insurance policy in Canberra.
03:01We are the ones that take common sense to Canberra and get more fair share.
03:04And so what we intend to do is to continue to show that respect to the people of Parks, to build on that legacy,
03:10to make sure that if you look at what Mark did in the last nine years, and compare that to the last two and a half years,
03:16look at what you've got out of the Albanese government in the electorate of Parks in terms of infrastructure spend
03:21since there's been a change of government. You've got nothing.
03:24You've got nothing because this Prime Minister is not interested in regional Australia.
03:28He said no-one will be held back, no-one will be left behind when he was elected.
03:32That's unless you live in regional rural Australia. You haven't seen a cent spent here.
03:37And what we intend to do is to recalibrate that balance back so that the people of Parks' opportunity can be unlocked,
03:44their potential can be unlocked, and the future of people in regional Australia, particularly Parks, can be unlocked.
03:51So we'll be focusing very much on the infrastructure, getting back to the basics,
03:55filling in some potholes and giving you the roads that you deserve, fixing the telecommunications,
04:00the connectivity that you deserve to be able to run your business and to be able to live your lives is there,
04:06to make sure that you have the health services, to build on what Mark's achieved here in Dubbo
04:11is what we'll be focusing on as the National Party.
04:14And protecting women. We've got to continue to do more around domestic violence.
04:18And Damie talked about this on Saturday in his speech and he's passionate about this.
04:22This is something that regional Australia can't get left behind.
04:25Women of regional Australia can't get left behind with domestic violence.
04:28We need to have the services and the infrastructure and the early intervention
04:33that's required to make sure that we change the psyche of this nation.
04:37And they're the sort of things that the National Party are going to focus on
04:40and take to the people of Parks and take to regional Australia.
04:43Our vision for regional Australia is to make sure we get our fair share and we're protected.
04:48So Damie, congratulations. Big shoes to fill.
04:51But Damie Chaffee is a man that's built a business, but he's also helped build a community.
04:57He employs over 100 people.
04:59That's someone that's had the courage of his own conviction and his own wallet
05:03to go out and to have faith and confidence in this region to try and make it better.
05:09And he's also helped build a community in Gunnedah, being the mayor.
05:14And that's what we want as nationals, is to bring local champions
05:18that are prepared to put their heart and soul into the community.
05:21So Damie, congratulations. It's great to have you as part of the nationals family.
05:25And you've got big shoes to fill, but ones that I know that you'll be able to fill.
05:30So well done, mate. Congratulations.
05:36Well, I'm very proud. I feel privileged that the National Party have pre-selected me to be their candidate.
05:42I take the assumption it will be before Christmas.
05:45So today, you know, it's great to have the leader of the nationals, David Littleproud, here
05:49effectively just announcing that I will be the candidate running for the National Party
05:54for the seat of Parks at the next election.
05:56Hitting the ground running today is sort of day one for me,
06:00but I know there's a lot of work to do. 50% of New South Wales.
06:03It's a huge electorate. It's the right 50% of New South Wales.
06:07There's no metropolitan areas in there.
06:09I think the people in regional New South Wales, they grow the food, the fibre,
06:13and look after the minerals, of course, that this nation needs for the wealth.
06:19Well, it's really important, the work that they do.
06:22So I've been really focused on that.
06:24In my time in local government, I've also served not just the Mayor of Gunnera for eight years,
06:28but also the Chairman of Country Mayors Association.
06:31And I've heard from many other mayors, particularly those in this Parks electorate,
06:35that there are a lot of issues we are being left behind at the moment.
06:38We're being left behind at the moment under a Labor government.
06:40We're seeing the mobile black spot program that's been abolished under Labor.
06:43We're seeing road funding that just isn't being delivered.
06:47Roads are of strategic importance. It's been cancelled by the Labor government.
06:51Our road network is certainly in need of a lot of funding.
06:54Healthcare is another area we are being left behind in regional communities.
06:58I think it's a right that we should have a good service level in all of our communities for health.
07:03And, of course, domestic violence and youth crime, I mean, they're big issues.
07:07There are a lot of other issues that I've heard about.
07:09But, as I said, this is the start for me.
07:12A huge electorate. I'll be out there listening to everybody in all of those 20 local government areas.
07:18Because I certainly don't want to see the National Party lose this seat.
07:22We've held it for 40 years.
07:24I'm going to be doing all I can to make sure that we hold that in the next election.