# Parkes Shire

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.
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
* May Street: Parkes railway station

## 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:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Independents | 10 |
| | Independent National | 1 |
| Total | Total | 10 |

## Past councillors
### 2016−present

| Year | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | 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 | | Neil Westcott (Ind.) | | Louise O'Leary (Ind.) | | Ken Keith (Ind. Nat) | | Kenny McGrath (Ind.) | | Glenn Wilson (Ind.) | | Marg Applebee (Ind.) | | George Pratt (Ind.) | | Bill Jayet (Ind.) | | Jacob Cass (Ind.) | | Daniel Weber (Ind.) |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Parkes :
| Party | Party | Candidate |
| | 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 | Total formal votes | Total formal votes |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout |

### 2021

2021 New South Wales local elections: Parkes :
| Party | 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 | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 8,027 | 91.0 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 797 | 9.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,824 | 83.8 | |
| Party total votes ||||||
| | Independent | Independent | 6,523 | 81.3 | |
| | Independent National | Independent National | 1,504 | 18.7 | |
| Party total seats | Party total seats | Party total seats | Party total seats | Seats | ± |
| | Independent | Independent | Independent | 9 | |
| | Independent | Independent | Independent | 1 | |