Brian Mitchell is the latest former federal MP to find himself eyeing a return to the political arena at the state level.
Mitchell confirmed on Thursday that he will seek Labor preselection for the upcoming Tasmanian election in the electorate of Lyons.
“It wasn’t on my bingo card,” Mitchell told Local Radio. “I expected, like all Tasmanians, that the state election would be about two years away and I fully expected I’d be doing other things by then.”
Mitchell served as federal Lyons MP from 2016 until earlier this year, when he stepped aside to allow former Tasmanian Labor leader Rebecca White to contest his seat in the federal election.
While preselection is yet to be finalised, Mitchell is confident he will land a spot on Labor’s ticket alongside current MPs Jen Butler and Casey Farrell.
“I look forward to doing all I can to join them in the parliament … It’s an absolute privilege to serve the Tasmanian public in any form,” he said.
Mitchell also affirmed his support for Labor’s updated stance on the Macquarie Point stadium, which came after Dean Winter took over as leader.
“We are very clear that we back the stadium – or back a stadium – and a team. We very much want an AFL team in Tasmania,” he said.
Winter, who officially launched Labor’s campaign yesterday, said he hadn’t yet spoken to Mitchell about his plans.
“We’re talking to a lot of candidates and you can probably imagine some of the names but I’ll make sure they make their own decisions and announce them,” Winter said.
“I haven’t had any discussions with Brian Mitchell at this stage.”
The snap state election will be held on July 19.
