Preselection for Melbourne was considered "unwinnable", given that the candidacy for the seat was already earmarked for ALP state secretary Jenny Beacham.
[4] Following the revelation of his illness, Cole was re-elected as MLA for Melbourne in the 1996 election, a win he described as the "most gratifying thing" in his parliamentary career.
Since leaving politics, Cole has written over twelve plays, most of them performed by La Mama Theatre.
The novel, about a fictional soldier (John Surry) who pleads not guilty to a charge of theft on the grounds of insanity, was based on interviews with twenty people with manic depression, as well as his own perspective.
[7] Cole is an associate professor at the Monash University School of Medicine, and is also a member of the National Advisory Council on Mental Health established in 2008.