Jamie Chaffey (Parkes, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

I was born and raised in Australia, and, alongside millions of other Australians, I'm proud to call Australia home. Australians have many beginnings. Some journeys began with a dream of finding a better life for their families in Australia, and, many years later, that dream was rewarded with Australian citizenship. The mighty electorate of Parkes covers more than 400,000 square kilometres and, across this vast space, there are hundreds of celebrations on January 26. Australia Day should be a reminder to us all of how precious our freedom and our values are in this country.

I was honoured to attend the Australia Day events in both Dubbo and Coonamble this year, where people came together to show not only their love for our country but their appreciation for the people who make it a great place to live. In Dubbo, I joined the community in celebrating our heritage and welcoming new citizens in beautiful Victoria Park on the eve of Australia Day. I attended Coonamble's Australia Day awards nominee dinner that night and the Australia Day breakfast awards the following day. I congratulate all of the recipients of the local government Australia Day awards across the Parkes electorate, including the wonderful Pauline McAllister, Dubbo's Senior Citizen of the Year, and Michael Brockman, Gunnedah Shire's Citizen of the Year—just two of the outstanding examples of our champions for regional Australia.

We are also honoured to announce that Forbes man, Nedd Brockmann, has been awarded the Young Australian of the Year. This tradie from Forbes is an extremely inspirational young person. In 2022, Nedd ran 3,952 kilometres, from Perth to Bondi Beach, breaking records and raising more than $2.6 million to find solutions for homelessness. He started Nedd's Uncomfortable Challenge, which has now raised more than $8 million to help the homeless. Congratulations to Nedd on his incredible work and his title as the Young Australian of the Year 2026.

I also congratulate members of the Parkes electorate who have been named in the 2026 Australia Day Honours List. Medal of the Order of Australia recipients are Laurience Ashcroft, for service to the community of Parkes; John Elliott, for service to the community of Wilcannia; Alister Ferguson, for service to the Indigenous community of Bourke; Colleen Fuller of Gunnedah, for service to the community through a range of organisations; Raymond Hughston, for service to the community of Wanaaring; Richard Blackman, for service to the community of Coonabarabran; and, posthumously, to Janice Kettle, for service to the community of West Wyalong. David Welch of Gunnedah has been awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal for distinguished service as a member of the Australian fire service and Anne Dennis of Walgett has been awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant service to the Indigenous community of New South Wales.

We are fortunate to have such amazing achievers in the electorate of Parkes. I congratulate each and every one of them for their great contribution to their communities and our nation.

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