Peter McGauren

Peter McGauran is a National Party of Australia representative in the House of Representatives in the Austarlian Parliament. He was appointed as Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in July 2005.

A biogrpahical note states that McGauran worked as a barrister and solicitor "for a Gippsland law firm before being elected to Federal Parliament at the March 1983 election, at the age of 27. Peter’s first Ministerial post was as Minister for Science and Technology following the Coalition’s Election victory in March 1996. In the wake of the 1998 election he was sworn in as Minister for the Arts and the Centenary of Federation, overseeing preparations for Australia’s celebration of 100 years of nationhood, in 2001. In the same Parliament, he served as Deputy Leader of the House."

"Following the 2001 election, Peter was appointed Minister for Science, during a period of unprecedented Government investment in science and innovation, and continued as Deputy Leader of the House. In October 2004 he was appointed Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, moving to the Agriculture portfolio in July 2005," the biographical note states.

In a profile of McGauran, Philip Hudson from The Age described him as a socially conservative, pro-life, anti-euthanasisa Catholic. "Nor does he support Australia becoming a republic - yet," he wrote. Hudson wrote that the McGauran family has a multimillion-dollar pastoral and hotel business, including poker machines".

"I have had advantages others have not, but the measure of an individual is what he or she does with those advantages. More importantly, I've had the advantage of loving parents and a close family," McGauren said.

"He gets some income from the family business but has no involvement, other than as a farm labourer 'from time to time', Hudson wrote.