Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton announced his retirement last week, and The New England Times caught up with him over the phone when he’d just flown back to Moree from Canberra.
Coulton’s retirement was something of a surprise as he’d held the job for sixteen years. Having recorded a 9.3% swing in his favour at the last election, Coulton said that it was probably the best time to go, and that he was willing to work “up to the finish line” – but also qualified that going out with such widespread support was probably the best.
“I’m shocked at the response,” Coulton said of the reaction to his announced retirement, “I didn’t think it was that big a deal.”
“I thought it was important to foreshadow my intention.”
Achievements and disappointments
From his time in office, he counts the Western Cancer Centre in Dubbo as “clearly the highlight”.
“I got $25 million towards that, and it’s now saving lives.”
He also counts graduated payments for rural and remote doctors, more training places in the bush for doctors, as well as expanding phone and data towers in the regions as some of his other successes.
On the international front, signing the Regional Comprehensive Partnership with ASEAN and Pacific nations and signing the Trans Pacific Partnership – “the biggest trade agreement in the world representing Australia” – are some of the achievements the former Gwydir Shire mayor is most proud of.
After backing Michael McCormack in the 2021 leadership spill, Coulton was stripped of his portfolios by the victor, Barnaby Joyce, an incident he described as leaving him “very disappointed”.
“Now, if you can’t handle disappointment, then you shouldn’t be in politics,” Coulton said.
“I didn’t lose (the portfolios) because I wasn’t doing a good job. I was traded as part of a leadership challenge.”
It allowed him to focus more on the electorate, he said, and was quick to point out that after losing those portfolios, he went on to win “every Aboriginal community” in Broken Hill.
An unusual view on Palestine
Perhaps Coulton’s most incongruous stance as a Nationals politician from Western NSW is his position on Palestine, views he’s held before the current war, when he was approached by George Browning, then head of the Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network, in 2014, who was also the former Anglican vicar of Warialda in 1969.
He travelled to the West Bank unofficially, not as part of an Israeli junket, entering through Jordan.
“These people were losing their land and their traditions, and completely dominated by Israel, in an area where the rest of the world thought the West Bank was a Palestinian occupation.”
“The attacks from Hamas last year were heartbreaking,” Coulton said, “And, sadly, that has made it really hard to talk about the long-term impacts on the Palestinians.”
“The Palestinian people are caught between Hamas, which is largely a terrorist organisation, and the Israelis, who are practically completely dominating their lives.”
“If you look at the press, like The Australian, they’re very pro-Israel, and they don’t seem to be terribly concerned that 30,000 innocent people have been killed.”
He added that he feels the Palestinian cause has been hijacked by what he described as “the radical classes”.
“And it gives Australians a reason not to support Palestine, because they see these nutjobs protesting and destroying property in support of Palestine.”
Coulton said that his stance has put him at odds with a lot of people in his electorate, and the Coalition.
“There are very different points of view, certainly within the Coalition,” he said.
Bright future for the Nationals
Despite the loss at the last election, Coulton thinks there’s still a bright future for the Nationals, especially as the Liberals seem to be taking the Nats’ lead on some key issues, letting the traditionally junior party in the Coalition take the wheel more and more as the Liberals themselves struggle.
“The National party room drove the debate on the Yes referendum – basically, we came out before anyone else on our no position,” Coulton said.
“If you look now, in opposition the nuclear position has come out of the National party room.”
“The Libs were a little bit more reluctant to come that way, as they were on the Voice,” Coulton said.
“Now one of the hot topics in Canberra is around competition policy, and powers to ultimately break up monopolies if they’re behaving badly – and that’s something the Nats have led for some time, and now slowly the Libs are coming on board.”
The advantage for the Nats, he said, was that they were not chasing Teal seats, and are regionally-focused.
“Having said,” Coulton clarified, “we can’t govern on our own. We’ve gotta end up with a position where the Libs come with us.”
“You can be lighting up, like the crossbench, and saying what people want to hear – but never be in a position to deliver that policy.”
“That’s the most impotent place you can be in politics: a talking head on TV.”
Successor not his to choose
The future of Parkes, and who’ll be in line to replace Coulton on the Nats ticket is not for him to decide.
Coulton believes the nominations will be called after the draft boundaries are drawn up in the next month or so. He wouldn’t be drawn on if there were any women in the running.
“It could be anyone putting their hand up.”
Whoever takes up the role they’d better be up for covering the largest electorate in NSW, and one of the largest in the country.
“I’d love to have a small one,” Coulton said.
“Imagine, being a member of Parliament where you could go home for lunch.”
“When the schoolkids come down from some of the Western towns, I say ‘the seat of Wentworth is about as big as one of the paddocks on your farm’.”
But it’s tricky, in terms of imaging, and how large, rural electorates like Parkes are perceived as homogenous, and are rarely portrayed as diverse.
“They often talk about an ‘area of influence’ or ‘like mindedness,’” Coulton said, “But there’s not much that Warialda and Broken Hill have got in common – when I first got elected, I said to people in Dubbo ‘Stop talking about Orange!’”
“But it’s workable. I wouldn’t swap it for metropolitan seats.”
Time for the grandkids
Coulton said that he had no further plans after leaving, with comparatively modest retirement plans for a politician.
“We’ve got grandkids to spend more time with – not in their pockets or anything, but a school assembly, a sports day. I’d like to do a bit of travelling, nothing major.
“We’ve got a little property up at Bingara, and I’m enjoying mucking around with some cattle, that sort of stuff.”
“I’m certainly retiring from public life.”
Like what you’re reading? Support The New England Times by making a small donation today and help us keep delivering local news paywall-free. Donate now