AT one point, Beverley McArthur\u2019s biggest challenges came with raising her kids, Andrew, Sarah and James while she was a stay at home mother on her farm near Camperdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made a decision to stay home,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt, the greatest career I could have at the time was to bring up children who were well adjusted, capable, weren\u2019t going to be a burden on society and could in fact, make a contribution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being involved in her children\u2019s lives was her ideal job back then, and she doesn\u2019t regret it for one minute, but times have changed and so has life.<\/p>\n
Last year was unlike any other for the family. Ms McArthur and her husband Stewart lost their son, Andrew in a cycling accident in Sydney.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a tragedy we\u2019ll be living with for the rest of our lives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But Ms McArthur was also elected as the member for Western Victoria in 2018.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a bittersweet time of challenge, yet she still has an ability to look forward.<\/p>\n
Always a political activist, Ms McArthur has been country vicepresident of the Victorian Liberal Party and a councillor in the Corangamite Shire. This time, she\u2019s flattered and humbled to take a step up, wanting to do her utmost.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m coming into politics in this space at a very late stage comparatively to what is the normal convention,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI personally think that it\u2019s a very good idea that we have people, whether they\u2019re men or women, contribute to public life after they\u2019ve made a contribution elsewhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have a lot of life skills and a lot of life experience, and I don\u2019t think politics is just the world for young people, you need a mixture of everybody. For women, it may be that entering professional politics later in life is a better option.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having been sworn into parliament and making her maiden speech, she is getting stuck into work as western Victoria\u2019s Liberal representative.<\/p>\n
Ms McArthur has her eye on tackling issues she sees as emerging for rural communities, as she was born into a farming family in Terang and raised her own children on the land.<\/p>\n
She believes farming, agriculture and rural life are under attack in Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find it really worrying, I\u2019ll fight back to the enth-degree,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Keeping roadside vegetation well maintained for safety of wildlife and commuters is on the agenda, as is providing needed infrastructure, especially for businesses, holding the government to account and making sure people are well educated about how the voting system works.<\/p>\n
She hopes to experience respectful, robust debates in her new role, that are both positive and constructive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in a fabulous country\u2026 we need to value how good it is and work together to make it better,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But when she\u2019s not working to look after her constituents, she loves recharging amongst the picturesque country setting of her farm.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the open spaces\u2026 it\u2019s the fact you have wonderful blue skies\u2026 I can wander around my garden and see what\u2019s flourishing… and it\u2019s the changes of the seasons that you see very noticeably when you live in the country,\u201d Ms McArthur said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all golden now, but in a month\u2019s time it will be all green.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 5kms from our letterbox to our house. I\u2019m there with the birds and the bees, and my dogs and all the animals.<\/p>\n
To me, there\u2019s no other lifestyle like it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful supportive atmosphere to live in country communities, it\u2019s very special\u2026 very rich.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s ready to champion the region she calls home. \u201cI\u2019m passionate about the area, it\u2019s been in my blood all my life, virtually,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe produce some of the finest agricultural products\u2026 Western Victoria has a huge amount to contribute, not just to Victoria, but to Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AT one point, Beverley McArthur\u2019s biggest challenges came with raising her kids, Andrew, Sarah and James while she was a stay at home mother on her farm near Camperdown. \u201cI made a decision to stay home,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt, the greatest career I could have at the time was to bring up children who […]<\/p>\n