Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton is this Sunday marking 15 years since he gave his maiden speech at Parliament House in early February of 2008.
Today he reflects on that speech and what has been achieved since he has been the Member for Parkes for over a decade.
“What an incredible honour it’s been to represent the people of the Parkes electorate at the Federal level for the past 15 years,” Mr Coulton said.
“When I stood up in Parliament for the very first time on February 18, 2008, I said, ‘I am here today because I have a deep and unshakable belief in the future of inland Australia’.
“Well after 15 years, that belief has certainly not dimmed and, looking back at my maiden speech, it’s incredibly humbling to know that I’ve been able to deliver on some of the key reasons I decided to run for this job.
“Three projects in particular stand out and are achievements that I am very proud to have been a part of: the Western Cancer Centre, the Inland Rail, and greater support for Local Government.
“My mother’s passing after an 18-month-long battle with cancer was part of what has motivated me to campaign for greater access to quality healthcare in the bush. With the Western Cancer Centre opening in Dubbo last year, services became available that weren’t accessible before. Now we have this fantastic centre helping to save lives and enabling rural people to access treatment closer to home.
“The Inland Rail has always been important to me as I saw the creation of infrastructure into and across the Western part of our state as crucial for the strengthening of our regions.
“Travelling along this line recently on my birthday I was able to see that this dream has certainly become a reality which continues to take shape. I look forward to seeing the completion of the Inland Rail after so many years spent battling for it to go ahead.
“I have fought and will continue to fight for our local councils to receive the funding they need to look after their regional communities.
“As part of a family who is very involved in our local community of Warialda, and a former Mayor of Gwydir Shire Council, I have a deep appreciation of the positive grassroots difference which can be made by good local government. We have so many good councils in the Parkes electorate, and it has been wonderful to work alongside them, particularly when I was the Minister for Local Government, to deliver the many great improvements we’ve seen in our towns.
“Among the most inspiring councillors I have worked with in this electorate are Aboriginal people. They are a testament to positive shifts which have continued to build in regional Australia well before my first week in Parliament, where I watched Kevin Rudd give the National Apology. They are democratically elected and representing their communities. Good leaders like these and other men and women I know mean that we can look forward to increasingly positive outcomes ahead, and this starts at the local level.
“My priorities since I made my maiden speech have remained fairly consistent, and still hold true today.
“When I recently read over what I spoke about in my first week of Parliament I can tell you that after 15 years my belief in the future of inland Australia remains stronger than ever.
The full transcript of Mr Coulton’s maiden speech to Parliament is available at: https://www.markcoulton.com.au/media/speeches/maiden-speech/
