Ms McGowan, who is yet to reveal if she plans to stand for another term, said on Friday she had been working closely with lobby group Voices for Indi on this issue.

“I’m thinking about it all the time and we’re still working through a process of succession planning,” she said.

“I’m hoping before Christmas we will have that nutted out.”

Back in her electorate after displaying a poster urging women to “don’t get mad, get elected” in Parliament this week, Ms McGowan said her time in male-dominated fields like agriculture and boards had assisted in her present role.

“I think it was a really good learning experience for me of how to manage as a woman in that hurly-burly and I bring all that learning to this job,” she said.

“I get treated well, but I also demand respect.

“Women who manage businesses, manage families, manage farms, they’ve got so many skills so I’m really keen to see that the nation has access to all those skills.”

Ms McGowan said during the parliamentary session she had been meeting with the new cabinet ministers to discuss North East Victorian issues, such as population growth.

“This is a community that’s progressive, that’s able to grow, but don’t dump people here, if you’re going to grow the population, let’s do it strategically,” she said.

The Indi MP said all levels of government needed to work together with the community about its needs in areas such as health, education, infrastructure and public transport.

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“To actually make sure that when people come to live here we retain the wonderful community spirit we’ve got, so that’s the conversation I’ve been having this week,” she said.

A member of the joint select committee on constitutional recognition relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Ms McGowan encouraged Border residents to take part in Monday’s public hearings at TAFEspace Wodonga.