By the time the battle ended last week – with the former Napthine government staffer winning resoundingly – Newbury was either a villain or hero depending on your perspective: complicit in branch stacking according to some, a future minister according to others, and a polarising figure in between.

But Newbury's victory was emblematic of something else, too: the Liberal Party's gender gap and the apparent reticence of its rank-and-file to tackle the issue.

After all, Brighton was the first preselection test since Opposition Leader Matthew Guy set an ambitious target this year to lift his party's female representation in parliament by a further 10 per cent at every election, rising from 27 per cent this year to 37 per cent in 2018, and to almost half by 2022. (The second test took place in the safe seat of Nepean the next day, when Russell Joseph, the 56-year-old electorate officer for Martin Dixon, was preselected to replace him).

Yet in a blow to Guy's authority, two strong female candidates – upper house MP Margaret Fitzherbert and former Bayside mayor Felicity Frederico – were overlooked by most Brighton delegates in favour of Newbury, a former political staffer and the sole male contender.

In his first major interview since last week's win, Newbury, 38, played down suggestions of a gender problem that the Liberals can't shake, pointing out that the party chooses candidates based "on merit".

"But I think that there's a much broader conversation that has been missed," he adds. "No one is yet talking about the fact that politics is a very, very tough occupation and that I don't think that we have the family friendly arrangements we need. I think that when you could go to work and it ends up being an 18-hour day without any notice, then it is a lot harder [to juggle a family]. If we want to have a conversation, then we have to talk about all of these other issues too."

Taking in some of Melbourne's most affluent bayside suburbs, the seat of Brighton has long been fertile ground for Liberal Party warfare – and this year was no different.

Tensions erupted a week ago, when Newbury was embroiled in a branch-stacking allegations linked to one of his key supporters, Liberal numbers man Marcus Bastiaan (claims that both men deny).

At the preselection convention, tempers flared again when Newbury pitched himself to delegates as someone who would add some "firepower and direction" to the parliamentary team: a statement viewed by opposition MPs as a negative critique against them.

But supporters of Newbury – who has worked for federal Liberals Chris Pyne and Julie Bishop, and former Victorian premier Denis Napthine – will tell you that he's always been that way: upfront, ambitious, not afraid to speak his mind.

As for Newbury, he stands by the view that the opposition needs extra strength – and more youth.

"All good organisations recognise the need to regenerate," he says. "The average age of the Liberal party room is 52, there's one lower house member of Parliament under 40, so I think it's important that we have that mix. That's not a reflection of who's in the party – there's a lot of experience there, but they've got to pass that on.

"I think it's important that there are some fierce Liberal party advocates on our team: some fighters, some Liberal warriors. I've been mentored by some of them myself – Peter Reith being one of them... We need to make sure we have enough people with that mindset who are capable of battling ideas into the future."