THE surprise dawning of Deniliquin senator Perin Davey as the new deputy leader of the federal Nationals was triggered by a question from her teenage daughter.
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"It was a last-minute decision but it was spurred on by my daughter," Senator Davey said on Tuesday.
"When I told her we were voting for the leadership she said 'why don't you stand?' and that night I mulled it over and the next day I decided 'why I don't stand for something'."
Having inspired her mother, Kira, 16, who follows politics via social media platform TikTok, was low-key in her response.
"She actually didn't have much to say, she just said a quiet congratulations," Senator Davey said.
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The former water policy worker, who lives on a farm at Conargo and has an office in Deniliquin, said her pitch to colleagues centred on having a deputy leader in the Upper House after her predecessor was in the Lower House.
Senator Davey is focussed on keeping Greens senators, who are up off the federal election, to account and is concerned by their push to return 450 gigalitres of water to the Murray-Darling for the environment.
"The Greens have already come swinging on water and they've made it clear their endgame is water for South Australia," she said.
"They conveniently forget there's over 2000 identified wetlands east of the South Australian border."
Senator Davey rejected criticism from Speak Up chairwoman Shelley Scoullar that new Nationals leader David Littleproud failed to understand the impacts of extra water flowing to the environment.
"I was actually in the room, prior to me entering politics, with David Littleproud and Shelley Scoullar when Stand Up floated a tighter neutrality social and economic test for the 450 and David Littleproud delivered that," Senator Davey said.
The former TV extra in Home and Away also wants a debate on adopting nuclear energy in Australia as a way to reduce carbon emissions.
Meanwhile, new Liberal Party deputy leader Sussan Ley told ABC radio on Tuesday she wants to find out why her party lost female voters in the election, although she said they were not many angry women in her electorate.
She called Senator Davey a close friend who lived just down the road "in country terms".
Senator Davey said having Ms Ley in a leadership role would give a regional lens for policy considerations among the Liberals who have traditionally had city MPs in charge.
"She is a very, very active local member and I think she will be a fine deputy leader for the Liberals and I look forward to us continuing to work together not just for Farrer but for all of regional Australia," she said.
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