Mark Coulton says he's "quite excited" to hang up his political boots as the outgoing Parkes MP passes his final sitting weeks in the Australian Parliament.

The 67-year-old returned to the Parliament House on 4 February, a day after his birthday. When he retires ahead of the next Federal election he will have spent 18 years in office, and thousands of kilometres on the dusty roads that make up one of the largest electorates in Australia.

He served as a government minister and has been invested in projects like the Lightning Ridge Opal Centre and Inland Rail, but Mr Coulton said he is most proud of the less public work he has done.

"About 80 per cent of your job as a Federal Member is sort of social work," the farmer said.

"Maybe it's helping someone with a visa issue or a pension or someone with an NDIS issue... We've had one family that was to be deported, and we got a ministerial intervention."

Having been a close observer of history, Mr Coulton's first day in Parliament was the day Kevin Rudd gave his momentous speech on the Stolen Generation. He's seen Prime Ministers come and go, advocated for constituents from Broken Hill to Dunedoo, but he concedes, it's now time to move on. "I'll be glad when the uncertainty of when the election date is set ends so that I can actually start planning the next phase of my life."

A map showing how the Parkes electoral boundaries have expanded west twice since 2009. The boundaries on the right existed between 2006 and 2009. The current ones have been in place since 2016. SOURCE: Parliamentary Handbook

The former Gwydir Shire mayor was first elected to the Nationals Party stronghold in 2007, replacing John Kenneth.

Back then, the electorate wasn't half the size it is now and didn't include Bourke, Brewarrina, Lachlan, Warren or Narromine shires.

After 2016, Parkes expanded west to the South Australian border, covering almost half of NSW.

Mr Coulton said it wasn't a smooth start with many of his new constituents, including in Broken Hill.

Mr Coulton will still be involved in the 2025 federal election. IMAGE: supplied

"Those people out there didn't choose the boundary changes. They were justifiably upset. They were put in such a big electorate. But it was my job, no one else was going to do it," he said.

"[I handled the expansion] just by spending time out there, just going to everything you can, assuring people that even though I lived at the other side of the electorate, I was their voice in Parliament."

Time to step back

Mr Coutlon announced in March 2024 that he would not contest the federal election in 2025.

During his time, he has served as the Minister for Regional Services, Decentralisation and Local Government, and later as the Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communications and Local Government, alongside other portfolios.

He is also the campaign manager for the Nationals' Parkes candidate Jamie Chaffey.

Asked about the legacy of his time in office, Mr Coulton said the opening in 2021 of Dubbo's Western Cancer Centre was "one of my proudest days in Parliament."

"In my maiden speech I mentioned two key things that were important to me," Mr Coulton said.

"The first being the creation of an Inland Rail, which is actually one of the reasons I decided to step off the tractor and run for Parliament. Even then I could see the benefit not only for the nation, but also the areas where the rail line would traverse. A lot of progress has been made on the Inland Rail during my time in Parliament, but it is disappointing that the project has now been stalled for the last two or so years.

"I am confident that a returned Coalition Government will see the Inland Rail to completion," he said.

"I also spoke about my mother’s passing from cancer and understanding the challenges that country patients have when trying to seek treatment. Opening the Western Cancer Centre in Dubbo was one of my proudest days in this job, having fought passionately for years to secure its funding.

"Today the Western Cancer Centre benefits families throughout the western region but is also utilised by people right across my electorate and regional NSW; it is truly life-changing that they will no longer have to travel to the city to access life-saving cancer treatment. The Western Cancer Centre will always remain close to my heart."