Rob Mitchell

Biography

Robert George Mitchell is an Australian politician who has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2010, representing the electorate of McEwen. He was born in Melbourne on September 9, 1967, and grew up in the suburb of Dallas. He left school in year 10 to take up a shoemaking apprenticeship and later worked as a contractor for the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria, as a tow-truck operator, and as a sales and marketing representative within the transport industry.

Mitchell was recruited into the Australian Labor Party by Don Nardella and first stood for parliament at the 1999 Victorian state election, unsuccessfully standing for the Victorian Legislative Council in Central Highlands Province. He won the seat on his next attempt at the 2002 state election. At the 2007 federal election, he was the Labor candidate for the seat of McEwen, but initially lost by a margin of 12 votes after a recount requested by the Liberal Party. However, he won the seat following Bailey’s retirement at the 2010 election.

Mitchell served as a government whip from May 2013 until the government’s defeat at the 2013 election. He was subsequently elected second deputy speaker of the House, having been first appointed to the speaker’s panel in February 2012. In November 2021, he was nominated by his party as a candidate for the Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives but was defeated by Liberal’s Andrew Wallace.

Mitchell has one daughter with his partner Lisa Cartledge, and as of 2021, he lived in Whittlesea, Victoria.