[2] McLean served as president of the Liberal Party's North Perth division from 1969 to 1972.
[2] McLean was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1975 federal election, winning the seat of Perth from the incumbent Australian Labor Party (ALP) MP Joe Berinson.
[2] McLean took a "strong public stand" in favour of accepting Vietnamese boat people into Australia, leading the League of Rights and the Immigration Control Association to publicly oppose his re-election to parliament before the 1980 federal election.
[3][4] At the 1986 state election, McLean stood unsuccessfully for the seat of Subiaco against future premier Carmen Lawrence.
[5] He was a member of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Board of Directors for five years from 1999.