But Russell Matheson says his greatest achievement was bringing up his two daughters, Alana, 28, and Jessica, 22.

Macarthur's federal MP said his wife Sharon and two daughters were the best thing ever to happen him.

"I'm proud of the way our family unit has grown together and the fact that Sharon and I have brought up two very good young people," he said. "I'm proud of my upbringing, too, and I wouldn't change that for anything.

"I think being an army kid gave me all the disciplines I needed to become a good person."

Mr Matheson grew up in Holsworthy and attended Liverpool Boys High School.

His father was a member of the Australian Army and fought in Vietnam. "My father served his country and I wanted to serve my country as well, so I joined the police force. That progressed to the council and my time as mayor and now this stage of my life as the federal MP.

"It's all been very rewarding and to me there's nothing better than doing things for other people and making their life better. This journey has only just begun for me and I'm looking forward to those challenges and delivering the best outcome for my community."

He hopes as MP to help people living with a disability, seniors, small business and the unemployed.

"One of my passions is looking after people with disabilities and children with special needs and we need to address this.

"Our seniors are also doing it tough. They've worked hard and paid taxes all their lives, so we need to make sure they're looked after and have a good quality of life.

"I also want to create employment opportunities for our youth. Small business is the heart and soul of our community so we need to facilitate opportunities through small business."