FOLLOWING 12 years as the deputy leader of the Victorian Nationals, Member-elect for Murray Plains Peter Walsh is set to take on the top job.
At a party meeting on Wednesday, Nationals MPs elected Mr Walsh for the leadership role, following the resignation of Peter Ryan, who had headed the party for the past 15 years.
Meanwhile, new-comer Stephanie Ryan was voted in to the deputy position – even before being sworn into Parliament.
Mr Walsh took out the seat of Murray Plains with a convincing lead on Saturday, with the declaration of the vote to take place at 2pm in Echuca today.
He is keen to encourage “generational change” in the National Party.
“There is a misconception that the National Party is a farmers party, but if you look at where our MPs are from, they have a wide range of backgrounds,” he said.
“We are not just a farmers party – the Nationals Party’s reason for existence is to be a strong voice for people outside of metropolitan Victoria.
“As MPs retire, we need to have the next generation of the National Party MPs.”
Mr Walsh believes the election of Stephanie Ryan in Euroa and Emma Kealy in Lowan – the second and third female Nationals representatives to be elected to Victorian Parliament – are evidence of this.
But with the wins, there were also the losses – including the seat of Shepparton that had been held by the Nationals for 47 years, a loss that would elicit some “soul-searching”.
“It just shows that there is no such thing as a safe seat,” Mr Walsh said.
For more on this story, pick up a copy of Friday’s Guardian (December 5).
