1. Briefly tell us about yourself and your background.
I’m Nathan Fell, I live in Broken Hill and have lived in the Parkes Electorate for 22 years. I’ve worked in mining for most of my adult life, starting as a labourer, then working as a laboratory technician, a metallurgist and now a lab manager.
2. Why have you put yourself forward as a candidate, and if elected, what principles would govern your representation as Parkes’ federal MP?
I decided to run because I felt that many of the elected officials didn’t really represent myself and the people around me.
As a 30-year-old, working class person living in a relatively isolated community I wanted to show that people like me do care about the decision being made and want to be accurately represented in the decision making for the decisions that are going to affect us for the next 40+ years
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I would represent the people of Parkes by being open and honest, I don’t want to give people false hope or make empty promises.
I would endeavour to consult with the community as much as possible, I think the people feel that they are being told what their issues are by people that don’t know what life is like west of the mountains.
With a seat at the table in the next labor government I will show up for the people of our electorate and make sure that their voices are heard, we’ve been an afterthought for as long as I can remember and we need a representative that will work to get things done
3. What are your three key issues in Parkes and what action/policy/plan do you have to make a difference?
The three key issues that I’ve come across during my travels over the last 2 weeks would be:
Healthcare, childcare and aged care all as one issue - I think they all need to be addressed to improve the others.
We need more childcare options in the smaller communities so that we can bring in healthcare professionals that would otherwise need to go elsewhere.
Many of the people I’ve spoken to, whether it is first nations elder groups, truck drivers or just people in the pub, they all feel that the people making the decisions affecting their lives have no idea what life is like out here.
Some elders groups have told me that any funding that Aboriginal services are receiving is not addressing the real issues and not making as much of an impact in the communities as they’d like.
Truck drivers are telling me it’s getting harder and harder for them to operate because their costs are so high and they feel they’re over regulated, due to the elected member not fighting for them and allowing the people bringing these to make decisions without knowing what their day to day work looks like.
The everyday people I’ve been speaking to feel forgotten.
Roads are a big issue - as someone who just spent 2 weeks driving on many of the roads in the electorate I can tell you that a few are really good, but most are in need of some dire help.
4. Explain how you would help create more opportunities for youth in Parkes – specifically around employment and education – to help diminish the need for people to leave the area?
A perfect example of this came up when I was talking to a small freight company in Forbes last week.
We got on to the discussion how difficult it was for the owner to get new workers, he was saying that he will get people who have done the 2-day MC course but have never really driven before come and ask for work.
That’s great, but the issues arise when they still need on-the-job training, and being so inexperienced can make insurance a nightmare.
For the freight industry, driving trucks in particular, I think there should be some sort of traineeship or apprenticeship for people wanting to get into the industry.
5. Specifically for the towns of Parkes and Forbes, what change would you like to see or actions implemented?
Forbes is in dire need of a 24 hour police station.
I would love to see Parkes become even more of a destination in and of itself. When I was there with Minister Jenny Aitchinson last week for the opening of the Parkes Bypass a lot of people were talking about how removing over 1200 daily trucks from the town will make it a much more desirable place for people to visit, as they no longer need to worry as much about the noise and smells. I think the Parkes township will be an incredible destination for caravaners and people travelling through will want to stay longer because of this bypass.
6. An Energy from Waste plant has been proposed to be built in Parkes NSW - while we understand this is a state matter, it is also the biggest issue in our region right now. Where do you stand on the Energy from Waste debate?
As this is a state issue I can’t give you an official response as a federal candidate.
As an individual with a background in science in my daily work I will say that WTE incinerators have worked well in the past for other countries, namely Denmark, with different environments than the area around Parkes.
I personally feel that more evidence based data collection and scientific testing needs to be done to determine whether this is a viable option for the area. People are worried about the effect that particulate matter may have on the agricultural land around the area, as well as heavy metal contamination and the potential for a foul smell.
I personally don’t know what testing has been done to confirm whether those concerns are valid, but if specific to the environment testing hasn’t been completed then I think it really needs to be.
7. In your final pitch to the Parkes electorate, why should they vote for you?
The people of Parkes should vote for me because I care. I’ve lived a life similar to most people in the electorate, I’ve worked hard to get where I am today in my full-time career and, elected or not, I want to continue working to give myself, my family and the people around me the best life I can.
We’ve been left behind out here for too long. We need better representation in Canberra
A vote for me is a vote for the people. A vote for me is a vote change. A vote for me is a vote for action.
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