Perin grew up in Canberra but now lives near Deniliquin - between the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers in the key irrigation areas of the Murray-Darling Basin - raising her two daughters with husband John.

Perin’s path to politics has been varied and she brings a range of experiences to her role; she ran her own hospitality company on the safari trail in Botswana, trained as a journalist and served Australia as an Army reservist. Eventually her experience and background in media led Perin into political advisory roles and later, work with irrigation groups on policy and advocacy.

As someone who is married to a farmer and lives in rural NSW, Perin understands how important it is for our regional communities to have a strong voice in parliament. One of Perin’s biggest passions is the right to farm and she has been appalled by how minority groups try to influence from a distance what can and can’t be done on a person’s soil.

Perin was elected to the Senate in 2019 commencing on 1 July that year. She served for three years as the Nationals’ Whip in the Senate. On 30 May 2022 Perin was elected Deputy Leader of The Nationals in Federal Parliament. On 5 June 2022 she was appointed Shadow Minister for Water and Shadow Minister for Emergency Management.

Perin is a passionate supporter and advocate of the screen industry, entertainment and the arts, and is honoured to be Co-Chair of the inaugural Parliamentary Friends of the Australian Screen Industry.