News

Merlino denies rumours of seat shift

BY TARA MCGRATH

08 Feb, 2012 03:00 AM

NEW state Labor Party deputy leader James Merlino has denied rumours he will leave his Monbulk seat to stand at the byelection for Niddrie.

Mr Merlino told the Weekly he only put his hand up for the deputy leadership role, not a new seat.

Following his appointment, there were rumours he would move to the seat of Niddrie, where a byelection will be held following the departure of former deputy leader Rob Hulls.

Monbulk is a marginal seat, held by the ALP by about 3 per cent; Niddrie is a safe seat with a margin of more than 10 per cent.

In a cabinet reshuffle on Monday afternoon, Mr Merlino was given the shadow cabinet portfolio of education. He was previously the shadow cabinet minister for police, TAC and road safety.

Mr Merlino said his new role would not affect the time he spent focusing on Monbulk, which takes in parts of Bayswater, Boronia and Upper Ferntree Gully - "as a state member, the first and most important priority is the community we represent".

Share on
Facebook

Tweet on
Twitter

Email to
a friend

comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment below.

post a comment

Screen name	*
Email address	*
Remember me?
Comment	*

	We invite and encourage our readers to post comments. Comments are moderated and will appear as soon as our editor has approved them. When posting comments you agree to be bound by our Terms and Conditions.

The Weekly asked shoppers at Ferntree Plaza whether James Merlino's new job would affect his work in Monbulk.
Steve Foster, Upper Ferntree Gully: "It shouldn't. It hasn't for other leaders. Hopefully, he'll make time for Monbulk still."

John Hodges, Upper Ferntree Gully: "Being deputy leader of the opposition is really a non-entity, you can't do a whole lot. It's a nothing position."

Judy McManus, Kallista: "I think it's quite good. He cares about the area. It will be hard for him to balance it all, but he will probably cope."

Sharon Neal, Ferny Creek: "Hopefully, it will benefit us being in the area, particularly in relation to services and funding. He's got to juggle so many things already with a young family, so time will tell."