Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie was privileged to be sworn in a Minister of the Crown in July 2021. Bridget firmly believes it is in the national interest for regional Australia to be strong and successful. She recognises the importance of jobs, education, a skilled workforce and self-sufficiency. Previously, Bridget McKenzie had the honour of serving as Deputy Leader of the Nationals (2017) and was appointed Australia’s first female Agriculture Minister (2019). It was during this time she introduced key policies such as the dairy code, as well as boosted biosecurity measures to help protect Australia’s primary industries. In addition to her current ministerial role, Bridget is also the Leader of the Nationals in the Senate and is the first woman to be elected to that position. In her role as Senator for Victoria, Bridget has chaired several committees including the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade committee as well as the committee for Joint Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade committee. As Minister for Rural Health (2017), Bridget drove the establishment of the Murray Darling Medical School to increase the number of GP’s practicing in rural areas. During the 2019-20 bushfires, she advocated for the provision of emergency support and recovery projects to assist affected communities to recover. Among her other achievements, Bridget fought to achieve landmark legislation for cooperatives, including support for Australia Post to ensure its focus on rural and regional Australia and equitable local content in regional broadcasting. In 2019 she authored on contributions made to the nation by former Prime Minister and Country Party giant, Sir John ‘Black Jack’ McEwen.

Mohan-Ram brings over 30 years of strategic management, government and cross-sector experience to the post. Having worked across multiple transportation sectors, including bus, aviation, road, waste, furniture removal, warehouse and refrigerated transport, he has made supporting industry the cornerstone of his career. Varenya’s most recent role as National Business Relationship Manager at Team Super (formerly TWUSUPER Fund), saw him play corporate liaison for the largest transport and logistics companies contributing to the Fund. He has been a member of various industry committees and stood on the boards of organisations such as the Refrigerated Warehouse & Transport Association of Australia Ltd (RWTA), the Service Industry Training Advisory Council, Asthma Australia (Northern Territory), and the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), of which he was Chairman (NT Group). Additionally, he was a National Executive Member of the Australian Labor Party between 2011 and 2013 and headed up the Northern Territory Branch as General Secretary.