By Jackson Russell
Member for McEwen Rob Mitchell has welcomed his return to Wallan, saying the move to the new office is ‘a better fit’.
With the Australian Electoral Commission redistributing electorate boundaries in the lead-up to last year’s federal election, McEwen’s northern and southern boundaries were brought closer together, meaning Mr Mitchell’s previous office in Craigieburn was no longer within the electorate.
The move to the new Bendigo Bank building on High Street Wallan has brought Mr Mitchell and his staff back to where it all began.
“It’s a lot better and we’re pretty happy with it,” Mr Mitchell said.
“It is closer to home and it’s a better feel. We never wanted to leave Wallan but had to due to circumstances.”
Mr Mitchell has already had community groups come in for a chat while residents frequently dropped by just to say hello and welcome him back to Wallan.
He said one of the biggest advantages of his move back to Wallan is that he was back in the Mitchell Shire.
“It puts us back out here and out of the suburbs,” he said.
“I think being in an area like this, you just get a better understanding.
“Mitchell Shire, particularly, gets benefits in that councillors can pop in and we’ve had that already so it’s working out pretty well.”
Mr Mitchell said Wallan was a place that he and his team had always thought highly of.
“Wallan’s always been an area that we’ve had a lot of interest in so we’re very protective of it,” he said.
“It’s just a better fit and Wallan’s always been a central part of McEwen.”
