Parkes was born in the United Kingdom in 1950 and educated as a lawyer at the
University of Sheffield. He moved to Australia and worked as a barrister and solicitor in Sydney prior to beginning training for ordination in 1986. Prior to his election in Wangaratta, Parkes served as an assistant bishop and the dean of
Brisbane in the Diocese of Brisbane. He was a finalist in the first 2006 election for
Archbishop of Melbourne. Parkes, as a supporter of
same-sex marriage, was criticised within the church for his stance. In December 2017, Parkes organised Anglican bishops to write to federal members of parliament, seeking that they pass the
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017, same-sex marriage legislation without stronger
religious exemptions. Parkes retired on 21 December 2019, and was replaced as Bishop of Wangaratta by
Clarence Bester. After a long battle with illness, Parkes died on 3 July 2025, at the age of 74. ==References==