Wednesday, 19 November 2025

 Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (09:45): I am a mother of three children – sadly we lost Andrew in a tragic cycling accident prior to his 30th birthday – and a devoted grandmother of George, Wilhelmina and Edward. Yesterday I was honoured to be elected leader of this chamber. My children say they are proud of my elevation – that is nice of them – but I am particularly proud of being in the leadership group of our party with the first woman to ever lead the parliamentary Liberal Party. In 2026 I predict she will be the first woman to ever be elected as Premier of this state. I have known Jess since she was a young girl who visited our farm with her parents – Ron, a former member of this Parliament, and Jo. And along with Aaron, Jess’s husband, we have all served together on the governing body of our party. Jess brings this lifelong commitment to Liberal values to her role as well as extraordinary intellect and political smarts to the job. Jess and I are both in our position without quotas, so I applaud the fact that we have elected Jess as the leader of our parliamentary Liberal Party. It is a great day for women.