Parkes Honoured At 2025 Australian Tidy Towns Awards

Parkes Shire has proudly brought home national honours from the 2025 Austral­ian Tidy Towns Sustainability Awards, with wins and commendations recognising the community’s commitment to sustainability, culture and local leadership.

Representing Parkes at the national awards held in Beechworth, Victoria, were Deputy Mayor Cr Marg Applebee, Coun­cillor Bill Jayet as well as Parkes Shire Council’s Manager Environment and Sus­tainability Michael Chambers, and Environ­mental and Biosecurity Specialist Hannah Farrant-Jayet. The event brought together finalists from across the country to cel­ebrate innovation, sustainability, and com­munity pride in regional towns.

Parkes received national recognition in the categories:

• Winner – Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: Raw Water Storage Lagoon

• Highly Commended – Heritage and Cul­ture: Wiradjuri Language Group

• Special Acknowledgement – Dame Phyl­lis Frost Local Hero Award: Deb Jones

Deputy Mayor Cr Marg Applebee said the accolades reflect the collective efforts of the Parkes Shire community. “Receiving these awards reflects the hard work of our entire community, from Council staff to vol­unteers, local businesses, and community groups. We are so proud to see projects like the Raw Water Storage Lagoon recog­nised on the national stage.”

Councillor Bill Jayet said he was proud to see the cultural contributions of the Wir­adjuri Language Group recognised. “Lan­guage is a living part of culture, and the work being done to share and preserve Wiradjuri language in Parkes is truly signifi­cant,” Cr Jayet said.

“It’s an honour to see that effort acknowl­edged alongside other incredible commu­nity initiatives” he added.