Nats are back

Annabelle Cleeland is the new State Member for Euroa.

Despite incumbent member Steph Ryan stepping aside at the election, the Nationals retained the seat with 62 per cent of the two-party preferred vote.

Daniel Andrews will remain Premier with Labor forming a majority government.

Ms Cleeland said voting in Seymour with her father, Ian, was an emotional moment.

“My grandparents migrated to Seymour after World War II with my dad, who was just five years old,” Ms Cleeland said.

"To be able to vote in the community that provided safety and support to my family all those years ago meant a lot.

"And I hope I can repay the debt my family owes to this community as its local member.“

Ms Cleeland said now the election and campaigning was over, she was looking forward to working with the government for the good of the electorate.

“I was fortunate to have a lot of my major commitments matched by Labor,” she said.

“So I feel excited for the next four years, and I know we’re going to execute some transformative projects.”

Ms Cleeland said there were other projects and initiatives that were important to her that she had yet to get a commitment for, such as the Kilmore bypass and community-owned hospitals, including Euroa and Nagambie Health.

“So my priority will be establishing faultless business cases to seek support for those from the government,” she said.

Ms Cleeland said she was looking forward to serving the electorate for the next four years.

“I’m still very much processing the result,” she said.

“Personally, it’s life-changing for myself and our family. I do want to say how grateful I am for the support of the people in the Euroa district and the support of everyone who helped with the campaign.

“We had more than 150 volunteers on Saturday and huge support throughout my campaigning.

“I’ve done 30,000km in the car in that time.

"I probably didn’t quite comprehend how intense it would be. It’s been pretty much seven days a week for the last three months.

"I tried to get into every small and large town meeting with every community group possible. I wanted to speak to as many people as I could to understand what their local issues and needs were.

“The focus of the campaign was about community advocacy.

“It's been a huge three months and I think I’m still coming down from the adrenalin rush from Saturday night.”

Ms Cleeland said one of her first jobs would be to talk to government ministers.

“It’s about teamwork now, to make sure regional Victoria gets the slice of the pie that we deserve,” she said.

“I think this election has highlighted the power of Victoria’s regional voice.”

Ms Cleeland thanked Ms Ryan for mentoring her throughout the campaign.

“If I had a dollar for every time someone told me I had big shoes to fill, I’d be very rich,” she said. “So it’s a lot of pressure and expectations, and I hope I do the role justice. I have seen how she has been a passionate, community-focused advocate and I hope to continue that.”

Proud: Annabelle Cleeland votes in Seymour with her proud father, Ian Beale.

Family outing: Natasha and Brendan Wilson with kids Isla, Judd, Peyton and Miller. “We were busy gardening and then we were like, ‘we’ve got to vote!’” Natasha said. “I think I’m happy with what we’ve got in place. I don’t think it’s been easy for for anyone running a state through a pandemic,” Brendan said.

All the same: Bary Ulrich was unimpressed. “There’s not much to vote on,” he said. “If you really analyse it, they are both saying the same thing.”

Fundraiser: Christ Church Seymour parish priest Richard Pennington and Jen Fitzpatrick organised a sausage sizzle and trading table to raise funds for the Anglican church.

Hoping for change: Melissa King from Trawool with Avenel’s Karla Wintle and Matilda, 9. “Hopefully it’s a bit of a change in the right direction,” Ms King said.

Choice made: Harvey Woodland voted at Avenel Primary School. “I’m going for Cleeland. She’s most likely to serve the local community best, I think,” he said.

Civic duty: Janice Kemp voted at Avenel Primary School with granddaughter Faith Anderson. “It’s only her second time voting,” Mrs Kemp said of her granddaughter.

Tasty treats: Anne Foote, Mary Greenshiedds and Anne Foster at the trading table.

Done and dusted: Shayne Lynch’s mind was made up. “I know who I like to vote for,” he said.

Taking time to vote: Ehsan and Ameena, from Melbourne, voted while holidaying in Seymour.