Last month, The Melbourne Magazine named Maxine Morand and Daniel Andrews as two of the 100 most influential people in Melbourne.

Mt Waverley state MP Ms Morand is the Children and Early Childhood Development Minister and Women's Affairs Minister.

Mulgrave state MP Mr Andrews is the Health Minister.

The two MPs were the public faces of the contentious Abortion Law Reform Bill passed last year.

Despite copping a lot of flak from protesters, both defended the right of Australians to express differing views and beliefs.

Speaking to the Journal last week, Ms Morand said she had expected the response to the bill.

She received a flood of letters and phone calls to her electorate office from anti-abortion campaigners and was the subject of a graphic pro-life leaflet distributed to every home in her electorate, which labelled her a "baby killer".

She said it was important to respect the diverse views among community members, even though some of those opinions were expressed in "inappropriate ways".

Mr Andrews said informed criticism was "one of the beauties of a free and open system".

"People are entitled to their views and to express them.

"There are many parts of the world where that is not an option.

"All you can do is be focused on your job and work to deliver the best possible outcomes."

Ms Morand, who grew up in Glen Waverley, is the first Children and Early Childhood Development Minister.

She said the creation of the portfolio in 2007 highlighted the importance and lifelong impact of healthy development in early years.

Mr Andrews grew up in Wangaratta and moved to Melbourne to study for a bachelor of arts at Monash University in the early 1990s. He worked in federal Labor MP Alan Griffin's electorate office and in the ALP's head office before becoming Mulgrave MP in 2002.