Chris Crewther admits he wants to grow up to be like former small business minister Bruce Billson.
And he reckons the small-statured outgoing member for Dunkley wants to grow up to be as tall as him.
Mr Billson, a favourite among press gallery journalists, somewhat overshadowed a visit by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to Mornington Peninsula Brewery on Thursday.
The government is hoping Mr Crewther can hold on to the seat which the coalition holds by 5.6 per cent.
Mr Billson, who has left politics after 20 years, reckons the Liberal Party's picked a winner to replace him.
"He's a newer, improved version," he said.
"More handsome, svelte, taller and less kilometres on the clock."
Mr Crewther admitted the pair probably admired each other.
"I wanna grow up to be like Bruce and Bruce wants to grow up to be as tall as me," he said.
The brewery is the first to export Australian craft beer to China and owner Matt Bebe reckons the free-trade agreement will help brand the nation's products in Asia.
"There's a massive market over there," he told AAP.
The opportunities in China arose for Mr Bebe when a group of Melbourne University students chose his beer for an assignment based on exporting a product to China.
The brewery - which becomes eligible for an enterprise tax cut under the government's budget measures - says a three-year deal with a distributor in China means about 50 per cent of its revenue will come from exports.
Mr Turnbull was in Victoria after a turbulent day in Sydney on Thursday, where questions about former prime minister Tony Abbott plagued his campaigning.
He cancelled a street walk on Wednesday afternoon after an earlier morning tea ran over time.
