Product Code Database
Beverley McArthur (; born 10 September 1949) is an Australian politician. She has been a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Council since 2018, representing Western Victoria Region.
She joined the Liberal Party in her early twenties. She was the Bendigo federal electorate chairperson and was elected to the party's state administrative committee 1982. She unsuccessfully stood for the state presidency in 1992 after Michael Kroger's resignation, but was defeated by Ted Baillieu. She later served as a long-time country female state vice-president of the Liberal Party.
During her time in the Victorian Parliament, Bev McArthur has strongly advocated for increased hazard reduction burning on public land, in accordance with recommendations from the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. She is a proponent of the meat industry, fishing, hunting, duck shooting and horse racing.
In 2019, she warned against labelling climate change an 'emergency', likening the push to the boy who cried wolf and asking, "What happens when there is a genuine emergency like a terrorist attack, raging bush or urban fire, extreme weather events like cyclones and floods and power blackouts which threaten lives? Will anyone take notice of these emergencies?"
Bev McArthur has called for testing of the driving ability of foreign tourists, due to their involvement in 20% of crashes along the Great Ocean Road. In response, Premier Daniel Andrews labelled her comments "culturally inappropriate".
In 2021, she crossed the floor to vote against the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Bill 2020, which banned practices that intended to change individuals' sexual or gender identity. In her speech on the legislation, Mrs McArthur said:
She was opposed to the Voice to Parliament.
In May 2023 McArthur said Indigenous people should be grateful for the “wonderful things that have been enabled via colonisation” such as hospitals, running water and electricity.
In December 2024, McArthur ran in the 2024 Victorian Liberal Party Legislative Council deputy leadership spill, She lost with two votes. She ran against Evan Mulholland
|
|
