Member for Parkes Mark Coulton has been returned for a third consecutive term with an increased margin as a rising tide of voter disaffection gave Labor its worst primary vote result in more than a century.
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“I am delighted to be returned and I will get to work for the people of the electorate,” Mr Coulton said.
His campaign manager Peter Bartley, speaking from Mr Coulton’s Dubbo electoral office, said the Nationals candidate had won by not taking the voters of the massive seat for granted.
“We ran a professional campaign,”Mr Bartley said.
“More than 1000 volunteers went out today, we had scrutineers at almost every one of the 116 polling places over 250,000 square kilometres.”
After two terms in opposition Mr Coulton believes a lot more can be done for the Wellington area now he is in the seat of government.
In Wellington voters lined up to make their decision on the election.
There were long queues at the Wellington Public School where 1270 people voted and 1131 at the Scout Hall, 442 at the Christian School at Montefiores Voters also decided the fate of the five candidate field at Euchareena, Mumbil, Stuart Town and Geurie.
In the end the sitting member won 71.78 per cent of the vote over Country Labor’s Brendan Byron (28.22 per cent), an increased margin from the 2010 election on a two-party preferred basis.
The surprise for the Coulton team was the vote for the Palmer United party candidate Neil Gorman who garnered 7.64 of the vote.
“It was a big surprise I suppose but their television and newspaper advertising was very strong and it produced a result for them but they directed their preferences to us,’’ Mr Bartley said.
HOW YOU VOTED (Two-party
preferred vote)
❏ Euchareena, 91: Coulton (NP)
63, Byron (CLP) 28.
❏ Geurie, 446: Coulton 360,
Byron 86.
❏ Montefiores (Christian School),
442: Coulton 355, Byron 87.
❏ Mumbil, 130: Coulton 85, Byron
45.
❏ Wellington, 1270: Coulton 845
Byron 425.
❏ Wellington East, 1131: Coulton
690, Byron 441.
❏ Stuart Town, 178: Coulton 121
Byron 57.
SEAT COUNT
❏ Mark Coulton NP: 49,049
(63.38 per cent).
❏ Matt Parmeter Greens: 3896
(5.03 per cent).
❏ Neil Gorman Palmer United
Party: 5909 (7.54 per cent).
❏ Michelle Ryan Christian
Democrats: 2002 (2.59 per cent).
❏ Brendan Byron CLP: 16,537
(21.37 per cent).
Two Party preferred:
❏ Mark Coulton NP: 55,202
(71.78 per cent).
❏ Brendan Byron CLP: 21,706
(28.22 per cent).
