Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I inform the House of the death on 4 December 2023 of Peta Jan Murphy, member for the division of Dunkley.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House record its deep regret at the tragic death in office, on 4 December 2023, of Peta Jan Murphy, a Member of this House for the Division of Dunkley since 2019, place on record its appreciation of her meritorious public service in this place, and tender its profound sympathy to her family, colleagues and friends in their bereavement.

We meet today to offer our nation's condolences to all those who had the great fortune of knowing Peta Murphy. Peta Murphy was special. We offer our condolences to her devoted partner of 24 years, her husband Rod Glover, her proud parents, Bob and Jan, her dear sisters, Jodi and Penni, and her army of lifelong friends. We gather today as a parliament to mourn a great loss to our parliament. All of us in the Labor family have been left broken-hearted by the passing of our beloved Peta Murphy, and I appreciate that grief is keenly felt by many others in this place.

There are some members of parliament whose contribution earns the grudging respect of the chamber. There are others, rarer still, who win genuine admiration and real affection across the political spectrum. Peta Murphy was one of those: a fiercely loyal friend and colleague; a boss her staff adored; and a brilliant, funny, courageous and caring person who made this a better parliament because she cared so deeply about representing her community, because she believed so passionately in the power and value and responsibility of government and because she worked so hard to make Australia a better country.

Australia is a better nation for her service. In recent times, despite her endless reserve of good humour and resilience, all of us knew Peta was very ill, yet I don't think any of us were truly prepared for how it would feel to lose her. Now, as we look over to where just last week she was rising to ask questions—still representing her electorate, still championing the causes she cared about and still pushing the government she was so proud to be a part of to press on with reform—it is so hard, so cruel and so unfair to think we'll never see that bright and shining smile again, never hear that raucous laugh, never see Peta frantically moving seats and pulling faces to entertain a baby brought into the chamber for a division, never again listen as Peta, the happy warrior, wades into a debate with her trademark combination of intellect, integrity and empathy and never hear another 90-second statement praising the underappreciated greatness of the game of squash. Peta Murphy gave this parliament, our party and our country so much, but part of what we grieve for today is the fact that she had so much more to give. This is truly a loss for our nation. I have no doubt that Peta would have made a fine cabinet minister of the future.

It was so true to Peta's character that she channelled her personal battle with breast cancer into public policy. Peta continued to advocate not for herself but for others—for better treatment, more services and stronger support. She worked with Breast Cancer Network Australia to advocate for a national registry of metastatic cancer patients, and she cared so much about that initiative that she travelled to Canberra last week to try and launch the report. In all this work, Peta never once complained about the battle that she was in. She had faced cancer once already, at the age of just 37. She took time away from an already stellar legal career. As part of her recovery, she went on to win the US masters championship in squash. She took the trophy from Harvard Club back to Frankston.

She fought the good fight in Dunkley in 2016 and then won against the tide in 2019, becoming the first woman to ever hold that seat. Then Peta's cancer returned, a mere fortnight before she would give her first speech as an MP. Instead of lamenting the unfairness of this, she would talk about the privilege she had as an advocate—as someone who could raise awareness, set an example, call for action and drive change. It's important to make the point today that, for all the courage and character Peta showed in her struggle, she was so much more than what she endured.

Her deep intellect and her unwavering instinct for justice and fairness had been honed by years of service to community legal centres, legal aid and the Victorian Law Reform Commission, and it travelled right across economic and social policy. So often her deep understanding of the issue and her formidable capacity as an advocate helped make a decisive contribution. So much of the work being done to close the gender pay gap has been informed by Peta's expertise. Peta also led the charge on new reforms to minimise the harm caused by online gambling. It speaks volumes that everyone involved in that multiparty committee simply calls it 'The Murphy report'.

As a local member she was absolutely everywhere. She had an eagle eye on every local project, an encouraging word for every community organisation and every sporting club. She was a relentless champion for better services in Dunkley and a role model for women and girls—all of which is why attending a local event with Peta meant basking in her glow. I attended everything from early learning childhood centres to aged-care facilities, to the wonderful art gallery surrounded by bush in that electorate, to the Frankston shopping centres. Peta Murphy, wherever you went, was known and loved by her local community. People responded to her determination, her pride in the community, her passion to deliver, and they could sense, above all, her absolute authenticity. Her husband, Rod, talks about the way people would humbly, shyly, come up to Peta in shopping centres and at footy grounds and simply say, 'Thank you'. They could sense she cared, and so could all of us.

The courage that she showed in coming into this chamber and, indeed, making her debut, with the impact that the chemotherapy had on her physical appearance, where we talked about her coming to the Australian Open with me, which meant that she sat next to me and it meant that she would appear on TV—it was a very conscious decision that she made, that we discussed, because she wanted, for all those women in particular, but others as well, going through the experience of cancer treatment, to show that it was a fact of life. I found that incredibly courageous. Each and every day she continued to show that, which is why she consciously chose to be open, transparent and in full view of everyone.

In that extraordinary first speech of hers, shining through the shadow of the news she had just received, Peta quoted Pippi Longstocking, the strongest girl in the world. And the attitude that she brought to public life, and, indeed, to her whole working life, was very true to another piece of Pippi Longstocking wisdom: 'I have never tried that before, so I think I should definitely be able to do that.' That summed up Peta: fearless in the face of new challenges, bold in the service of important causes, knowing that the very nature of progress means trying things that have not been done before. A lesson for all of us—unless we try, you'll never get progress and change.

More and more, Peta would say that, while democracy must be a willing contest, it should be a clash of ideas. She also demonstrated the need to be able to respect those who disagree with you and to work with them to get things done. I think her committee work and other work in this parliament, and the fact that we're gathered here today across the political spectrum, all genuinely mourning this great Australian, says a lot about her—not just saying that but doing that and achieving that. I thank the non-Labor members in this chamber for the number of very warm messages that they've given to me, as the leader of the Labor family, whilst we mourn our family member.

Not every day in this place is an easy or uplifting one. We all experience moments of frustration. But any time you had the chance to chat with Peta you were reminded, instantly and powerfully, what an extraordinary privilege it is to serve in this place. That sense of pride and purpose lived in everything she said and did. She couldn't stand missing a day of parliament. Even when it would've been totally reasonable, at times, for her to not be here, she was here more often than she probably should have been to look after her own health. She regarded it as such a privilege, so she would apologise for any day that she missed. She believed that every minute in public life was a gift—an opportunity to advance social justice and to represent and serve the people of her electorate and our nation and, in doing so, make the greatest nation of the world even better for her contribution.

I know that, for many of us, this somehow does not feel real, and it probably won't for a while. We'll still half expect to see Peta coming through the door of the caucus room or my office, or into the chamber, with those ever-bright eyes and that glorious infectious smile that she had. There'll be moments when we'll let ourselves believe she isn't gone at all. Indeed, because of her legacy—because of what she did and what she meant—she will never be truly gone. We will keep the glow of Peta Murphy in our hearts. Those of us who met her and experienced her friendship are privileged to have done so. Let us keep her fine example of this outstanding, courageous and inspirational Australian in our minds.

We give all of our love and sympathy to Rod. It was a very difficult period for Rod, particularly over the weekend. No-one could want for a more devoted and loving partner than Rod Glover was to Peta Murphy. To her parents, Bob and Jan; to her sisters, Jodi and Penni—all of whom were able to spend that final period with Peta, and, like everything else she did in life, in passing she did it her way, in accordance with her requests and her wishes for that final period—and to her near and dear friends, including those in this chamber, we offer our deepest sympathy. To her devoted and loving staff, thank you for what you did for Peta Murphy in having the privilege of serving her and helping to look after her. May Peta rest in eternal peace.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Prime Minister for his very touching words. The sitting year has been sadly and tragically bookended by the loss of two remarkable parliamentarians, Jim Molan and Peta Murphy. Both were indeed, as the Prime Minister rightly points out, wonderful characters but respected across the political aisle. Both courageously battled but tragically fell to cancer. Both were marvellous people whose legacies have left an imprint on our nation and whose lives epitomised the very best of the Australian character. The shock and sadness of Peta's passing on Monday is still visible on the faces in this place today. It is my privilege to join the Prime Minister in honouring the life of Peta Jan Murphy.

When we remember the lives of the departed, we ask those central questions which occupy the mind for biographers and obituary writers: What made the person the way they were? What made them tick? There were many factors which made Peta Murphy tick. She was the girl born in Goulburn and raised in Wagga, a very proud product of the public school system. Peta grew up during the Hawke and Keating governments, and she spoke about her admiration for our 23rd and 24th prime ministers and the way that they enlarged our national imagination. In many ways, the inspiration Peta drew from Australia's longest-serving Labor government forged her into the idealist that we all knew. It was that idealism which saw her possess an unfaltering faith in our democratic system. She had an unbreakable belief in the cauldron of Australia's national conversation and in the power of ideas and robust debates to break through the walls of brute politicking.

Peta the idealist was also tempered by Peta the realist. Prior to entering politics she worked as a solicitor, as a barrister and as a senior public defender. In those roles she represented, as she put it, the damaged and the difficult, the victims and the perpetrators, and the blameless and the blameworthy. Through her work in the justice system and legal profession, Peta knew only too well the vicious cycle of disadvantage and dysfunction which swallows up so many lives. It was this cycle she wanted to help break—a motivating factor for her seeking political office. A further factor was the rotten circumstances thrust upon Peta's life; not once but twice did she find herself in the trenches battling the indiscriminate and sneaky adversary of breast cancer.

In recent days, many of us have revisited the interview Peta gave to Stellar magazine last August and the profound letter that she wrote to her past self, which is published on the website of the Breast Cancer Network Australia. Peta spoke about her utter disappointment in not being able to have children following her cancer treatment, despite successive rounds of IVF. Her thoughts were with her husband, Rod. She said, 'It's no small thing for someone's partner to go through.' As a parliamentarian contending with cancer, Peta bore burdens of the mind and pains of body that most of us will never fathom. Yet it was remarkable that, despite all that she was going through and the pressures of public office, she so rarely dropped her sunny disposition or was devoid of a smile. To paraphrase Peta's words, she took a deep breath and she chose to use the bumps in her life's journey to make a difference as a member of parliament—and make a difference she most certainly did, living up to the ideals that she set for herself.

Peta made a difference to the people of Dunkley, whom she described as rich with talent and compassion. Peta made a difference to the people of our country. We often saw her speak in a heartfelt and heroic way about those causes dear to her—namely, bettering the lives of women, children and families. She certainly bettered many Australian lives through her extensive contributions to parliamentary committees, most notably as the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs and its report into online gambling. That report illuminated the harm which online gambling is inflicting in our communities and on children, especially from the bombardment of advertising. We all commend that meticulous work which Peta led and had a great passion for.

Peta also made a huge difference to the women of Australia. She received her second breast cancer diagnosis almost eight years after her first and only days after being sworn in. Using her profile as a parliamentarian, Peta engaged in unrelenting advocacy for breast cancer awareness, raising the issues of treatment and funding. Thanks to Peta's campaigning, Australian women booked in to get that check-up. Thanks to Peta's industriousness, Australian women have benefitted from early detection. Thanks to Peta's endeavours, Australian women are with us today who would otherwise not be. The brevity of Peta's life reminds us of her prophetic words in her maiden parliamentary speech, where she said, 'Life can be fragile, and we'd better make the most of it.'

With Peta leaving us at only the age of 50, we all know that she had so much more to say, so much more to contribute and so much more to do. Some of us may wonder what the remarkable Peta Murphy would have done next, but, in that wondering heartache, perhaps we may find some solace in gratitude—gratitude simply to have known Peta, gratitude to have had someone of Peta's calibre and quality serve our country and grace this chamber with her presence, and gratitude for a life which others will look back on to inspire their own idealism and ignite their own sense of national imagination.

On behalf of the coalition, I offer my heartfelt condolences to Peta's beloved husband, Rod; to her mum and dad, Bob and Jan; to her sisters, Jodi and Penni; to her extended family and friends; to her staff, in particular, who worked so closely with her and, as the Prime Minister rightly pointed out, had great admiration for her; and, importantly today, to her Labor colleagues, especially the member for Gorton, for whom she served as chief of staff. To her many, many friends on this side of the chamber, may Peta Murphy rest in peace.

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I firstly acknowledge the eloquent and touching sentiments of the Prime Minister and the opposition leader. Peta Murphy was a passionate fighter who was always on the side of the underdog, the outsider, the less fortunate. Whether she was providing legal representation in court for the powerless or the disadvantaged on the margins of our society or she was advocating on behalf of a local constituent or a community group, she put every ounce of effort into those individual fights and those local battles. They mattered to her.

But she also had grander plans. Peta understood that federal politics was the battlefield where the big issues were contested and determined. Whether it's the challenges of climate change, attending to insecure work or striving for gender equality, it's in this place that the big things are won and lost, the most gains can be made and the contest of ideas for shaping the nation's future are played out, and she wanted to be part of it. It's why she threw herself headlong into policy work in so many areas, as the Prime Minister and the opposition leader referred to. Only this year she tabled the parliamentary committee report on the insidious adverse social effects of online gambling, highlighting, in particular, the industry's targeting of children. It's why, last Wednesday, she was here—unbelievably—in Canberra, to launch a Breast Cancer Network Australia report entitled Time to count people with metastatic breast cancera way forward. Then, sadly, she was unable, because she was too unwell, to launch that report, but her involvement, her advocacy, had already elevated this matter nationally. And, of course, she was right: as a nation we can and must do better to increase testing and ensure earlier diagnoses of all cancers. That's what she would have advised me to say today.

I know what else she would have advised me to say: not to carry on about her, not to talk her up too much. I can almost hear her interjecting, telling anyone today extolling her virtues to calm down. In her first speech she paid tribute to her parents, describing them as the 'most humble, principled and selfless people I have ever met'. Well, they definitely managed, if that is the case, to hand down those very traits, as they describe the Peta Murphy I knew to a tee. For someone who achieved so much in work and in sport, she was ridiculously humble. She was not comfortable with praise or being the centre of attention—which is a funny thing for a politician—unless it was for a cause bigger than her. She was principled and she was in a hurry to change things, but her work was always accompanied by compassion and integrity. Her selflessness was on constant display both privately and publicly—not just recently but for as long as I've known her and until the very end.

But it would be wrong of us to think that her life can be summed up solely through the prism of her recent battles or that Peta would want to be remembered only for her fight against an illness, however tenacious and courageous, because she was much more than that. Peta was great company. She was great to be around. She was irreverently hilarious, self-mocking and cheeky. She had a fast wit and a merciless put down when the need arose. Peta was very direct with her advice and her views. She was—well, let's just say that I didn't have to read her mind! Her self-deprecation was not a glib affectation of false modesty but her natural default position. She was her own harshest critic in her effort for excellence in everything she did.

I had the good fortune of asking her to join my office not long after the 2016 election. She had run as the Labor candidate in Dunkley, a seat held by the Liberals for 20 years, and she gave it a crack but just fell short. I needed someone to fill the role of chief of staff. I held the workplace relations portfolio, a significant and contestable area of public policy, I have to say, where seemingly everybody has a personal view, especially in the Labor Party! I was very grateful when she accepted the offer. Interestingly enough, it wasn't Peta's policy area of expertise, so I was astonished by the speed with which she acquired an intimate understanding of this complex area of law with a combination of an unparalleled work ethic and a forensic mind, matched only by her deep empathy for those in workplaces not getting their fair share. Her great contribution to Labor at that time was invaluable and reveals itself in the IR legislation this government is advancing this term.

As the 2019 election edged closer, she was having to resolve a dilemma—whether to secure a state seat with a likely fast promotion to ministry, as she was very much inside-running on that matter, or have another shot at the more difficult federal seat of Dunkley. Against the advice of some, and so typical of Peta, she took the harder path for a grander goal: a federal Labor government. She prevailed, but Labor fell short—but not for very long. As the Prime Minister said last year, Peta achieved her goal of being a member of a federal Labor government: the Albanese Labor government.

Peta was a feminist, a trade unionist and Labor to her bootstraps. The pride she felt in being the first woman to represent the constituents of Dunkley was palpable. The fact that the seat was named after Louisa Dunkley, who more than a century ago fought for equal pay and to put an end to discrimination against women, was the cherry on top.

As it happens too often in life, not everything turns out fairly. The random injustice of Peta's illness cut short what she set out to do, but each and every day she was working to make her constituents, the Labor Party, this place and her country better. Peta reminds us that it's not the length of time each of us sits in this place, but it's what we do with the time when we're here. She left an indelible mark as a lawyer, as a political staffer, as a parliamentarian and, I have no doubt, as an inspiration, and will continue to do so to all who sit in this place and beyond.

On behalf of her staff and to those of mine in particular who worked with Peta, I pay tribute to our beautiful friend and colleague Peta Murphy. I extend our deepest sympathies to her husband and best friend, Rod; to her mum and dad, Bob and Jan; to her sisters, Jodi and Penni, and their partners; to her nieces and nephew; to all of her many, many friends; and to her constituents of Dunkley. We are so much richer for having known her and will miss her each and every day. May she rest in peace.

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the skills minister for the touching, fitting, and beautiful tribute to your friend. You did her justice and you should be proud—and she'd be proud.

On behalf of the Nationals, it is with deep sadness and regret that I extend our condolences and heartfelt thoughts and sympathies to the family, friends and colleagues, and the residents of Dunkley, on the passing of Peta Jan Murphy. Tragically, on Monday, we lost a wonderful Australian who during her life embodied the very best of the human spirit—a woman who was admired on both sides of the aisle for her courage, her strength and her razor sharp wit and good humour. She was a woman who contributed so much to this parliament and to the communities in her electorate, that she represented with pride and distinction.

Born in 1973, Peta was a self-described public schoolgirl from Wagga whose authentic Labor values were inspired by the Hawke and Keating governments. She grew up with a passion for helping the less fortunate. She wanted to be an advocate for those Australians who found themselves living on the margins of society and who felt forgotten and neglected. She wanted to stand up for others and proudly, it was these convictions, along with her intellect and drive, which have always shone through across her professional career.

Before her election to parliament, Peta had an accomplished career as a solicitor, barrister and senior public defender, working directly with Australians doing it tough. These roles provided her with a hands-on insight into the devastating impacts of inequality and social hardship. In her own words, she said:

…I have represented the damaged and the difficult, victims and perpetrators, the blameless and the blameworthy. At every turn, I have seen the corrosive effect that intergenerational disadvantage can have on people, families and communities.

In terms of breaking these vicious cycles, Peta had a strong belief in developing integrated and holistic solutions for vulnerable communities, an approach that she brought with her into this parliament as the federal member for Dunkley.

She was elected in 2019, winning her seat off the Liberal Party and becoming the first Labor MP to represent Dunkley for more than two decades. She also made political history as the first female MP to represent this electorate. During her 4½ years as a parliamentarian, Peta Murphy left an enormous legacy. Her lifelong passion for helping the disadvantaged and the marginalised never left her, and it showed. From her efforts in driving online gambling reforms to her advocacy for a national registry for metastatic cancer patients, and her leadership in setting up the Parliamentary Friends of Women's Health, Peta touched so many lives. Of course, the member for Dunkley wasn't only a hardworking and effective MP; she was a kind and generous soul who fought so heroically during her long battle with cancer. Her determination and bravery will remain an inspiration to us all.

Ever since her first diagnosis in 2011, and its recurrence just a couple of weeks after being elected to parliament in 2019, Peta was always open, honest and up-front about the challenges that she was going through. But, despite this adversity, despite her serious illness, despite the stress and despite the obstacles, Peta showed incredible resilience. She always turned up to parliament whenever she could, she was always eager to get on with the job of representing her constituents and she was determined to do her absolute best to translate what was an excruciating personal ordeal into something that could potentially help millions of others. Speaking of her circumstances, she said:

I am neither unique nor alone, but I am someone who has a platform that can be used to benefit others. And as long as the people of Dunkley continue to vote for me to represent them in this place, I intend to use it.

Peta was true to this pledge. In partnership with Breast Cancer Network Australia, she worked tirelessly to promote more public awareness about the crucial importance of early screening, diagnosis and treatment of this awful disease.

All of us in the National Party family are saddened by the loss of Peta. Her generosity of spirit and decency of character set an example for all MPs to follow. These qualities were obvious to see, and it's not surprising that she forged many friendships on this side of the House. It was no better exemplified than in the special moment that we saw last Tuesday right in the middle of a fierce parliamentary sitting week and that happened just before question time. What we saw was a personal and sincere tribute for the member for Dunkley that was delivered by her good friend the member for Gippsland. It was an address that recognised her courage, her humour and her strength. It was one of the finest tributes that I've ever seen or heard, and, particularly with her passing on Monday, how special it was that Peta was in the chamber to hear it for herself. It was an act of humanity and kindness that I wanted to recognise today, and I acknowledge the member for Gippsland for giving Peta this wonderful gesture of support during her final days.

I want to conclude my remarks by saying that there's no doubt that Peta Murphy has left this parliament and our nation a better place. To everyone who loved and adored Peta, especially Rod—her husband of 24 years—her family and all her Labor Party colleagues, we offer you our prayers and heartfelt respects as you grieve the loss of a truly remarkable woman.

As we honour her memory today, I end with Peta's maiden speech in 2019. When reflecting on what she wanted to achieve as a parliamentarian, the newly elected member for Dunkley said the following:

… I would like to be able to say that I left Australian politics—Australian democracy—in better shape than when I joined it, that I was part of a generation of Australian politicians who worked to recover the public's faith in our democratic system and who strove to reharness politics as that vehicle for enlarging opportunities and enlarging our national imagination …

When we look back on Peta Jan Murphy's record of public service, we can say with appreciation and certainty that she has accomplished this aim and so much more.

She'll be missed, and may Peta rest in peace.

Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Peta and I delivered our first speeches in this place on the same day in July 2019. At that time I didn't know her very well. In fact, I think I'd introduced her to someone a couple of weeks earlier as Peta Dunkley. It was clear to me from that very first speech that she was fierce and super smart. She was actually a bit intimidating, but she was absolutely someone who I knew would be a valuable colleague. In the end, she was so much more than that—she was the closest of friends.

Peta came into this place with a clear sense of why she was here and what she wanted to achieve. A Labor girl who grew up in the era of Hawke and Keating, she was clear that our country was a better one when it was big enough to support us all. She never left you in any doubt about where she stood on an issue, and she would always come down on the side of making things fairer.

Peta's years as a solicitor, barrister and public advocate meant that she knew how to argue her case. I don't think there's anyone who was in this chamber listening when she spoke out against those opposite's plan to give women fleeing domestic and family violence access to their superannuation to support them leaving dangerous situations who is in any doubt that it was Peta's speech that meant that that policy lasted less 24 hours.

She took her fierceness, her forthrightness and her smarts, and she advocated to support Australian women in the community and in the parliament. She led the committee work to recommend changes to curb the harms of online gambling, work she was rightly proud of, and I know so that many Australians, particularly parents who have watched their children learn more about odds than they know about footy stats, support. From her first speech till the end, she argued for a bill of rights, for improvements to our legal system, action on climate change and so much more. I was generally very happy to join her on her crusades, but I will now disclose that we had a brief falling-out when I floated a proposal for turning the parliamentary squash courts into a yoga space!

But Peta knew her role wasn't just in this building. She loved the community of Dunkley and she fought hard for the privilege of representing it—losing the 2016 election but turning the Liberal seat Labor in 2019. For all of us elected in 2019, our first terms quickly included the reality of COVID and, for those of us in Victoria, lengthy COVID lockdowns. Peta and I spoke often during that time as we tried to navigate our way through being good representatives in a very challenging environment. I always knew that Peta would choose supporting her community over politics, and she did so with ongoing factual COVID updates and community advocacy. Once lockdowns were over, Peta was the most involved local member. Just looking at her Insta feed on the weekend used to make me feel exhausted. And I don't think there's a community or sporting group in Dunkley who didn't know Peta and who didn't love Peta. Her efforts were recognised with one of the key performance indicators we look to in this place: a substantial increase in her margin at the 2022 election.

Peta didn't like talking about her cancer, and it's not what she wanted to be known for, but she was also very conscious of the platform she had to argue for better outcomes for people with cancer, and particularly for women with metastatic breast cancer. One of her absolute highlights in this place was when we met Olivia Newton-John, a woman who had used her public platform to do just that. And, what Olivia was to Peta, Peta was to so many other women—a blazing example of how to get up every morning and lead the life you want, even with cancer. Peta greatly valued the work she did with the Breast Cancer Network of Australia and the support they gave her.

The reality is that Peta did a lot of her work while in pain. I lost count of the number of times I put what I thought were rational arguments about how someone undergoing chemotherapy did not need to sit through question time every single day it was on. I rarely won that argument with Peta, and she hated missing parliament. On the few occasions she did, I would joke with her that, as her unofficial parliamentary spokesperson, I had dutifully put out her lines of the day: she was fine and she just needed a bit more rest. And I would report back to her on all of the people who had asked after her. She appreciated every one of you.

In amongst all of this, Peta was a lot of fun. You could be sure that she would pour you the stiffest of G&Ts. One of the most important parts of our friendship was that we always knew we could blow off steam together. She and I were constantly in and out of each other's offices in this place. I have truthfully told my husband there were many days when I talked with and messaged Peta far more times than I did him. Sometimes it was because we were doing important things; more times it was because we were talking about shoes and making each other feel okay about whatever was swirling about us. I do think part of our friendship was that we both deeply appreciated each other's hot takes about parliamentary proceedings. So fair warning to my other friends here—there is a massive gap for witty hot takes in my life and I expect all of you to step up.

I'm sure it was Peta's sense of fun which also meant she was such a special person to my two-year-old son. Peta called Gilbert her kindred spirit, and, if he knew those words, I'm sure that's how he would have described her. I will forever cherish the memories I have of our time in our apartment here in Canberra together, of Gilbert convincing Peta to read every story in the place before he went to bed and pouncing on her as soon as she woke up for another round of the doctor game.

Like all of us, Peta was here because of the support of her family and her friends. It was a privilege for me to get to know you through her. Rod, for more than 20 years you were her person, her absolute rock, critic and champion, as she was for you. Bob and Jan, I loved hearing about Peta's exploits growing up in Wagga and all you did to shape her into the wonderful person she was. Jodi, Penni and all her nieces and her nephew: she was so proud of you all. Our hearts ache for you today—also her beautiful but crazy dogs, Bert and Ernie, who brought her so much joy. To her staff, Lauren, Majella, Maddie, John, Kitty, Madeleine, Louis and others: you've been so important in helping Peta do her work—and our whip, Jo Ryan, and all the Labor team, who quietly arranged things to help her keep going for as long as she could.

Peta, I did think we would have longer, that there would be time for a few more conversations. But in the last few days I have also thought about how much you would have hated spending months at home, when you would have felt like you should have been here. I am glad that when the end came you were doing what you knew was important, right up to the end, and that you left us surrounded by your family and love.

My friend, on that day in July 2019, you reflected on what you would want to be known for at the end of your time in politics, and you said:

… above all else, I would like to be able to say that I left Australian politics—Australian democracy—in better shape than when I joined it, that I was part of a generation of Australian politicians who worked to recover the public's faith in our democratic system and who strove to reharness politics as that vehicle for enlarging opportunities and enlarging our national imagination, and that we did so by rejecting politics based on fear and division, by refusing to see societal problems as weapons with which to wedge our political opponents and by choosing robust debates about ideas and solutions over personal attacks and petty judgements.

Rest in peace, knowing that is the example you set us all. It can't ever be the same here without you, but I am so grateful that I was here for the part you were too.

Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

These are clearly not the circumstances in which parliament wanted to gather here today, and we are all the poorer for not having Peta Murphy here with us. Parliament has heard heartfelt tributes from across all sides today, and they all ring true. In the public sphere, she fought for equality, and her values and her accomplishments in her time in this place are many—and they've been amply and ably demonstrated by the Prime Minister and her colleagues. And also, as has been noted, while she was going through her treatment, she turned it into advocacy, not just for reform but also to be an example herself, and she inspired many in so doing.

As a Victorian who used to practise as a lawyer, I had the privilege of meeting and knowing Peta before she entered parliament. At one social event, a mutual friend of ours, who had previously supported me in my endeavours, pulled me aside and said, 'There's someone I really want you to meet,' and brought me over to introduce Peta. He said: 'You might not like this, Adam, but she's just been preselected for Labor for the seat of Dunkley. I couldn't be happier and I'm going to give her my full support.' And he leant over to me and said, 'Adam, you need to know that she's one of the good ones.' And he was absolutely right. When people have said today, previously, that her work here was a continuation of a lifelong determination to fight for her Labor values and social justice, they were right. She used her skills before coming to this place to stand up for people who were doing it tough, and she fought to improve not only their individual lives but to change the world so that things would be better for them.

The skills minister has referred to the time that he was workplace relations spokesperson and minister, and she worked with him. I was, at the time, also the Greens workplace relations spokesperson. I say this with absolutely no disrespect to the skills minister, but I was always very pleased at any time when he said, 'I'll send Peta around to talk to you,' because that was an opportunity for a conversation with someone who not only had values that you could see on their face but who was whip smart, and who you could put nothing past. It was always not only an enjoyable conversation but her humour, as others have remarked on, made any encounter with her enjoyable.

We have lost her far too soon and the grief that people, especially in the Labor family, are feeling is heartfelt and it's real. On behalf of the Greens, I want to extend our support and our thoughts for what is, as many have said, not only a difficult time now but one which may be a difficult time for some period to come. To her close family and her friends: we are thinking of you in this most difficult of times. We are all the poorer for not having Peta Murphy with us. Vale, Peta Murphy.

Anika Wells (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There were two PMs on our side of the House: one, who I like very much and who leads us all, and one who was the spiritual leader of the class of 2019. We met at MP kindy, as our cohort was orientated about what to expect as we entered public life. She was confident, she was outspoken, she was wearing an outstanding ox-blood power suit and she was seriously knowledgeable, showing off to the class that she knew an obscure nuance around the standing orders that she would be using in order to speak on the condolence motion for Bob Hawke without yielding her right to a first speech.

I did not care for her. 'Well, well, well,' I thought to myself, 'who is this queen bee, inserting an early dominance upon the hive?' Then, towards the end of the first day, when this Hermione Granger of Frankston was providing yet another correct and nuanced answer to some quandary that we were facing, she stopped abruptly and censored herself: 'Sorry, everyone! Just tell me to shut up when you need to; I always talk too much when I'm nervous, and you all make me really, really nervous!' And then I was charmed! One of Peta's gifts was her charisma and her ability to disarm people by being frank, open and vulnerable.

One day, a little while later, when her new medication was distorting her svelte, squash-champion figure, she sailed into my office and thrust a maroon frock down on the desk before me: 'Wellsy, I do not for one second pretend to understand or even, for that matter, appreciate Queenslanders. But I do know you'll appreciate this dress much more than I do, so here you go. And mind that you wear it heaps—I paid at least $50 for it!' Another of Peta's gifts was guileless generosity, shared by her magnificent husband, Rod, who has been so utterly generous with us all throughout this time. I honour him most sincerely.

Soon, the 'festival of babies' arrived for the FPLP. One of the many pointy things that happened to Peta while she was here was that she formed a close circle of friends and then every single one of them bred around her at the same time. Ninety-nine per cent of the time she was the personification of excited and enthusiastic support for our forthcoming endeavours. On the rarest of moments, alone in our offices late at night, she would briefly allow herself to voice how desperately she and Rod had wanted a family before cancer had taken that from them. It was in one of those raw moments that I offered her one of my incoming twins. She said that much like the witch in Sleeping Beauty she'd make good on that promise when the time came. It was always best to take Peta at her word. At some ungodly time on the day the twins were born, I texted Peta a list of the characteristics that each twin had exhibited during their first hours on earth, and she responded quickly with her selection. She liked the sound of the one who had demonstrated greater fight and future sporting potential. And so, he was hers.

Peta loved the babies of the FPLP almost as much as her nieces and nephew, and we're blessed with many photos capturing her devotion. When I look at them, I hear the soundtrack of Peta's delight at their every smile—at every time her twin behaved better than my twin or hit his milestones ahead of my twin or generally, in any way in any capacity, outperformed my twin. On one halcyon day, her twin conducted himself in such a manner at a press conference with the now PM that, for a time, he earned star billing on the illustrious Albanese social profile pictures. There was no prouder peacock fluffing their feathers about their accomplishment than Peta.

These three stories illustrate Peta's charm, her abilities, her generosity, her friendship and her loyalty. These qualities deserve to be memorialised. But, for me, these three stories reveal what was finest about Peta's character, which was that she constantly found a way to take the sharpest circumstances that life presented her with and make them a gift for others. Peta was a remarkable Australian, and her capacity deserves to be celebrated today and in times to come. But, as her friend, privileged enough to occasionally glimpse the soul fighting behind the most compelling of shields, I want to pay tribute to how hard and for how long Peta tried. Some of the qualities we all loved most were not her many natural-born gifts easily deployed; they were hard-fought dividends of a herculean amount of effort. She was given no quarter. She took no short cuts. She was the best PM we never had. Goodbye, my exceptional friend.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with members of the House in this condolence motion to mark the life and service of the member for Dunkley, Peta Jan Murphy. There have been many significant moments in this chamber over the years: presidents and dignitaries have delivered addresses, budgets have been passed, there have been national apologies and there have been quite a few shouting matches. But, aside from the pomp and the ceremony, aside from the day-to-day theatre and the political contest, there have been countless quiet moments too. These quiet moments might not make the headlines, but they are examples that remind us all of what we have in common as Australians, and that is much greater than what divides us in this place.

Occasionally those quiet moments are captured by those who sit above us in the press gallery, and we thank them for what they do because often those quiet moments are the gift for our memories. Often those moments get printed off and stuck by one of our staff members on the back of a door, or they might end up in a frame to gather dust on a shelf. But, on days like today, these moments are indeed gifts, and today these gifts are priceless because, sadly, today those moments are ones that many in this place will cling to as they remember a dear friend.

Indeed there was one such moment on 22 March 2021 in this chamber. It was a moment that, in my mind, is unique in our nation's history and indeed I believe uniquely captures Peta Murphy. It was captured by Mike Bowers, one of Australia's great photographers, and it came as the member for Lilley was delivering a speech on multiple births. She was, rather impressively, doing it with her twin boys in her arms. As a mother myself, I have to say it was quite a feat from the member for Lilley. How she kept those twin boys in check would have been a mystery to many at home, with the camera tightly focused as she spoke. But, thanks to Mr Bowers, we can reveal how she did it. Behind the member for Lilley was Peta Murphy doing that most human of things—making the happiest of faces to those beautiful children, with her eyes wide, her mouth in an open smile and no doubt some very interesting faces being made. Many will have seen the image, and, for those who have not, I would recommend that you do because that image is one which captures the person that was Peta Murphy—bright and fun, engaging and curious, a dear friend to many and a beloved colleague. But it is also a deeply sad image because, in its joy, it reminds us of what we have lost, and for that I extend my deepest sympathies to the entire Labor family and to Rod, Peta's loving husband.

Another quiet moment I want to recognise was more recent. Women, especially in public life, are judged relentlessly for how they look, the clothes they wear, their make-up and, of course, their hair. That is why I was so moved, whenever I saw Peta stride into this place—outwardly unfazed, clearly unwell, with no head covering—because what you saw was a woman with passion in her eyes and a resolution to claim back her identity, an identity which cancer had tried to snatch from her. And in that moment I recognised that among the many things she was, she was, without doubt, a beautiful woman and a beautiful person.

But Peta Murphy was more than just those quiet moments. She made history in 2019 as the first woman to represent Dunkley. The seat, located in south-east Melbourne, had been jostled between Liberal and Labor since being created in 1984, but always jostled by men. It is ironic as the seat is named after a woman, Louisa Margaret Dunkley, a strong campaigner for women's rights and equal pay for equal work. So for Peta to be elected in 2019 was quite fitting. The seat could finally be represented by someone that reflected the history of its name.

Peta was perhaps not unlike Louisa Dunkley. She was a strong campaigner for women's rights. Not only did she advocate for over 100,000 people in Dunkley for over four years, she chose to advocate strongly for women, particularly for greater outcomes for women's health. At the time, being sworn in as the first woman to represent the seat of Dunkley should have been a history-making moment or a cause for celebration, but the achievement was marred by the news that unfortunately Peta's breast cancer had returned. Instead of letting that keep her down, letting that shift her focus, she became only more driven to advocate for women's health. Along with my colleague, the former member for Robertson Lucy Wicks, Peta established the Parliamentary Friends of Women's Health, and she did not give up fighting and advocating for women's health issues. I thank the member for Bass, Bridget Archer, for her continued work with this friendship group.

In Peta 's final weeks and months she continued the work of the Parliamentary Friends of Women's Health. She continued many of her parliamentary commitments, including last week's sitting. She advocated for women's reproductive health care and the opportunity for long-acting reversible contraception to improve women's health and participation. She advocated to ensure workplaces are safe for nurses, given the unacceptable rise of violence against nurses, and she advocated for people with metastatic breast cancer to be consistently counted on cancer registries in order to better plan for health and support services. I'm sure Breast Cancer Network Australia will continue this important work so we can continue to improve the lives of those living with breast cancer and improve early diagnosis so the chances of survival increase.

Breast cancer is the second-most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, and it's the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women. One in seven women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. That equates to potentially eight of the women in this chamber. Another 57 Australian women will be diagnosed with this terrible disease today alone. Unfortunately, Peta joins over 3,200 Australians who have passed away from breast cancer this year; however, her legacy and her advocacy will live on, and the impact she has made has saved and will save lives.

In her maiden speech to parliament in 2019 she told our country that her cancer had returned. She had been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. In her speech she said:

I am neither unique nor alone—

in this disease—

but I am someone who has a platform that can be used to benefit others. And … I intend to use it.

And that she did, up until her very last moments.

As she hoped, Peta has left politics and our democracy in better shape than when she joined it. Peta Murphy served the Labor Party, her constituents and the Australian people with grace and with distinction. I pass my sincere condolences, once again, to her husband, Rod, to her family, her friends, her staff, her colleagues and the wider Labor Party. And to end, I quote her words:

Ladies, check your breasts! Men, stop ignoring what your body's telling you.

May she rest in peace.

Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today in this House we honour our colleague who we lost just two days ago: Peta Murphy, the member for Dunkley, my beautiful, brilliant, brave and tenacious friend. I am thankful for knowing Peta Murphy and for every moment of her too-short time that I got to share with her. Our parliament, our nation and her beloved local community are so much richer for the immense contribution she made in a relatively short time. She fought for social justice, reform and a fairer future to the very last, even coming here to parliament last week. We are all hurting today, and I acknowledge the heartfelt tributes that we have heard already. Most importantly, my deepest sympathies are with Peta's loving and much loved husband of 24 years, Rod Glover; her parents, Bob and Jan; her sisters, Jodi and Penni; and her dedicated staff.

I first met Peta when we were staffers, when she was working for the then shadow workplace relations and now skills minister, and she was someone I loved working with. I was so excited to hear that she would be running for Dunkley again in 2019, before I thought it was a possibility that I would be running too. As it turned out, we were elected together in 2019 and every step of that journey I have shared with the member for Dunkley. An image of Peta that is clear as day in my mind, and always will be, was seeing her when we arrived at parliament school, walking into the Speaker's courtyard and seeing Peta in a beautiful light grey suit and a white shirt and this smile on her face that said, 'We're really here; let's get on with it,' and Rod beside her smiling too.

Peta had fought so hard to represent her community in this place. When she ran in 2016, the seat had been held by the Liberals for 20 years and had a margin of 5.6 per cent. In spite of gaining a 4.1 per cent swing, Peta didn't win Dunkley in 2016, but, in 2019, with a further 1.7 per cent swing, she was successful and she became the first ALP member for Dunkley since 1996 and the first woman to represent the seat. In 2022, she was elected with an increased margin.

The member for Dunkley didn't waste a moment as an elected representative. Members aren't usually supposed to speak in the chamber until they give their first speech, but Peta got an exemption to speak on the condolence motion for Bob Hawke because he'd been such an inspiration to her. I was in awe of how she did that speech. I was always in awe of her speeches and of her ability to channel her passion, intellect and empathy into such powerful words. Even when there was little opportunity to prepare, she was incredible. Who could forget Peta's withering take-down of an idea, floated by the previous government, to allow women to access their superannuation to help them escape domestic violence. Peta killed that idea off in just 90 seconds.

In part of our parliament schooling, our Labor class for 2019 were asked to think about what we'd like to talk about in our valedictory speeches and to focus on the changes and reforms that we would most like to see achieved before we left this place. I was paired with Peta and, of course, there were many things we talked about. But I remember Peta talking passionately about gender equality and about the introduction of a bill of rights, which, as she then put it in her first speech, would allow complex, important national debates to occur within a comprehensive national human rights framework. It is devastating that we will never get to hear Peta give that speech sometime many years into the future at a time of her choosing, and I can only imagine the mighty things that Peta would have achieved if only she had more time and the contribution she would have made to our parliament and our nation.

Peta, the member of Jagajaga and I gave our first speeches on the same day. But before we would do this, in that time so full of hope, promise and nerves, Peta would receive the unthinkable news that her cancer had returned. The whole time that Peta was here she fought that cruel disease, working through significant suffering. Not that you could've guessed from the incredible amount of work that she did both at home in her community or representing them here in this building. She cared deeply for her constituents and I can't imagine that there is a community group in Dunkley she was not well known to. She was an inspiring example of an MP who could take deep engagement with her electorate into the national policy discussion, to advocate and contribute to the reforms needed to improve the lives of all Australians.

Peta personified tenacity and dedication. She was funny and fun and a true friend. She loved children, including mine, and I will cherish memories of her chasing a footy around with Paul and rocking Elena to sleep when I couldn't manage to settle her. She was someone you could always trust to give advice from a place of love and principle and nothing else—a very special thing, particularly in this place. She was always in your corner.

Peta said that she was neither unique nor alone in her fight against cancer but that she had a platform that could be used to benefit others, and she used every opportunity to raise awareness and advocate for the 19,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer, or the 145,000 Australians diagnosed with some form of cancer, each year.

Just last week, Peta was here in parliament in part to host the launch of the Breast Cancer Network Australia's report entitled Time to count people with metastatic breast cancer. The report presents a road map on how Australia can collect and report cancer occurrence data, without which we cannot adequately plan and meet healthcare needs. It is something that BCNA and Peta have long advocated for. Devastatingly, Peta was hospitalised that day and couldn't be at the event, but she said that establishing a national registry for metastatic breast cancer could serve as a trial for a registry for all metastatic cancers. This seems to be something we absolutely can and must do.

Yesterday morning, here in Canberra, the Canberra chapter of Dragons Abreast, a dragon-boating team and support group for breast cancer survivors, paddled to Commonwealth Place to lay a heart of petals in honour of Peta and the legacy she leaves.

On another local note, I'd like to talk briefly about squash—and I think that Peta would want me to. As we all know, Peta was a brilliant squash player and she loved her sport. One of my favourite parts of her unforgettable first speech was when she asked, 'Why do people always laugh about squash?' My husband is the president of Dickson Squash Club, where Peta played for many years, including in a team with Ben in the nineties—and in our household we most certainly don't laugh about squash! Peta was widely known and loved in the Canberra squash community, and so many here are grieving her loss.

Peta never shied away from taking a stand. History shows it takes particular courage in Australian politics to take on gambling, and earlier this year Peta did exactly that as the chair of the House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, which held an inquiry on the harms of online gambling, handing down the report, You win some, you lose more. Among the 31 recommendations of the unanimous report, it recommended that ads for online gambling should be banned across all media and at all times within three years to combat the manipulation of an impressionable and vulnerable audience. The report noted that gambling addiction is a public health issue and it is important that we take away the stigma in the same way it's been taken away for alcohol and drug addiction. It must be treated in a harm reduction manner. Peta spoke with power and empathy for those impacted by gambling addiction who contributed to the report, and sparked an incredibly important national conversation.

Peta's contribution to this place was well beyond her years here. As Peta said:

… above all else, I would like to be able to say that I left Australian politics—Australian democracy—in better shape than when I joined it …

She absolutely has, in the example she has set. May we channel her courage, her integrity and her kindness, keep up her fights and honour her legacy. Dear friend, we will miss you every day, but your memory will lighten our lives forever.

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to associate myself with the comments of the Prime Minister, the opposition leader and all those opposite who've spoken, particularly the minister for skills—great friends—the minister for aged care, the member for Jagajaga and the member for Canberra. I have some news for you, though. If Peta was here she'd tell you stop sooking: 'I'm the one who's dead. What are you sooking about?'

To the member for Jagajaga and the member for Canberra, thank you for your very kind words about your dear friend. But I don't think she really enjoyed public praise very much and I'd suggest that she's going to suffer a little bit more here today as we all reflect on her achievements in this place.

We are part of one of the most exclusive clubs in Australia. It takes a selection panel of more than 100,000 people to choose each of us, and, once we're elected, we should expect first-class treatment wherever we go in Australia. We deserve Comcars to take us everywhere. We should demand that people know just how important we are. If anyone in this place believes any of that, come to the dispatch box and resign right now.

The member for Dunkley never forgot where she came from. The member for Dunkley never forgot the people she was here to serve, and she never took herself too seriously. In Australia, there is one thing you do not want to be. You do not want to be up yourself. And the member for Dunkley was not up herself. The member for Dunkley had a great skill in walking amongst some of the highest officials in this country, spending time at the United Nations with world leaders, but she could still walk the streets of Frankston and be loved by the people who knew her well. The Prime Minister himself reflected on the incredible authenticity of our friend Peta Murphy.

As I reflected on our relationship over the weekend and the last couple of days, I realised it was based primarily on taking the mickey out of each other. Last week when I went to see her, she pointed out that at least she had invited me to her 50th birthday, because the member for New England was never going to invite me to his wedding! It was a cruel but fair comment.

But, on a serious note, I do want to extend my heartfelt condolences on behalf of Gippslanders and my wife—Julie—to Peta's husband—Rod—her loved ones, her staff, the entire electorate of Dunkley and the extended Labor Party family. To Rod, while we have lost a friend and colleague, you have lost a soulmate. Thank you for caring for our friend in those difficult circumstances. Losing a loved one is never easy, and I know that we were aware of Peta's ill health and her suffering, but it still took me by surprise on Monday. She was full of good humour till the end and she was selfless and courageous.

I think the federal parliament has lost a true champion of the battlers across our nation with the passing of Peta Murphy. I think she inspired us and I think there are a lot of lessons for all of us in the way she conducted herself in her time in this place. She inspired us with her determination to keep fighting for causes that she was passionate about, with her leadership in incredible adversity, and it should never be forgotten. She really believed in this place—she really believed in the power of public advocacy—and she wasn't going to waste a minute. I do feel we have all been a bit ripped off, and I said this on ABC Radio just the other day, when I was interviewed alongside the member for Jagajaga. I think we've been a bit ripped off. The nation has been robbed of even greater achievements from the member for Dunkley. She had so much more to offer.

I do want to reflect on her selflessness—the selflessness of someone who would come to this place, the most public of places, as they struggled with metastatic breast cancer. I don't know how each of us would respond if we were faced with those circumstances. I don't know how I would respond if I were faced with those circumstances. I think I would be tempted to run away and hide. I think I would be tempted to find an island somewhere and spend the rest of my time basking in the sun in whatever time I had left with my family, friends and dogs. But Peta wanted to make sure that others suffering from this disease knew they had a public champion, an advocate who wouldn't hide from the difficulties they were facing. She made sure that cancer didn't define who she was. Peta defined the cancer on behalf of mainly women but also men around our country. Her advocacy in this place to her last day in Canberra was an inspiration to me. I am certain her sacrifice has been respected by the Breast Cancer Network and I am sure she will be rewarded in the days to come, with the government and the opposition working collaboratively to achieve a metastatic breast cancer national register so that data can be counted and shared across the nation.

If Peta were here, though, I really do think she would tell me to harden up a bit, stop sooking so much at the dispatch box and stop being so nice to her. I often reflected on why Peta would spend her last days on the planet in this place fighting for the causes she cared about. The best I could come up with was that was she didn't want to waste her chance to be in such an important role in the public square of debate in this country. The member for Gorton reflected on that as well, and I thought his contribution was sensational. She never took her time in this place for granted and she wanted to make sure that it did count. We are all perhaps a little bit guilty from time to time of thinking that we have unlimited hours in this place—unlimited time as members of parliament—but she knew what an honour and a privilege it was to serve her community, and she was a warrior for things that she was really passionate about. And she was passionate about a lot of things, I've got to say. Squash was only one of them. There was human rights, women's health, education, the battlers in her community. But there's a lesson to us all here: don't count the days in this place; make the days count; spend your time here well.

But, speaking of time, the average length of service for a member of the House of Representatives is about eight years. There have been 1,242 members of parliament serve in this place, and the average time spent here is about eight years. So Peta Murphy's time in this place was below average. I just had to get that in, in case Peta's listening somewhere and can hear me sledging her in the public environment! She would have been expecting a couple of cheap shots from me, particularly when she can't answer back! This will be the only time I have ever had a debate with Peta Murphy, and a conversation with Peta Murphy, where I've had the last word.

In fairness, there was nothing below average about Peta Murphy, and we can never measure our contribution just in hours or days or years in this place. She was blessed with a combination of fierce intelligence—and I can understand why the new members, when they arrived in this place, would have been intimidated by this force of nature. She had passion. She had whip-smart humour. She had sarcasm and sass in equal proportions. She was more than a match for anyone in this place. If merit was the sole determining factor, I think she would have been a cabinet minister, but I'm sure her ill health intervened in those decisions. Having sat in a few cabinet rooms, and been sacked from a couple of them as well—a point that Peta would regularly point out to me if I was ever getting too far ahead of myself—I know she would have acquitted herself well within a cabinet of any government, and I think that it is a great tragedy that she didn't get to serve at that very high level.

In her inaugural speech—and others have reflected on this—she demonstrated a self-awareness that most politicians lack. Let's be fair: most politicians don't have a high degree of self-awareness. But she did know that her time in the federal parliament would be limited and she wasn't going to waste a minute of that time. It was a brave and a powerful speech, in many ways, and she reflected on how she'd like to be remembered as a parliamentarian. And it's interesting that both the member for Jagajaga and a member of the Nationals picked out the same quote as I did from her inaugural speech, in which Peta said:

… I would like to be able to say that I left Australian politics—Australian democracy—in better shape than when I joined it, that I was part of a generation of Australian politicians who worked to recover the public's faith in our democratic system and who strove to reharness politics as that vehicle for enlarging opportunities and enlarging our national imagination …

I do think there's a message, in Peta's passing and Peta's inaugural speech and the way she conducted herself, for all of us in this place. In this increasingly hyperpartisan world of politics, there are still friendships to be forged across the aisle. I've benefited from listening to Peta's opinions—and, let's face it, she was very happy to share her opinions with me on a very regular basis! But we can all learn from each other if we respect the ideas coming from both sides of this chamber.

We were thrown together last year as parliamentary representatives at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, with Peta joking to me at the time, as we departed, 'You know the only reason we're going is 'cause I'm the cancer chick and the Nats don't want you in the country!' There was a fair bit of brutal truth in that for both of us!

Peta was no shrinking violet. She had many passions to match her fierce intellect. We bonded over our mutual love of dogs—most of our conversations started with, 'How are your dogs going?'—our love for regional Australia—as a Wagga Wagga public school graduate, Peta was very proud of her regional roots—and a shared willingness, as I said earlier, of not taking ourselves too seriously. Her authenticity shone through in so many conversations. I'm aware that I'm going over time, but I challenge the Deputy Speaker to sit me down, because coming up is a contribution from Peta's own staff.

I acknowledged Peta's staff in my opening remarks, and it's important that we remember you guys at this time—and two of them are in the chamber right now. They have lost a friend. They have lost a mentor, a boss who fought the good fight with everything she had. Her passion for fairness, for women's health, education, overcoming disadvantage in the seat of Dunkley and around our country have added to my personal resolve to make a difference in those areas, and I hope to carry those Murphyisms with me as I go forward in whatever time I have left in this parliament.

I asked Peta's staff if they'd like to say a few words today, and here's what they had to say about their boss on behalf of their colleagues in Dunkley:

They often say you judge a parliamentarian by the number of staff that stay in their office.

And for Peta, most of her staff have been with her since day one. And those few that moved on, always did with her support and have remained part of Team Dunkley.

That was the effect of Peta.

As many in this place would know, Peta was fiercely independent. The adjustment to having a team of staff took some time.

As we worked to support her in her role, she would often remark, "I feel bad for making you do this."—

I know a few MPs that would never feel bad about making you do anything, but I digress from your message—

Peta had such a way with words. She could always be relied upon to give a speech on short notice. Famously jumping to fill 90-seconds statements.

On the rare occasion we wrote a speech for her, Peta would often proceed to ignore it. Afterwards, she would sheepishly return to the office—where we were forced to admit that hers was better anyway.

We always teased Peta because she didn't have a poker face. She showed all her emotions, and we admired her for that.

Over the years, it has made for some entertaining photos and Peta always participated in the annual Dunkley Christmas blooper reel with good humour.

Peta was also annoyingly perceptive and had supersonic hearing. There was no hiding anything from her and she often called down the hallway from the office, "I can hear you, you know".

Being so close with Peta, we saw the roller coaster ride this is living with metastatic breast cancer. But most of all, we saw her determination to represent our community even as her health declined.

We'll miss Peta's black humour, her sage advice and her interesting fashion choices.

Peta was more than a boss to us. She was our mentor. Our friend. Always on our side.

We are so proud to have worked in the office of Peta Murphy MP.

I want to thank Peta's staff for their thoughts. Similarly, I want to acknowledge the staff of the United Nations, who Peta embraced last year. They were equally impressed by her intelligence, her warmth and her good humour. It was an honour for me to say a few words last week in Peta's presence.

Rest in peace, Peta. You are the strongest girl in the world; remember that.

Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you to the previous speaker. That was beautiful. You're right: she'd hate all this!

Even though we'd been expecting it, it was still a shock. On Monday afternoon, I got off a plane in Sydney and turned on my phone, and it exploded with messages of sadness that our dear, funny, smart, sassy and courageous friend, colleague and warrior, Peta, is dead. I stood there for a bit and had a bit of a cry, as people wandered around the airport. Even though we all knew it was going to happen, and probably soon, we still held on to the hope that the experimental treatment she was on, the last roll of the dice, would work—for a bit longer, at least.

Peta was absolutely glorious at her 50th, just two weeks ago. She was pumped up on steroids, but sassy and hilarious as always. It's surreal that only eight days ago, last Tuesday, Peta was sitting right there in question time, asking a question. Let's be honest, though. As my mum used to say, she looked like death warmed up. Peta knew it. We talked about it. The essence and energy of Peta, though, was still there last Tuesday: clarity, purpose and grit, but accompanied, more than before, by the pallor of cancer. Her movements and words were chosen carefully to conserve her energy and breath. She could've chosen to stay home, of course, with the people she loved most, yet still she came to Canberra and did her duty, fighting for the things and people that mattered to her. It was a life with purpose, working for her constituents, planning breast cancer events, finalising a committee report for her last inquiry into the recognition of unpaid carers. Last Tuesday was her last day in parliament. She then went back to Melbourne and to hospital and then home to die, surrounded by those she loved—her husband, Rod; sisters; and parents.

There's a real honesty in the words 'die', 'dead' and 'death'. They are honest, raw, human words. They don't gloss over the truth like 'passed' or 'left us'. People live. People die. We should embrace and honour death and, by doing so, honour a life well lived, which is what we do here today.

Peta was brilliant, fun, engaging, self-deprecating, driven, caring and so many other nice words. And, yes, as other speakers have said, she'd hate the sooking. She'd hate the praise. She was not up herself, as the previous speaker said. But above all else her journey to get here and her time in this parliament showed the world how very, very brave she was. She was so, so tough.

She stood for Dunkley in 2016 when I stood for Bruce. We had something in common with regard to politics—both of us had been offered chances to stand for state parliament over the years. Both of us went, 'Yeah but nah.' Federal issues were our passion, and, if it didn't work out, such is life. Peta would rather have a crack than settle. In 2016, I won while she just lost. She got a much bigger swing, of course. In 2018, she was offered a chance again to stand for a safe seat in the state parliament. Again, 'Yeah but nah.' Winning Dunkley in 2019 was Peta's focus, representing the community she loved in a federal Labor government.

The AEC redistribution gods had been kind to me that term, so I appointed myself Peta's campaign director and got to work to do everything humanly possible to get her elected. Peta, of course, was unbelievable as a candidate. She was warm, hardworking, smart, relentless, brilliant with people. She did the work. She took advice. She even did the fundraising, which everybody hates. She did have some red lines, though. She didn't really like negativity. So we had to negotiate a bit on that. One day I said to her in exasperation: 'What do you think you are? The bloody Obama of Australian politics?' And looked at me and she said, 'Somebody had to be.' She had a point.

The only thing we disagreed about were billboards. She wanted them. I said that she had candidate's disease. We compromised on some moving billboards at the Frankston mall. She chose well and screwed a bargain, as, of course, the owners loves her. She also pointed out archly after that that she saved the money elsewhere with a bargain on the campaign office, because, of course, those owners loved her too. She romped in, in 2019, the first woman to represent Dunkley.

Shortly after the election, I was standing on a giant warship off the coast of Rockhampton for Talisman Sabre doing defence things. I got some mobile reception briefly, and the phone rang. It was Peta. She said, quite matter-of-factly, 'Just letting you know the cancer is back.' It was devastating news. She explained that it was metastatic and that it would get her in the end but then said with characteristics sass that there were two big bright spots. If you're going to have breast cancer return all nasty and metastatic like, then she had the best type to have; hers was the best subtype to have as they could manage it for a long while, and she wasn't going anywhere soon so not to stress. The second big bright spot was that her oncologist had told her, 'Don't worry about not drinking any more,' so she was having a wine and a G and T again and enjoying that.

Of course, having cancer wasn't easy. She used to say, 'Let's face it, cancer sucks.' We had endless black jokes about cancer. Sometimes they shocked people, but then she'd laugh and say, 'Who cares? I've got cancer.' It's hard enough for anyone to live with metastatic cancer, especially so with this role. Being an MP is a privilege role, but some days it's a terrible job. It's relentless. It's 24/7. There is always more to do. You're always utterly exhausted. People hate on you for things that aren't your fault. Success often feels like equally disappointing everyone. You're always supposed to be nice, even when they're mad or completely unreasonable. Yet Peta loved her community fiercely and embraced the role with gusto. She was everywhere, helping everyone, especially sporting clubs, especially women, especially young people, most especially young women in sport.

She also loved and was always so proud of her wonderful staff. Her team, when she died, were together in her office when they got the news from Rod—Lauren Johnson, Madison Child, John Condon, Kitty McLoyghlin, Majella Frick, Madeleine Van Der Zypp and Louis Robson. It has been a source of mystery and amazement to us all for a long while, how she summoned the energy to do the job and to do all that she did while living with cancer: more exhausted than the rest of us, doing the chemo—on the chemotherapy, off the chemo—and summoning the hope before appointments and scans. Sometimes, for a while, there was good news—then, more often, bad. But on she fought, determined to live and to do her job.

Peta was human. As I said, she knew it would get her in the end; she had her down moments, but she didn't let them show much. I knew things were bad when I sent a message late on a Thursday night in a sitting week in June this year. She had gone home early that day. I said: 'Thinking of you, hope you're feeling okay. Canberra was so mad in QT today.' And there was some unprintable stuff then about one of those blokes opposite on whom we had a shared view! She replied the next morning: 'Thanks. I just lost my resilience for a little bit this week. I'll find it again.' In Peta-world that was a big admission—how tough things were. And she did find her resilience again, for nearly six months more.

Peta was so loved in her electorate; she was a brilliant local MP. As the member for Jagajaga said, her Instagram was truly exhausting—just looking at it! But she also took seamlessly to the Canberra aspects of the role. She had a sharp policy mind from her years in the law, from her work as an adviser in government and as a chief of staff to the member for Gorton when in opposition. But she didn't just know how to get here; she knew what she wanted to do and how to get things done. Her work on gambling reform was superb. Her public advocacy on all manner of social issues was passionate, principled and flawless. That she died so young is a tragedy, not just for her family, friends and community but it was also a tragedy that she was unable to fulfil her potential here, as the PM said. She would have and should have been a cabinet minister, and a fine one at that.

One of the silliest things someone said to me after the 2019 election was: 'Oh, that's great that Peta got elected and you helped to run her campaign. Doesn't that mean she'll vote for you to be a minister one day?' I looked at them like they were an idiot and said: 'Well, that shows you don't understand very much! Firstly, that's not how the voting system works in a multimember, first-past-the-post election, monarchy, winner-takes-all system. But, secondly, if that were the voting system, I'm very clear that Peta would quite reasonably consider me a vote for her!' Peta had the X factor; she had unlimited potential. And anyway, there was no way that Peta Murphy could or should just kowtow to some bloke just because he had been here for a few years longer! Peta was the first woman to serve as the member for Dunkley ,and she was a mentor and inspiration to women in her community and beyond. If you haven't heard the story of Louisa Dunkley, who fought for equal pay for women over 100 years ago, then you probably didn't hear Peta speak very much. But, in that case, look it up. Peta will be dearly missed for her wit, intelligence, kindness and wisdom. She was someone here who any of us could always call on, bounce anything around and get wise advice. She had this insane ability just to go straight to the heart of the matter—to glance at the problem and tell you the answer.

Last week, Peta hated how sick she was and that people had to see her like that. But it was the price to be paid for her determination to keep doing her job. Remember Peta for being strong, not for being sick. Remember Peta for her brilliance, kindness and wit. Remember Peta for her commitment to making life better for other people in her electorate and across our country. The next member for Dunkley will have the biggest shoes to fill! Of course we will proceed, as Peta the warrior would have wanted, and ensure a worthy Labor successor is elected to take her place as a local voice in the government for the people of Dunkley, and to carry on her work. But that fight is for another day. For now, we grieve for our colleague, friend and comrade. Vale, Peta.

James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to pay tribute to Peta Murphy, the member for Dunkley. I'll start by commending all the contributions from members. This is a sad day, but it also brings us all together as human beings to take the opportunity to remember that, whilst this is a combative forum—and it should be, in a robust democracy—there are also times to reflect on who we all are. When we suffer a loss, like the loss of our great colleague, it is indeed an opportunity for all of us to reflect on her and her contribution—how we honour her memory and her great strengths as a member of parliament and how we can think about better emulating the example that she leaves to us all.

I first met Peta as a fellow member of the class of 2019, elected to the 46th parliament. It was a very impressive achievement for her to be elected to the parliament in 2019. A lot of new members were Liberal members that had won their seats as part of us winning that election off the Labor Party, and she had won a seat off the Liberal Party in a difficult election cycle for the Labor Party. That was extremely impressive. As I got to know her in the intervening years, I came to understand that it was very much because of her unbelievable personal campaign capability but also her ability to connect with her community. She became more than just a name next to a Labor Party logo on a ballot paper; she became someone who was clearly able, against the tide, to connect with her community so deeply and earn and engage their trust and be elected to this parliament under very impressive circumstances for her personally. Of course, her re-election in 2022 goes to show how deeply she connected with her electorate. I know that her community will be feeling such a deep loss. She was one of those members of parliament that was so ever-present in her community.

I didn't know her at all before parliament—I met her at our induction. Listening to her maiden speech was a great insight into a human being with unbelievable qualities, who had faced such a significant challenge in the battle with cancer, which revisited her within weeks of her election. The way she articulated that in her maiden speech was truly impressive and very touching.

For those of us who served in the 46th Parliament, COVID came along and made it a very different parliament to what would've been usual, particularly for new members to get to know each other and to work together through the committee processes. The physical distance that we had for so long meant that we didn't form as deep and close a bond with each other as would've been common for newly elected members of parliament. I had the opportunity, on a semiregular basis, through the ABC's Afternoon Briefing program, to debate with Peta, both remotely for a few years and, more recently, in person in the studio. Particularly when you're doing it in the studio, you have the opportunity before and after to talk to each other about a whole range and variety of things.

Despite debating on live television, you also learn a lot about each other and have those conversations that start to break down the barriers that some people in the public might think there are between members of the government and members of the opposition. The one thing I'd say about Peta, through those experiences, is that politicians can have reputations that are not deserved, both good and bad. People might watch them on television and think they're a lovely human being and they might be quite different behind the scenes, and vice versa; some might be unfairly viewed. But if you saw Peta Murphy in the parliament, on the television or giving a media interview and you thought she was a genuine, passionate, friendly person, you were absolutely right. I can confirm that she absolutely was that person in real life as well—an absolutely lovely human being.

One of the opportunities I always enjoy in this parliament, which doesn't get as much coverage as I wish it would, is the opportunity we have to agree with each other, particularly when participating in debates which are not arguments but opportunities to raise awareness on important subjects and important topics—particularly on health awareness and wellbeing, and usually in the Federation Chamber through private member's motions. I always take the opportunity when I can to contribute to those debates, and Peta absolutely always did as well. It was always a great experience to hear her use her own personal situation and experiences to desperately implore people to understand and have an awareness of how important it is to think about your health, to take seriously all the modern avenues we have available to us to avoid a lot of potential health issues that, if caught early enough, don't need to end the way they do for some people.

I lost a very dear school friend of mine to cancer, and this was his great obsession, and it was one Peta always took the opportunity to highlight whenever she could: get checked. Women, get checked; men, listen to your bodies. And that relates not just to breast cancer but to so many conditions. Early detection makes all the difference. For me, the opportunity I take out of the tragic circumstance of Peta's passing is to give her the commitment, in front of everyone here in this chamber, that I certainly am going to take the opportunity to think, even more than we already do, about how we seek avenues and ways to promote that great message she always took the opportunity to promote in this parliament: awareness of preventive medicine and to always take seriously our health.

Peta has passed far too soon. But so many speakers have made a point that I heartily agree with, which is that in the 4½ short years that she served in this parliament her contribution has been spectacularly more significant than 4½ years, and probably more significant than many of us will achieve in the parliament for whatever additional years than that that we have. We're so grateful for the time we had with her as a colleague. The legacy she leaves behind is truly significant. Vale Peta Murphy.

Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When Peta Murphy was asked in January how she kept going, how she kept working so hard being an MP while enduring treatment, she told the Today show, 'What are you in politics for if it's not to make a difference and make a difference in other people's lives?' No statement better defined Peta. She was brave, passionate and determined, and a warrior for justice. She worked tirelessly, a champion for her local community. And I'm proud to have called her my friend.

We're accustomed in this place to the parliament pausing proceedings and to paying tribute to former members from time to time—good people who served their communities and then lived full lives before passing away in their old age. It's absolutely devastating to me, as I know it is for all of us, that we have lost someone who just days ago was sitting among us, just over there, at far too young an age—someone we admired deeply, someone we loved, and someone whose passing is a loss we cannot comprehend.

I'm pleased to say that we had a chance to tell Peta how much she was loved and admired at her 50th birthday party just last month. Her family, friends and many colleagues from her life in politics and the law joined Peta for a celebration of her remarkable 50 years. Sadly, as we learnt on Monday with the devastating news from her husband, Rod, it was also the last time we were able to celebrate the birth of this amazing, brilliant woman. I know her passing will be felt deeply by so many. To know Peta was to be impacted by her indelible spirit.

Peta Murphy first entered this place in the mid-nineties, as the political fortunes were turning and more than a decade of Labor government was about to become a decade of Liberal government. Peta has always had a fighting Labor spirit. She came into this building as a young staffer—in her mid-20s—in her first political job, working in a two-person office for Duncan Kerr, to enjoy for years the trenches of opposition. Duncan was then shadow minister for immigration, and later environment, justice, customs and the arts. No wonder some thought it was too much for a young staffer on her first outing, and there were genuine concerns that she would not be up to the task. But, of course, as no-one here now will doubt, Peta was made of tough stuff. She—and those around her—soon discovered that she was just as good, if not better, than many of those around her.

Her confidence shot up as the praise followed, and what Duncan describes as the 'smart, sassy, confident Peta' emerged. Just how confident was revealed on the squash court. While some junior staffers might have considered it a wise career move to let the boss win, Peta's competitive streak allowed no such mercy, and time after time she thrashed Duncan. Duncan tells me his proudest moment on a squash court was when he managed to score six points off Peta in a 9-6 defeat. Duncan was right to be proud. In later years, Peta was the Australian and US Masters squash champion and won the gold medal at the World Masters Games. Her sporting talents didn't end there. She also played softball in the national league and narrowly missed out on representing Australia at the Sydney Olympics in handball.

It was during her time working for Duncan that Peta met her husband, Rod, a fact which became apparent when people noticed that another Labor staffer seemed to be spending an inordinate amount of time in Duncan's office instead of looking after his own boss. It was a partnership that became a marriage. Rod's support, love and wisdom helped guide Peta through her time as a political staffer to a successful career in the law and then into parliament.

Given the impact she quickly made with her intelligence, wit and passion, it was a source of great surprise and disappointment to the Labor Party when Peta announced she wanted to leave politics. Having experienced how rapidly the highs in politics can turn into lows, Peta sensibly decided she needed a fallback career and became a lawyer. As with everything she did in life, she succeeded. She worked as a senior public defender at Victoria Legal Aid, as a solicitor with Rob Stary & Associates and as a barrister at the Victorian Bar.

As many here will be well aware, the cab-rank principle means that all barristers are ethically obliged to represent those who brief them. Barristers don't determine guilt; their job is to represent their clients to the best of their ability, and Peta had ability in spades. She was always prepared to act for anyone who asked and to fight for her clients. She understood that, in a country that respects the rule of law, everyone has the right to be represented, and she practised that principle, particularly in serious criminal cases.

The Liberal Party recognised immediately the threat Peta posed to them in Dunkley and sought to end her career as an MP before she had even started. In the final days of the 2016 campaign, with Dunkley on a knife edge, Peta had to contend with an absolute pile-on from multiple front pages, editorials and columns by all the usual suspects, denouncing her previous work as a lawyer, with demands that she be disendorsed. The Labor Party rightly and resolutely stood by her, but, despite a four per cent swing, Peta narrowly lost Dunkley. If there's one thing we know about Peta, it's that when she was knocked down she got straight back up again. So along came 2019, and she ran again. As we all know now, she was proudly elected to serve as the member for Dunkley.

In both 2016 and 2019, and again in 2022, I happily worked with Peta on her campaigns. But what should've been one of the happiest moments of her life was cruelled by the terrible news just a week after being sworn in that the cancer had returned. Peta faced the twin challenge of being a member of parliament while again fighting breast cancer the only way she knew how: head on—with a first speech that the Prime Minister has rightly described as one of the finest ever heard in this place, and by becoming only the second Labor MP to be re-elected in Dunkley and with the second-biggest margin in the seat's 38-year history.

Despite the diagnosis, Peta persevered. With her signature sense of humour and determination, she showed up for her community and her country. She was an exemplary member of parliament who was adored by her constituents. Peta's determination to show up and serve her community every day was steadfast right to the end. She was passionate about the difference that Labor governments can make in people's lives.

She also knew, from her experience, the value of our healthcare system. Peta credited the excellent treatment she had received through Medicare and Australia's fine public hospitals with saving her life, and she then determined that she would channel that experience into becoming a campaigner for the entire health system. She was a particularly strong advocate for women's health, and I know many women inside and outside this building admired her fierce resolve to create change in this important area. Many in this building would know you could rarely attend a women's health related parliamentary event without seeing Peta there or speaking passionately before jetting off to the next engagement she had committed to organising.

Peta made many remarkable contributions to this place through debate, committee work and parliamentary friends groups, and she was driven by an equally fierce devotion to her constituents. The admiration and love for Peta in this place is matched by the love for her among the people of Dunkley. My deepest sympathies to Rod and all who knew and loved her in all too short a time on earth.

Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a privilege to follow the Attorney-General's beautiful remarks about a remarkable member of this place. There has been something beautiful and moving in the tears that have been shed this morning and over recent days at the loss of Peta Murphy. Sometimes this magnificent space, a space that Peta Murphy called the cauldron of our national conversation, can be parched and harsh. The demands of this cauldron can challenge us and draw out from us either good or bad, courage or selfishness, brinkmanship or statesmanship. Today the strength, courage, fearlessness, and bravery of one whom we all mourn only draws out from us the very best.

Peta Murphy was an extraordinary woman—whip-smart, sharp, incisive, generous, funny, warm and joyous. She didn't waste a moment in this building. There's a universality we all share when we're first elected to this place—wonder, amazement and awe. And in those first days, buoyed by our win and the love and affection and pride of families, we feel almost an intoxication in the belief that with time anything is possible. Peta Murphy didn't get to truly experience the fullness of that joy. Within a week of being sworn in, the cancer she had fought years earlier had returned. She told us that treatment made her sick and scared and angry. Yet despite it, or maybe in spite of it, she pressed on stoically and defiantly, saying:

I am neither unique nor alone in the fight that I am about to take on … but I am someone who has a platform that can be used to benefit others. And as long as the people of Dunkley continue to vote for me to represent them in this place, I intend to use it.

And she did.

Peta stood for a range of causes, from constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, to more support for unpaid carers, to research for Australians facing metastatic cancers. Peta chaired the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs and championed the case for reform to online gambling. In her first speech, she said, 'Sport is more than a game to us … it's more than a game to me.' It's why she wanted to untangle the unhealthy intertwining of sport and gambling, particularly as it related to children. She didn't do so out of any puritanical belief that she knew better than others but with the lived experience of a solicitor, a barrister and public defender, having seen the disproportionate impact gambling can have on communities from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. It's to Peta's credit, as well as that of the member for Cowper, who was the deputy chair, that the unanimous report was delivered.

I first got to know Peta through the 2022 McKinnon Institute for Political Leadership's Advanced Political Leadership Program. The McKinnon Institute is a gift to our country, and I particularly want to acknowledge at this time Sophie Oh and Grant Rule, who make it possible. On our side of the House, at the federal level we were represented in that program by my friend the member for Fisher, the member for Moncrieff—who's at the table today—and Senator James Paterson, and on the other side there was my friend the member for Macnamara, Peta's very good friend the member for Jagajaga, the member for Fremantle and Senator Marielle Smith. I'm grateful for that experience and for the friendships that were formed across the aisle and across the country with our state colleagues on both sides that participated in that well. As Peta said of the program, it creates a generous perspective—and she was right.

Much of the work of the McKinnon Institute is the brainchild of her husband, Rod Glover. I remember asking Peta about the story of how she and Rod met, when we were doing the course. As the Attorney-General indicated, Peta was a staffer working for Duncan Kerr at the time and Rod was working for one of Labor's economics spokespeople. Rod, in his typical way, came in, sat down, saw Peta and wanted to talk to her about some aspect of economic policy. That was the first day, and it continued on into a second day and subsequent days to the point where Rod never left; he was drawn by her beauty and magnetism, as we all were.

Watching them interact during the program, I saw the wonderful interplay of Rod's rationality and practicality and Peta's idealism and even her sentimentality. I'm sure the member for Jagajaga has seen this many times but I've often wondered what would be like to sit at the kitchen table of a morning with Peta and Rod, watching them debate policy and watching them challenge each other in terms of different ideas—Rod with his intricate brain and Peta with her cut-through, never-say-die idealism and advocacy which marked her out as such a special person in this place. I'm sure there is something of Peta's influence and interactions on what Rod has done with the McKinnon program, because even from the first day Peta embodied the ethos of McKinnon and their shared belief in the need for all of us to reimagine democracy, particularly to respect the political institutions of which we are all custodians for a season. As Peta said, there is too often a machismo about politics which mistakes aggressiveness for aggression, which demands certainty and rejects reflection as weakness, and which is quick to judge and slow to forgive.

Peta's very first statement in this House was on the constitutional recognition of Indigenous people. I want to put on record that I am grateful for the many private interactions Peta and I had during the parliamentary debates and the committee process that occurred over the course of this year. I am privileged to be standing next to the member for Menzies; he and Peta Murphy were the lead interrogators on the joint parliamentary committee that looked at the constitutional amendment. It was a tall ask for both of them; they were there to grill retired High Court judges and some of the best legal academics in the land, but they proved themselves entirely worthy. We saw in that process Peta's very substantial contribution and forensic skill. As Peta reminded her community after the referendum, the work is still before us to better close the gap.

If there is an idea that sticks with me about Peta, it's the interaction of work, purpose and a meaningful life—to look out and up even in the midst of suffering. Peta worked to the very end. On the very last day of her life Peta was championing the Breast Cancer Network Australia report on metastatic breast cancer. Last week she joined us at question time and participated, with no quarter asked and none given. In the weeks and months where she knew what lay ahead, she drew closer to her community—standing tall on Remembrance Day; taking a clipboard, pen and brochures to community catch-ups; opening a community centre; participating in a croquet morning; cheering on participants of blind sports; throwing the first pitch at Frankston softball; playing with a golden retriever service dog; heartily joining in an evening with the Sandhurst Singers; supporting a sausage sizzle at Bunnings; collecting Christmas toys for local families; wearing a bright pink hat for breast cancer awareness; and continuing to work on an inquiry into unpaid carers, again and again with a smile beaming out and a purposeful determination to make a difference. It wouldn't have been easy and it wouldn't have been easy for her staff, too, and I want to acknowledge them today. Recently Peta attended the opening of the Jubilee Park complex, something she'd fought for. Inscribed at the new stadium are the words 'play with respect, win with grace'. It could have been describing their local member.

Peta was drawn to the work of politics, so let me conclude with a small aspect of that work. In Australia one in seven women are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime, as are one in 500 men. On a typical day like today, 57 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and three of those women will be young, and nine Australians will die every day from breast cancer. So much progress has been made in the diagnosis and survival rates, but we can't afford to let up. To the end, Peta was putting a case for a national register for metastatic breast cancer. May we all pick up this work and mantle for change.

Last week, the member for Gippsland, speaking for all of us, said that the member for Dunkley was facing her challenges with 'courage, humility and good humour.' And he added, 'It is bloody hard to watch.' Occasionally in life we find our teachers are people who point us to a path that we do not know. We watch them, and we learn from them. In facing death and choosing to serve, to work, to smile even when it was so hard and to continue to lift up others, Peta taught us something about life itself and how to use every second we have in this cauldron, and that's what we remember today.

When she arrived here, Peta Murphy said she was neither rare nor unique. I beg to differ. No, no; she was rare and she was unique.

I want to end with two thoughts from my tradition. In my tradition, the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said, 'a community is where people know your name and where they miss you when you're gone.' In this community, we miss Peta already, and I'm sure her own community does too.

In the Psalms we are reminded to teach us to count our days that we may develop a heart of wisdom. Peta did not have many days, but she used each and every one of them wisely.

To Peta's husband of a quarter of a century, Rod Glover; Peta's parents, Bob and Jan; the Murphy family; Peta's community; Peta's staff; and the Labor Party, I offer my condolences. May the memory of Peta Murphy be a blessing.

Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There have been outstanding tributes today that have celebrated the accomplishments and achievements of Peta Murphy, of which there are many. She was extraordinary, hardworking and driven, but she was also a wonderful friend, and that is what I will miss most. So here is just a bit of what it was like to be friends with our Murph.

Peta was, in one way, pushed into being friends with me. As we both entered the parliament in 2019, we were both assigned roles on an internal Labor Party committee. Unreflective of our skills or life experience, I was given the role of the chair and Murphy was stuck being the secretary of the committee. We both figured out quickly that neither of us knew anything about what happens at an internal Labor Party committee, let alone how to make it function, and so began the friendship. We were teammates, figuring out how to control a roomful of our colleagues.

The moment I think Peta warmed to me was at the end of the first meeting. I had confessed to Peta that I had googled how to chair a meeting and it came up with suggestions like 'speak slowly and calmly so that people think you know what you are doing.' Peta, with all her professional achievements and acumen could have ridiculed me, but she never did. She smiled and said, 'That's quite helpful, actually,' and she would try and speak slowly and calmly at her next meeting, because that was Peta. She enjoyed playing the role of the humble friend.

After one such meeting I received a text message from Peta that said: 'Hey, I appear to have put my notebook with the minutes from the previous meeting somewhere safe that I can't remember. Did you happen to take notes of the attendance?' I, of course, did not. It was a seamless operation!

Canberra was just better with Peta. She made it fun and loved to make her friends laugh with her characteristic cheek. As new MPs, we were able to select art for our offices here in Canberra. It's one of the more exciting privileges discussed in the class of 2019. In fact, we decided to do an art tour when all of our art had arrived in each of our offices. We agreed that each MP would talk about the different pieces that they had chosen and provide each other with some food and beverage. The art was fantastic, and the refreshments were flowing. Peta served us some gin and began her tour.

Under the regulations, backbenchers get to pick four pieces of art to the wall and one sculpture. Peta's wall art was very impressive, although she confessed she didn't really pay attention to the sculpture bit. So there, in the corner of her office, were some colourful bowls that Peta turned to. In classic Murphy style, she said: 'Yes, I'm not really sure what these are about. They kind of look like they're from Kmart, and I can't even use them to eat the cereal in the morning.' I don't remember much of the art from that night, but I always enjoyed walking into her office and seeing her Kmart bowls perched proudly in the corner. And to walk into Peta's office was to be greeted with the biggest wall of Dunkley and Peta that you could possibly imagine. Every square inch of her wall was filled with Peta, dancing and smiling with her arms around the people that she absolutely loved representing.

Peta was a great parliamentarian, and was usually the smartest person in any room she entered. With all her wit and skill, it was her values and what she stood for that shone the brightest. After practising law, she wanted to write laws to elevate the living standards of Australians. She cared about their rights. Peta recently joined the Human Rights Committee because she wanted to participate in an inquiry looking into the human rights framework in Australia. She wanted to enshrine rights that would protect everyday people, including social and economic rights, in the finest of Labor traditions. She wanted to ensure that people had adequate housing and living conditions. That's why she was in this place. In her first speech she said she wanted to be part of the first generation to end poverty, and that she wanted to introduce a federal bill of rights so the complex, important, national debates can occur within a comprehensive national human rights framework.

Reminiscing with the committee secretariat about her short time on our committee, it was put to me by the Secretariat that she was brilliant. The secretariat said that she asked brilliant and insightful questions that led to quality evidence being collected by the committee. I'm very sorry Peta won't finish the inquiry or be in the political trenches putting forward her ideas and arguments to pursue this policy agenda. She would have loved every little bit of it. It's totally unfair that someone who loved and understood the complexities of this place was taken from it while there was so much more she could have achieved. I hope can make her proud by continuing the work she started, ensuring that her vision for a more equitable and just Australia lives on in the work we do.

If you imagine what sort of person you would want your daughter to look up to, it would be Peta Murphy. She was smart, principled and tough as they come, all wrapped up in a ball of cheekiness, kindness and fun. She was one of the people that made Canberra feel a little bit like home. Murph, to me, was always kind and always complimentary, and she always liked to take the seriousness out of the moment. She was a true friend, and even launched my campaign in 2022. Despite working together, mostly what I will miss is just hanging out in her office, usually with Thwaitesy, the member for Jagajaga, sitting on the couch next to us, chatting about all the bizarre and occasionally amazing things that were going on around us.

Peta Murphy: a warrior, a rock star, a bit of a dork and the best squash player to ever set foot in the Australian parliament. I send all my love to her incredible husband, Rod, someone who meant the entire world to Peta. Vale, Peta Murphy. We're very proud of you and we'll miss you very much.

Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would love to get through this speech without tears. I note the incredible contribution of Peta Murphy's friends and colleagues across the aisle, and those that she reached out to and who reached out to her from this side of the House. I think people outside politics really don't understand how relationships can possibly be real across the aisle, but they certainly are.

I was privileged to enter parliament in the same year as Peta in 2019. I was also privileged to be a co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Nursing. What an incredible role she played in that parliamentary friends group! We will continue to take up the fight for better health care across Australia. I note that Peta's focus was for women and young people. Mine is for regions and regional health, but we played in the same space and we shared those ideas and those ideals. She was truly brave and selfless, and considered and cared for everyone around her. You can't say that about everybody in this House—you just can't.

Peta was a joy to know. I was privileged to also be on the same committee with her, the Joint Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs. This committee first started talking about gambling and pornography online and the dreadful scourge that is, and I was so pleased that Peta became the chair in this parliament to be able to carry that forward, along with my colleague the member for Cowper. It is a huge step to be able to come to the end of a parliamentary public inquiry and to have an agreed position across both sides of parliament.

I attended the Breast Cancer Network Australia launch last week for the report on how important it is that we have robust reporting for metastatic breast cancer in Australia, and I entirely endorse that position: you can't fix what you can't measure. These reports are incredibly valuable to us as a parliament and to ensure that people just like Peta have a better future and that cures can be found. She said that she was neither unique nor alone; she certainly wasn't alone, but I agree with those before me who have said that she was unique. She was a fighter right to the end. She was a warrior and a champion, and I salute her today. My prayers are with her husband, Rod; her parents, Bob and Jan; and her sisters. Together in this House, we mourn a wonderful MP.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm a little bit earlier on the speaking list than I expected, and I have to say that Peta's passing did catch me, like many others, by surprise. It makes you reflect on the conversations, on the relationship and on the person who she was. Peta was a remarkable person, and today is our chance to pause in this place to reflect on that and the way in which she touched many of us. So big was her orbit that so many of us have those beautiful stories to share. I first heard about Peta, being a woman from Victoria, through EMILY's List and colleagues in the south-east—that she was fierce and fantastic and would make a brilliant member of parliament. When she was first preselected for Dunkley, we all watched in awe as she campaigned in 2016, and the Attorney-General has reflected on how that was a tough campaign. I'd add to that that, if it weren't for the CFA dispute in Victoria, I truly believe she would've been here that little bit earlier both in Dunkley and in Corangamite. It was tough in Victoria in that election, and I truly believe she would've been here that bit sooner. That would've been a great opportunity for the people of Dunkley to have her as their voice in this place that little bit longer.

After that election, she became chief of staff to the then shadow minister for workplace relations, Brendan, and that's where I really got to work with her. In that parliament, I was the shadow assistant minister and I had one of those very long titles that you can get in this place: shadow assistant minister for workplace relations and shadow assistant minister for rural and regional Australia. It's one of those ones where your title takes up half a press release. In that role is where I got to work closely with Peta, and one of the things that I can say about Peta is that she had an amazing policy brain and ability, also, to navigate politics. She was that rare combination of policy, politics and values, and you could see that in her work. A lot of what is in the closing the loopholes bill that is before us is Peta's work and the work that she did in her time when we were in opposition, where they say you have time to think and to work through. It is the result of the way in which she engaged with the many people within the union movement and the high regard in which they held her. You can see that by the people who came out to campaign for her in 2019—the number of union members and union delegates that campaigned for her.

There are some other things that I want to share about Peta. My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was in her late 30s, a very similar age to Peta. When Peta was diagnosed with breast cancer at 37, that was rare. And so when I mentioned to her, 'My sister's been diagnosed'—she'd never met my sister—she said: 'What's her number? I'll text her. I'll reach out to her. I know the best oncologists. I know the best support groups. It's really important that we look out for each other, that we support each other.' And the way in which she was organised and supportive and encouraging for a woman that she had never met spoke volumes to the character of who Peta was in her fight against this disease.

My sister was very lucky, early detection meant that she didn't need chemo and she is in a very good place. But I can remember having this conversation with my sister Deb about Peta's battle when her breast cancer came back. We talked about how it is warriors like Peta that encourage other women to think more closely about their health and to take the time to make that doctor's appointment, because you might not be so lucky. And that's exactly what my sister did.

But I also remember those days of campaigning. Peta was fun to campaign with. She was so honest. Even though I had that very long, silly title she'd be like: 'I need you to come so I can meet with this sporting club. Would you come to the electorate?' I can remember going there on one occasion. The teams were gathered and she spoke so passionately about the importance of sport. She was so proud of her community, and in particular of all of the sports which were active in her area. One particular announcement was in relation to change rooms for women at this local sporting club—before it was topical. Before it was something that we would all stand in this place and discuss, she was out there campaigning for it.

I also remember her sharing the heartbreak of not being able to have children and how cancer took that from her. I think that's what made her so determined to keep coming back to this place. Cancer had taken so much from her. I can remember her saying to me—not that I'd had cancer, but I have severe endometriosis—'Don't wait. Go on the right side of 40.' I actually had to postpone a visit to Peta's electorate in the lead-up to the 2019 election because I was going through the process of IVF. I couldn't tell her at the time; I just said, 'I have to delay the visit to the electorate.' Years later, we were talking about it, and I said, 'Well, that was actually the Daisy appointment.' She said, 'Well I'm glad my sacrifice was worth it.'

But the truth is she didn't need me to be campaigning next to her in Dunkley. When we went to an early learning centre, even though she was a candidate, she knew half the educators, she knew the parents. To stand with her in the shopping centres, she knew everybody. They would come up to her. It was remarkable and encouraging and inspiring to see the way that she engaged with people. She truly embodied what it meant to be a local representative. At this difficult time, I think of good friends like Senator Jess Walsh, in the other place, who spent a lot of time campaigning with Peta in the seat of Dunkley. I think about all the union members, in particular from my own union, and the days they spent there. They just loved to be around her because she was inspiring. That fun, that wit, that humour.

To the class of 2019: you're an incredibly close class and I cannot begin to think of the pain and of the grief that you're going through to lose such a dear and close friend. Coming into this place is a culture shock for a lot of people, even those who might have worked here as staffers. And you are close to your class, particularly when you come in in opposition. So, to the Labor class of 2019: I have to be honest, a lot of us in this place have always looked upon your class with a little bit of envy at how close you are and how supportive you are—in the last parliament, there were a lot of babies of that class—and the way in which you rallied around and supported one another. But I will never forget in those moments that, even though there were lots of photo ops and lots of babies and lots of fun moments, Peta never missed one of them. She was always there. She was always supportive, particularly of her sisters who had had children. She was an aunt and a best friend to all of them. That just spoke to her character and who she was.

To her family: thank you for letting her be here to spend time with us and be that warrior that we all need—that good person—because she was one of the good ones. To her second family, her staff in her electorate office: thank you, and we feel your pain, and we know it's real. It's going to be a tough few weeks, months and years. You were there for Peta when she most needed it, and we now need to be there for you when you need it. That is what we can do.

To all of us in this place: her first speech is something that we should remind ourselves of each and every day. She came here last week and asked a question. She was struggling, but she wanted this place to be better. She wanted politics to be better. She wanted to be part of a generation that changed politics. We have the opportunity to embrace that and do better, to create the change that people can be proud of. She believed in justice and a fair go, and she was a warrior, and, if we really want to honour her, we should take that on board.

I will miss her in question time, sitting behind me, and her remarks. She is much funnier than the member for McEwen, so I do worry about what next year will be like. But, like everybody knows, it was her energy, her smile, her tenacity, her wit, her generosity and her large orbit, and the way in which she would include people and the way in which she inspired people. Thank you, Peta, for your time, your words and your support.

Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

After I was elected to this place and I set about writing my first speech, I watched one other MP's first speech—only one. It was Peta Murphy's first speech in 2019. As has been said today, just two weeks before she gave it, Peta had learnt that her breast cancer, first diagnosed in 2011, had returned. Yet, even with that immense challenge in her future, she chose to accept another one: to represent her community in Dunkley, in a part of Melbourne not far from me, where there is an immense need for forceful representation, deep engagement with community and empathy for people. And Peta gave that.

Peta Murphy was the member for Dunkley for a few short years, taken by cancer at a time when it was clear that she had so much more to offer. In her first speech, Peta spoke to what she wanted to achieve from her time in this place. Above all else, she said:

I would like to be able to say that I left Australian politics—Australian democracy—in better shape than when I joined it, that I was part of a generation of Australian politicians who worked to recover the public's faith in our democratic system and who strove to reharness politics as that vehicle for enlarging opportunities and enlarging our national imagination, and that we did so by rejecting politics based on fear and division …

Amen.

It's clear that the vast majority of people who win their way into this place, courtesy of the support of their communities, whatever their political affiliation, do so out of a desire to make a difference and to promote change for the better. That was Peta Murphy. As Reverend Cam McAdam, the Minister of the Mt Eliza Uniting Church, said:

I like to know politicians and ensure they know me, and get to know Peta, I did. I wrote to her some months ago about an issue, and she replied, 'You know me, Cam.' She was a politician of the people, and she wanted to know your story, your issue, understand and help if she could. Peta was at our church a few months ago and didn't look well. I told her when I saw her next, offering my concern and support. But she was a professional, passionate about her role, and she knew the privilege of office and sought to make a difference for the people of Dunkley.

From the member for Monash, whose electorate adjoins Peta's, who's been in this place longer than all the rest of us, for decades, a Liberal, and now my colleague on the crossbench:

I have been in Parliament 25 years; I see new people coming through all the time. Peta was a star performer.

There is deep sadness in this place, where there is now an empty seat where Peta sat for the last time just last week. The member for Monash also said this in tribute to Peta:

…she was tough. She had missed out 2016, came back fighting and won her seat in 2019. And it takes special people to do that…

Several members of the crossbench are unable to be here today. My colleague Monique Ryan, the member for Kooyong, is unwell, and she asked me to read this on her behalf:

I served on the Parliamentary Health, Aged Care and Sport committee with Peta for 18 months. On joining the committee, I liked her immediately. Peta was calm and collegial. She had a lawyerly, analytic mind; she thought through things methodically and fairly. As she got sicker last year, she talked about her illness with courage and honesty. I know that all the Class of 2022 would have liked to know her better and to spend more time with her. We'll happily accept the responsibility of working for improved care of breast cancer, and for better women's healthcare in general; the next Health Committee enquiry will be into women's health, and it will be our privilege—but with great sadness—to dedicate it to Peta. The people of Dunkley have lost an excellent representative, and the House is poorer for her absence.

On behalf of the people of Kooyong I send love and sympathy to her husband, family, and community. She will be much missed.

From Dai Le, the member for Fowler, who is also unable to be here today:

I'm shocked and devastated to hear of the news of the passing of our esteemed colleague, Peta Murphy, the Member for Dunkley, Ms Murphy left an indelible mark on our hearts and in the annals of Australian politics. Her legacy, a testament to resilience, advocacy, and unwavering strength, serves as an inspiration to us all.

The member for Fowler says:

As a survivor of breast cancer … I understand the profound impact it can have on one's life. Ms Murphy's battles were not just her own; they were shared by many who looked up to her for guidance and inspiration. It saddens me to bid farewell to a colleague I respect and watched across the bench, who fought valiantly until the very end.

Today, we extend our deepest condolences to the Member's family, especially her husband of 24 years, Rod. In these moments of sorrow, we must also celebrate the life she lived and the positive change brought about. May her soul find eternal peace, free from pain and discomfort.

Rest in peace, Peta Murphy.

And from Rebekha Sharkie, the member for Mayo:

While Peta was not in the Parliament long, she made the most of her time here, and her loss is to the detriment of us all. In particular I would like to draw attention to Peta's courageous work as Chair of the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs' Inquiry into Online Gambling Harm and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm. I hope that the Committee's report and recommendations will create change and leave a vital legacy for Peta. I and many more people within and outside of this place have a great deal of respect and appreciation for Peta's untiring efforts both in the health space, and to help reduce gambling harm. I send my sincere condolences to Peta's husband, family, friends and fellow colleagues.

I thank my crossbench colleagues for providing those heartfelt words for me to read on their behalf today.

As the member for Mayo has highlighted, it goes to the member for Dunkley's dedication and determination that she accepted the challenging role as chair of the House social policy and legal affairs committee. In that position she headed an incisive and much-needed inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm. She recognised the social and health costs of the explosion in gambling and was determined to do something about it. In this, she and I were 100 per cent aligned.

The committee held weeks of hearings, took dozens of submissions, heard from witness after witness, all while Peta was struggling with the effects of the cancer which would not loosen its grip on her body. She strived and ultimately failed to get honest answers from the gambling giants, the broadcasters and the sporting codes about their financial arrangements and links. What she did succeed in doing, though, was producing a landmark report that not only pulled no punches but had the support of all members of the committee, Labor, coalition and crossbench—no mean feat, given the contentious nature of the subject matter and the powerful influence gambling and broadcasting interests have around this place. It was a rare consensus in this combative place—consensus that must be acted on in Peta's name.

I do not claim to have been a friend of Peta's, but the reverend Tim Costello was. Not only that—he was a neighbour. He tells me that, on the night before Peta's death, he walked past her house, paused briefly and offered a prayer. Sadly, it was not to be answered. 'She's one of the bravest women I have ever met,' he says.

As Peta said in her first speech:

This parliament is the cauldron of Australia's national conversation, and politicians are not just participants in it; we are its custodians, and we must do better … how we do that matters.

In this, again, I agree with her aims, which cut across the differences in our politics.

When I think of Peta in the future, I will hold central the fact that she and I had a shared love of Pippi Longstocking. In her first speech, Peta referenced Pippi, the 'strongest girl in the world'. In many ways, in fact, Pippi was a misfit, with odd socks, wild pigtails that stuck straight out of her head and freckles, living by herself in a house in the forest with a monkey and a horse. What little girl didn't want to be Pippi—strong, independent and living by her own rules? In many ways and by all accounts from her close friends and colleagues, that was Peta. 'Why I walked backwards?' Pippi asked. 'We live in a free country, don't we? Aren't you allowed to walk any way you want? Don't you worry about me. I'll always come out on top.' Like Pippi, Louisa Dunkley and, indeed, Vida Goldstein, Peta Murphy was a fierce woman who walked the walk, and that's what I will remember her for. We are all better for it.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

():  It was very kind of the member for Goldstein to read out some of those tributes from other colleagues as well. I want to acknowledge her and other friends from the crossbench for their lovely words today.

Peta Murphy was joyous, she was mischievous, she was hilarious, she was courageous, she was generous, she was curious, she was studious, she was tremendous and, most of all, she was luminous. She was here, just last week, and now she's gone. And, now, a place that was so lifted up by her presence is now weighed down with the heavy and immense sadness of her passing. Death didn't come for her out of the blue or out of the clouds; it announced itself to her and to us—and not just once. Her cancer came and went and then came again. The bounce in her step came and went with it, and colleagues learned to hang on the ups and downs of her relapses and recovery. We learnt to look for the little signs and the little signals because, as other colleagues have said, it was hard to get her to talk about her illness specifically; she would only talk about it for the greater good.

When Peta got better that first time, it wasn't a false dawn, because there was nothing false about Peta Murphy. Sometimes when we lose someone that we admire, we say that we didn't realise how important they were to us until they were gone. This was not the case with Peta—we knew. We knew every minute with Peta was a gift—and not just because of her cancer. We knew that every interaction with her was real; it was often fun and it was always cherished. We did not take her for granted.

A number of colleagues on both sides of the House today have spoken about her really important work in health policy—and I acknowledge that too—but I wanted the House to know that she was also very deeply engaged in the economy. This, I think, was where her sense of fairness was tightly intertwined with her considerable intellect. She didn't have the luxury of time to stuff around to get outcomes. None of us do. Those clocks tick for all of us, but for some of us they tick quicker. So she pooled her effort and she concentrated her focus where she could make the most meaningful and often the most immediate change.

She had lots of wrongs to right but not lots of time to right them. I notice the member for Sydney, in her tribute earlier in the week—and others, like the member for Jagajaga—mentioned the concentrated and fierce effort that went into turning back that ridiculous idea about asking women fleeing violence to run down their super. And Peta did that from opposition. I remember when the Reserve Bank was funding right-wing think tanks but not think tanks from the other sides of politics. Peta concentrated her effort until that was changed as well, and, once again, she did that from opposition. From government, as I know, she showed a deep and informed interest in income support, in the gender pay gap, in the wellbeing framework, in the future of the Productivity Commission. I came to rely on her for advice across all of these important policy areas.

The world has enough phonies, but we are now down another real one. Friends have done a really wonderful job of recounting their favourite memories of Peta. I acknowledge the member for Bendigo, a moment ago, the member for Jagajaga, the member for Lilley, the PM, the skills minister for their recollections, all of which just rang really true. But the one that really lodged for me was thinking about Peta's interaction with the member for Jagajaga's and the member for Lilley's and the member for Bendigo's kids. The photos of Peta with Anika's kids over here and with Kate's kids—the way that she gave herself to their happiness was just wonderful. The stories that the skills minister told about Peta rang true to me, because I remember her, as the member for Sydney would and other colleagues would, when she was working here in another capacity, doing important work alongside Brendan O'Connor. The thing that rang true for me from Brendan's contribution was how crazy it would drive her to know that we were spending so much time in this place saying how much we valued her and how much we admired her.

She died at home, and, when she did, it reminded me of that track by the Australian rapper Illy, from the same part of the world that Peta Murphy represented, that electorate of Dunkley. Illy says:

I'm in the bay-side sunshine, repping for the Frankston line

And that's where I'ma be residing when they call time

Peta Murphy, amongst her many wonderful traits, was an outstanding local member. She was 'repping for the Frankston line'; that's for sure, and that's where she was when they called time.

All of the beautiful words spoken about Peta today and about to be spoken about Peta today still can't sufficiently capture and convey to those who didn't know her how wonderful she was, how smart and fun and kind and compassionate and how real she was—an absolute ripper of a person, an absolute gem of a human.

We know that every minute she spent with us was a minute not shared with Rod, or Bob and Jan, or Jodi and Penni, or the two best-named dogs on the planet, Bert and Ernie, who gave her so much happiness, and who, I'm sure, she gave so much happiness to. I know that the nieces and nephew—the biological ones, in addition to the parliamentary ones—will miss her greatly as well.

We are so fortunate and so grateful to all of them for sharing her with us. And now we share with them their abundant pride in her and their immense sadness at her passing. As Peta rests in peace now, they can rest assured that we will never forget her.

Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly, can I convey my condolences, thoughts and prayers to Rod, Peta's family and friends, and also the entirety of the Australian Labor Party. You've lost a wonderful, warm, brilliant person, who made this place a better one with her endearing presence. I want to quote a part of Peta's maiden speech, which was one of many that I watched when we both came into this place in 2019. She said:

This parliament is the cauldron of Australia's national conversation, and politicians are not just participants in it; we are its custodians, and we must do better. Of course, not everyone in this place shares the same political philosophy and we don't always agree on the way forward. Politics is a place where ideas should be contested. They should be contested with a passion. They should be contested fiercely, robustly and forcefully. There will be times when the behaviour, motivations and policies of our opponents should rightly be called out and criticised. But how we do that matters. When the participants in our body politic get so caught up in beating their opposition—in winning the daily argument at all costs—that they stop listening and striving to understand what others are saying, we are not just dumbed down; we are diminished. We are diminished in the eyes of the Australian people and we are diminished in our capacity to tackle the difficult challenges— …

Well, Peta was true to her word. She was formidable, she was fierce, she was passionate—but never partisan. She spoke effortlessly without affectation on any topic, because she was speaking for her constituents. It was never about her; it was always about them. Her ability to just stand up with no notes and talk from the heart about things she believed would improve the lives of her constituents was admirable, inspiring and a testament to her intellect and character.

Peta and I worked closely together over the past 18 months on the Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee, she as the chair and me as the deputy. We had worked on a number of other committees together, and I'd like to think I can say that we became friends, often having a joke and a chuckle together. She was certainly a woman who could give as good as she got, and her cheeky take-no-prisoners humour was a trait that I know was appreciated by all.

Peta and I also shared a commonality in our previous lives as criminal defence lawyers, and I think that's something that broke the political divide in the early days. I'm glad of one thing, and that is that I was never cross-examined by her in the witness box! She had an ability to round the witness up, put them through the gate and close it tightly before they knew what had happened—and all with a smile. I saw that on a number of occasions during committee hearings and inquiries, and it was an ability that I strongly admired. In fact, we would often text each other during an inquiry, and I remember on one particular occasion after Peta had cross-examined a very evasive witness I texted saying: 'Wow! That was harsh!'—with a smiley face. Her response was, 'I love a good cross-examination!' So, despite the combativeness of this place, Peta was universally liked, and not because she was one to try to please everyone—to the contrary: she fought harder than most—but because her advocacy was sound, because her arguments were reasonable and because she attacked the issue, not the person. She was respected because of that.

Peta was one of the good ones, taken way too soon by cancer. Far too many are. But she gave everything she had in the tank for this place and for her constituents, and we could all learn something from that. Farewell, Peta. You are and were the best-ever member for Dunkley.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is the speech you never really want to give. The passing of someone in our midst so terribly soon is really sad—it's really sad. I know that everyone here is feeling that. Like many, I have shed many, many tears in the last couple of days. But I'm also just slightly terrified that Peta is going to figure out a way to come back at us all for having so much focus and attention on her today! Of course, regardless of the heartbreak that we feel collectively—especially amongst the Labor ranks—I could not let this moment pass without expressing the deep gratitude and respect I feel for Peta Murphy, the member for Dunkley.

She was a dear friend, colleague and, as many have noted, an absolutely fearless warrior—not just in this place but in every moment of her life. Along with a number of us, I had the immense joy of celebrating her 50th birthday recently. It was just so obvious at that great celebration—even though, at no surprise to anyone here, Peta was extremely weak at that point and in a lot of pain—that she was a woman who had an abundance of love in her life. Her family—her beautiful parents, Bob and Jan, and her sisters, Jodi and Penni, although I think Penni was still overseas at the time—were all there, making representations. The joy and love that they spoke about from all those early days which we didn't know about—I didn't know Peta as a child—was just delightful to hear. And there were all her friends from university and from her career in law, and then her parliamentarian friends as well. It was just so obvious to me that she touched everyone in her journey of life.

She made a profound impact on so many people way before her time in this House. These were the sorts of connections in life that everyone wants to have. These were people who had known her all the way through, or who had joined her journey at some point, and they stuck like glue. That was Peta's sense of profound loyalty to the people around her, who shared her values—values which maybe pushed and challenged her at times, when they were up for the argument—and who were decent humans. She surrounded herself with very decent humans. Even with those who she had to represent in court from time to time, Peta was always able to find the humanity in every case that was brought before her as a barrister. I think if I were ever in the situation where I needed a public defender in my corner, I would have wanted Peta Murphy!

We've heard a lot of contributions about Peta's tenacity, both in life and in her determination to represent the good people of Dunkley. She missed it that first time around. I had known Peta from her days of working with the now minister for skills, the member for Gorton. She was a formidable chief of staff and was always so incredibly competent, and that will come as no shock to anybody in this room. She was always on top of her game and incredibly competent. You weren't ever going to pull a shoofty around Peta Murphy.

It was no surprise to me to learn that she had been offered a state seat and an easier path to a parliament—in that case, the Victorian parliament. I don't know who offered her that and I don't know all the circumstances, but I do know that Peta was never shopping for a seat. She had her eyes set on representing the people and the community that she loved and felt so profoundly connected to, and it's so obvious that the love was returned to Peta Murphy. She was never going to be that woman that took the easy road. She was not here just looking for a seat in parliament; she had a life of purpose. Everything she did was purposeful. So thank goodness Peta Murphy did take the time to go: 'You know what? I'm sticking by the principles that I've always led my life by. I'm going to give this another shot.' She worked her butt off for three years. It was terrific to be part of the team to try and help support her in those endeavours to win the seat of Dunkley, which of course she absolutely did.

We know that Peta also loved her sport, and that brought an amazingly competitive streak. I've got to say I only once dared join her on a squash court, and I was truly whipped—deservedly so. Her love of sport came from her parents, who were sports tragics and gave her a great sense of how to make a competitive and determined spirit and turn that into good all the time. I won't go over all her extraordinary representations on the squash courts, but I'm glad that the member for Lawler is sitting next to me, because Peta also joined us on the netball team quite a few times. I remember, obviously—stupidly—thinking, 'God, Peta, shouldn't you take it a bit easy here?' Netball is a pretty ferocious contact sport, and nobody took it light on the courts. But she had an elbows-out approach on the netball court, as she had with everything in life, and I felt silly for even suggesting that she might want to take it easy or have a break at some point during the game. I don't think that anyone else other than Peta could have got me on to squash court, because I am, shamefully, one of those people that definitely laughed at the idea that squash was even still happening. I hope she might forgive me at some point.

We are making a fuss of her today, and rightly so, but I know she would be very, very uncomfortable with that. When her uni mates were getting up at her birthday celebration recently, she managed to, as weak as she felt at the time, get up in a chair next door and heckle them the whole way through, saying, 'Enough! Stop it!' I can hear that voice with me now. As was evident at that birthday party and from many of the contributions here in the parliament today, being friends with Peta was a bond for life, and it's a bond that we all wanted to have, really.

She had an extraordinary sense of fairness and was fearless in her pursuit of injustices everywhere. I couldn't have been more honoured to serve alongside her in this House on so many committees. In opposition, I was deputy chair for nine years of the Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee. I remember when Peta got elected and I thought it was fantastic. I got her roped into that committee as soon as I could. She was just a formidable partner to have, so I know much has been made. She subsequently went on to chair that committee, as she absolutely should have. She was a fierce contributor to the work of so many committees.

I was deeply honoured that she nominated me to be the Deputy Speaker in this parliament. I asked her to do that because of the respect I had for her as a fellow parliamentarian. She was someone who was always in your corner and who loved the art of being a parliamentarian as well. She wasn't here for nearly long enough, but she had the most extraordinary impact.

I want to end by acknowledging her staff, who have been a part of a really difficult journey as staffers. They worked for an exceptional boss—and, for that, they can absolutely celebrate—but it's hard to know that your boss isn't going to be here for a long time. It was a real tribute to you all that you were able to support her in ways that she appreciated, and I know that that's sometimes difficult. It wasn't easy to ask Peta to step aside and take a breather at any point. To her parents, Bob and Jan, you instilled in Peta great values, and I know her sisters, Jodi and Penni, shared that.

I find it hard to even think about what I would say about her extraordinary husband and partner in crime for 20-odd years, Rod Glover. I note that, during Peta's first speech to this parliament, she didn't divulge how you two met or the story of that. I'm definitely not going to breach any confidence there, but, Rod, I will repeat to you Peta's words in that speech. She recognised you as someone who is compassionate, brilliant, stubborn and silly—all the things she cherished most of all. She knew that you were her most constructive critic, her most loyal supporter and her greatest friend and that she wouldn't have been here without you. I want to end with those words, Rod, so that you know that the hearts and thoughts of all of us are with you, Bob, Jan and Peta's family today.

Finally, because I think Peta would want me to do this, I thank the people of Dunkley. You showed an extraordinary trust in picking a member from a different party after 20-odd years, but you got one of the best. You had a loyal, devoted, hardworking member who truly, truly loved you and your community. There was not a day in this parliament where she didn't stand up and fight for the people of Dunkley. So thank you for your wise decision, and we're eternally grateful that you chose to send her to the House of Representatives. Thank you.

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a privilege to rise today to express gratitude for the life and to lament the loss of our much loved and admired colleague and friend Peta Murphy, the member for Dunkley. I acknowledge the beautiful words of the member for Newcastle, who came just before me. It's with immense sadness that I pay tribute to her, and, in doing so, I acknowledge the words of so many speakers before me. Her close friends and colleagues have spoken with love, respect and admiration. At the conclusion of my own remarks, I will read messages from the member for Warringah, the member for Curtin and the member for Mackellar, who regret that they're unable to be here today.

I met Peta on day 1 after the federal election in 2019 at what is known as 'pollies kindergarten', when we gathered here in Parliament House to learn the ropes as new MPs. My husband, Phil, as one of the accompanying partners to this new clutch of MPs, met Peta's beloved husband, Rod, on the same day. My first impression of Peta was, 'Crickey, this women will take no prisoners!' She asked me what sports I played, and I could see her utter disappointment when I revealed my batting average over decades of backyard cricket and my absolutely lousy record in C-grade bush tennis. I later learnt from others, certainly not from her, that she was an international squash champion, and I thought, 'You know, that makes sense.' Peta struck me as someone who could pack a whack, who could corner her opponent and who could easily have a beer and a laugh with them later.

Of course, I learnt so much more about her over time. She came from rural Australia. She'd battled breast cancer before her 40th birthday. She was a barrister. She was a champion for justice. And for her it was an absolute dream come true to be the member for Dunkley. I learnt that she had eyebrows that danced to the rhythm of the parliament and eyeballs that could seemingly jump out of their sockets on springs. I often chanced a glance at her when an interjection came from across the chamber or a speech was made that she took objection to. Peta's was not a poker face. Peta's was a fabulous face, as quick to break into a smile as it was quick to set sights on an idea she would challenge or champion. She was a great mate to have in the halls of this place.

Despite the pain that she suffered day in and day out, she was funny, she was empathetic, she was generous and she was real. She was an incredible person to learn from, and from Peta Murphy I've learnt many lessons in politics and in life. The French Renaissance writer Michel de Montaigne points to the understanding of death as a prerequisite for the understanding of life, for the very art of living:

Wherever your life ends, it is all there. The utility of living consists not in the length of days, but in the use of time; a man may have lived long, and yet lived but a little. Make use of time while it is present with you. It depends upon your will, and not upon the number of days, to have a sufficient length of life.

Michel de Montaigne could have written that for Peta Murphy, who, as has been reflected upon frequently today, made it clear in her first speech in this parliament that she would not waste a moment.

Make use of time while it is present with you. It depends upon your will, and not upon the number of days—

And what a will did Peta Murphy have. But, gee, we wish she had more days.

I was privileged to be present for Peta's maiden speech to parliament in 2019 when she told the country that she been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and in her speech, as we've heard today, 'I am neither unique nor alone in this disease but someone who has a platform that I can use to benefit others, and I intend to use it.' Honestly, that day and to this day, I don't know how she managed to make that speech, and I honestly don't know how she kept going to make so many incredible contributions from there.

I recently relistened to the extraordinary podcast Peta made only a short time ago for Breast Cancer Network Australia where she spoke of vulnerability. Politicians so rarely concede to this most human of conditions. She spoke of the strength she'd gained from her earlier encounter with cancer and the acceptance of vulnerability that her previous diagnosis gave her. And she spoke of using the privilege of public life to help other people living with cancer feel less alone, to push for better cancer treatment and services and to show us all that it is possible to demonstrate strength and vulnerability, acceptance and determination, illness and wellbeing. And she put that on full display as she worked her heart out in this parliament and in her community. Peta Murphy showed us all the spectrum of what it means to be human in what, at times, can feel like a place where hubris drowns out humanity. Peta Murphy made us all feel less alone.

Breast cancer was but one of the issues she used her platform for. It was important, critical, but not defining of her. The work of her preparliamentary life has been referenced today, when she sought justice for those least able to find it, when she applied her agile brain to industrial relations policy, to gambling reform, to carers. She literally contributed to the public good until her final breath. Such tenacity, generosity, courage and conviction, and the likes of we who were witness to it can only conclude that we have seen a truly great parliamentarian in Peta Murphy.

Joan Didion, in her book The Year of Magical Thinking, said:

Grief turns out to be a place none of us know until we reach it.

And grief is on full display as we mourn the loss of this remarkable woman, Peta Murphy.

To Peta's beloved husband of 24 years, Rod Glover, steadfast and generous: in your immeasurable grief and loss throughout Peta's illness, Phil and I send our heartfelt love to you. My sorrow to Peta's parents, Bob and Jan; to her sisters, nieces, nephew and wider family; to her countless friends; to her electorate office team; and to her friends and colleagues in the Australian Labor Party family. I note particularly the member for Gorton, the Hon. Brendan O'Connor, for whom Peta was chief of staff from 2017 to 2019, and her very close friends, particularly those in the class of 2019, who I know loved her dearly—and you were loved by her in return. To her constituents to whom she was so committed and loyal: thank you for sending her to the rest of us.

Peta was loved. Peta is unforgettable. Her legacy is powerful and true. Vale Peta Murphy, member for Dunkley. It was an honour to serve with you.

Now, I have messages from the member for Warringah, the member for Curtin and the member for Mackellar. I will start with the member for Warringah:

Together in the class of 2019 MPs, Peta and I gave our first speeches on the same day, full of excitement, passion, pride and determination to make a difference. I remember the day so well, full of trepidation at the job ahead, getting through mine and then listening to hers. I loved her reference to Pippi Longstocking and her strength, resilience, kindness, fairness and acceptance.

Peta was inspiring, tenacious, kind, funny and smart, with so much more to give. She is gone much too soon.

Peta was gracious and dignified. It's hard to imagine how challenging her time in parliament has been, fighting such a big personal fight as well as giving so much back, with her commitment and passion for her community always so strong, being in parliament only a few days ago. She spoke of wanting to make parliament and politics better and she did.

Her dedication to so many issues and raising awareness about cancer, particularly breast cancer, was admirable. Peta transformed her personal battle with breast cancer into a platform for public policy advocacy, ceaselessly championing for improved treatment, expanded services, and stronger support systems.

In a year where over 3,200 Australians, including a notable number of males, are projected to succumb to breast cancer, Peta's contribution becomes even more significant. The statistics paint a stark picture, with approximately one woman under the age of 40 expected to lose her life to breast cancer each week.

As we grapple with the reality of Peta's passing, our thoughts extend to all those battling illness. Our deepest sympathies go out to Peta's family.

The halls of parliament will feel empty without her presence.

From the member for Curtin, Kate Chaney:

I have been lucky to sit on the House Standing Committee for Social Policy and Legal Affairs, chaired by the Member for Dunkley.

As a first term parliamentarian, it is a steep learning curve.

Peta Murphy showed me that Parliament is not all Question Time. I learned from her that we Parliamentarians can work collaboratively, deeply, constructively and compassionately together.

She always spent time at the beginning of a hearing making the witnesses comfortable, bringing her humanity and humour to the formal proceedings. She held witnesses through the sometimes difficult and personal subject matter. She was open-minded, curious and compassionate in her questions to witnesses and always fair in hearing from all committee members.

She invited input into report drafting from all sides and achieved what I now realise can be a rare thing—a unanimous report on the need for gambling reform, including brave and bold recommendations, focused on the interests of the community.

In one of the last public hearings she chaired, as part of an inquiry into the Carer Recognition Act, we heard from witnesses about the challenges of caring for people with cancer.

She messaged me and asked me to lead the questioning for this witness because of the subject matter. It must have been incredibly difficult for her to sit and listen to this evidence. But like everything, she approached it with courage and fairness and showed no outward sign of the pain it brought her.

As her remaining time on Earth shortened, it only seemed to sharpen her focus on the important work that she was doing.

In this place, all we can do as Parliamentarians is to nudge things in the right direction. Peta Murphy showed me that we can do so with courage, kindness and optimism.

I hope the Government is able to honour her contribution by accepting the recommendations she led on gambling reform and removing some harm from the world, as her legacy.

It would be a fitting way to acknowledge her fierce desire to make this fragile world better before she left it.

I will miss her.

And, finally, from the member for Mackellar, Sophie Scamps:

Sometimes you get to witness courage up close

Seeing Peta stand & ask her final question in Question Time last week was one of those breathtaking moments

Peta was someone who grabbed life with both hands and gave it a great shake

We are so thankful she used her many talents and strength of character to make Australia and the world a better place

Vale, Peta Murphy

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is a Dolly Parton quote that I really love, which is 'Find out who you are and do it on purpose.' I think that is a really magnificent way to live a life, and I can't think of anyone who embodied that maxim better than Peta Murphy. She knew who she was and she did it with purpose every single day. She was a very singular person—authentic, empathetic, fierce and fun. She had real purpose in all she did, whether it was representing her community and fighting for the best for everyone in her electorate or whether it was through her extraordinary work advocating for women's health and better cancer care and through the application of her very fine mind to policy problems and issues of justice. Peta was driven, determined, and made a difference.

Winning a seat off an incumbent is not an easy task, and Peta's determination in 2019, after an enormous campaign in 2016, was absolutely incredible. I was one of the hundreds of union members who volunteered on Peta's campaign, knocking on doors and speaking to people in the community about why she would be the most tremendous member for Dunkley. The fortitude required to campaign in the way she did in two elections was unbelievable. But, of course, Peta was possessed with that fortitude, and she did it and she won in 2019. Her community saw how profoundly she cared, how hard she worked, and at last year's election she won again and with an even greater result. I think, for a lot of us who have to campaign to win seats off incumbents, Peta was an inspiration. Her campaign was the absolute master class in how to win a seat off an incumbent, and I'm not sure I conveyed that strongly enough to her. She was then the gold standard for being a local member and was truly remarkable in the way she had such energy to serve her community, even though she was going through her own personal health struggles.

For the short time I've been here, I benefited from Peta's wisdom. Navigating politics, navigating a first term, is not something that is easy. But Peta did take the time to talk to me and give me valuable advice. And her advice was not to preach about doing things in a particular way, or the way she had, but to find the way that worked for me and that allowed me to do the things I wanted to do in this place and in and for my community. Her sharp intellect, her big heart and the way she had of communicating so clearly, without leaving room for any doubt about her meaning, made Peta such a wonderful colleague and a very special person in Australian public life. Continuing the fights that mattered so much to Peta—to improve our health system and to tackle the problems with gambling in this country, and inequality—is something that is important for all of us to do.

Peta's values placed people at the heart of all she did, and her vision meant that she could serve in a way that changed this country and her community for the better. It seems quite magical that a seat named for Louisa Dunkley, a tenacious trailblazer, had, as the first woman to represent it, Peta Murphy.

It is so fitting that Peta quoted the inimitable, dynamic Pippi Longstocking in her first speech. Pippi was the strongest girl, a girl who saw the world in her own way, who was always herself—and so was Peta. Clearly, Peta was so loved, and will remain so loved. My thoughts and all my love go to her partner, Rod, her family, her friends and her staff. This is a really difficult time, and we are wrapping our arms around all those people who cared so deeply for Peta and who she cared for too. I acknowledge the members of the class of 2019 in the chamber now.

Rest in peace, Peta. It was an absolute honour to have known you. And I, like so many, will continue to be inspired by the legacy you have left behind.

Zoe McKenzie (Flinders, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this unfathomably sad condolence motion for the member for Dunkley, Peta Murphy. Peta was my neighbour, with Dunkley's southern border meeting the northern border of Flinders, and together we shared responsibility for the glorious Mornington Peninsula. For that reason, we interacted pretty regularly on infrastructure, on shire and developmental matters. We shared the boundless joy of citizenship ceremonies and the quiet glee and gratitude that together we looked after the most beautiful part of Australia.

Peta was awesome in every sense of the word. I first met her and her partner, Rod Glover, some 20-odd years ago when we were all kids in political terms. When I found her again here, she was formidable: established in her space, forceful in her passions, proud and persuasive in her achievements, and yet, from what I could sense, still as gleefully in love today as she was back then. You are a lucky bloke, Rod. I know it won't feel like it at the moment. Peta was remarkable and you are a lucky man.

She was equally a remarkable presence in this place. She listened to my speeches, often more closely than she should have. Every time there was a chink in the armour, a slight deviation from the party line, Peta would notice and often offer a quiet word of praise or encouragement. 'They need you,' she said one day over her shoulder. I'm not quite sure if that was praise for me or an attack on us, but I appreciated the fact that she listened and noticed and never ever let anything slip by.

A week ago, Peta and I were due to do a short video together promoting the Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation gala dinner to be held at the Mornington Racecourse next year. Peta and her team had already committed to going, so we thought we'd give it a bit of a plug together and suggest people might want to buy a ticket for Christmas. I know she'd still want me to give that plug, and so I will. The inaugural Blue Ribbon Gala will be held on 27 July next year and will honour those who died serving their community. How very fitting. It will be the premiere event for the Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation of the peninsula, and it will raise funds to provide two ECMO machines and trained specialists at Frankston Hospital, a place most dear to her. When Peta was laid low last week with fatigue, I said, 'Don't worry, Peta, we'll do the video together next week.' And so here it is. I am doing the video plug with Peta; I just really wish she were here. I hope our local community will get behind this cause in her honour. I know I will.

It is precisely because she was so persistently dedicated to the many causes around her, those that defined her in this place but also those which defined her locally as well, that in the last 48 hours I have reached out to those in our community and our community groups to whom she was so dear, to ask if I might carry their words into this place to ensure their gratitude for her contribution endures through time.

From our Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor, Simon Brooks:

Peta was a passionate champion for this region, and it was a privilege to work with her on a range of local issues.

We worked with Peta on matters such as road funding and public transport, and she was instrumental in helping Council forge valuable connections in Canberra.

One of the major projects we worked on with Peta is the redevelopment of Emil Madsen Recreation Reserve in Mount Eliza.

Peta worked hard to secure $15 million in Commonwealth funding for a major expansion of sporting infrastructure at the reserve.

As a result of Peta's advocacy for our community, the lives of countless local residents who use the reserve will be enriched for many years to come.

Her work ethic was inspiring: we last met with Peta to discuss public transport and infrastructure funding just four weeks ago.

Peta's energy, determination and dedication were appreciated by all who met her. It was clear she cared deeply about her constituents.

She was respected by people from all sides of politics for her hard work on behalf of the community and will be sadly missed.

Former mayor Councillor Steve Holland added a few private words:

Peta loved her community and loved her job.

We will be forever grateful for the positive difference she made in the lives of everyone she represented.

We have lost a passionate champion who always embodied the very best of our community.

Frankston City Council mayor Nathan Conroy also provided some words to me:

It is with deep sadness that we honour our Federal Member for Dunkley, Peta Murphy MP, following the news of her passing.

We remember Peta for her fierce determination and commitment to deliver the absolute best for our community.

As our local Federal MP, Peta was a tenacious and inspirational representative. We were fortunate to work closely with Peta on numerous projects.

Just days ago I joined her on a freezing Frankston morning to announce funding for a new car park—she was still smiling, still witty, and still fiercely determined to deliver for her community.

She was—to the very end—both fearless and tireless in her work—the very best example of elected representation.

Peta's passing diminishes us all—yet she has also left a rich and lasting legacy in Frankston City that will stand the test of time.

President of the recently formed Committee for Frankston and Mornington Peninsula Shannon Smit and CEO Josh Sinclair said:

Peta Murphy served her community in Dunkley with great distinction.

Her service will be defined by her tireless work ethic, her sharp wit, and her incredible intellect. No matter who you were in our community, Peta always had time for you. She would treat you with respect, dignity and always make you want to be her friend.

Peta constantly stood up for people who didn't have the ability to stand up for themselves. Her commitment to social justice was not just through her words—she lived it every single day.

Peta spoke out against inequity and exploitation, and she was passionate about making a difference for our region.

The Committee was fortunate enough to host Peta for an event with our members just last month. Peta was knowledgeable, witty, and generous with her time—and up for debate about local commitments and our advocacy projects.

On a more personal note, Josh, who has been a friend of Peta's for many years, added:

Peta was without a doubt one of the hardest working people I ever met.

Her energy, time and commitment constantly astounded me—but she didn't know any other way. Her humour was also something I will always remember, as I will her ability to disarm even the most ardent of Liberal voters on the street.

I first met Peta in my days as a local Labor branch member in her electorate, and we got to know each other a bit better when I was the 2019 Labor candidate for Flinders. As neighbouring candidates, Peta went above and beyond in supporting me.

She always had wise advice and didn't waste an opportunity in spruiking an announcement or talking up her community. I was so proud to see her elected to Parliament in 2019.

Peta's health battles were well known, but she never let those battles define her. She stared them face on and fought hard—the only way she knew how.

Peta is one of the strongest people I've ever known.

May she be remembered for her courage, her strength, and her service to our community. May she now rest in peace.

Peta was widely admired on my side as well, by those that preceded her and served with her in this place. The great Bruce Billson, who served as member for Dunkley for 20 years until his retirement in 2016, said:

The passing of Peta Murphy is a tragic loss for her family, friends, the Dunkley community and our nation. A generous heart with a sincere commitment to service. My thoughts and condolences go to Peta's loved ones and to the many of us who admire and will miss her. Dunkley has lost a warrior for our community.

Chris Crewther briefly held the seat before Peta snatched it off him. He said:

As the State Member for Mornington, with an electorate that now overlaps with Dunkley, as Dunkley's former MP, as a fellow parliamentarian and as a local resident and constituent of Peta Murphy, I'd like to give my sincere condolences to Peta's husband Rod, all her family (including her beloved pooches), her Labor Party colleagues and members, fellow parliamentarians who've been serving with her, and all her many friends. Peta Murphy battled hard against metastatic breast cancer for years.

Chris went on to say:

Peta Murphy and I have a long history together. We stood against each other twice for the Federal electorate of Dunkley. In 2016, I defeated Peta. In 2019, Peta defeated me. There's a certain symmetry about that.

While we were opponents, I also greatly respected Peta and her hard work, tenacity, effort, intellect and community mindedness both while she was a candidate and since she became Member for Dunkley, in all that she did.

Peta will be greatly missed.

On a personal note, some of Chris's then staff, who later went on to work for Greg Hunt and now work for me, remarked on the declaration of Peta's win in 2019:

Peta thanked the former staff who had worked for the Dunkley electorate office, and among the excitement of her election, she took time to empathetically acknowledge the harsh reality that her electoral success meant those staff had lost their jobs.

It was a small gesture that meant a lot to those who were passing on the electoral baton to a new member and her team.

My predecessor, Greg Hunt, wanted me to say today:

I am deeply sorry to hear of Peta's passing. She was strong and brave and a genuinely passionate, caring, and effective local member. With all my best wishes for her family, friends and colleagues.

There are so many messages from our local organisations who loved her so much. Jodie Belyea from the Women's Spirit Project said:

Peta backed us from 2018 when she was campaigning for the seat of Dunkley. Once she got over the need for Team Teal to give her hugs and get in her personal space, she embraced us wholeheartedly to become our Ambassador.

She backed the Women's Spirit Project to never give up, to be courageous in our endeavours to offer free programs that support women doing it tough in and across the Frankston Mornington Peninsula.

She was a role model to many within our community, engaging authentically with people from all walks of life, bringing politics to people and giving us hope. She was brave, kind and strong—every inch of her life making the world a better place. You will be missed. Fly high, Peta.

Ross Kilborn, the past president of the Mornington Rotary Club said:

I found Peta to be one of the most approachable and genuine persons I have met. Whether it was national issues at the local level, like homelessness, or local issues, like the Peninsula Trail, Peta made the time available to hear and understand her community. She sincerely took the matter on and ensured its effective representation. Rotary had a real friend in Peta, someone who lived the Rotary maxim and really did put service above self.

I also received words from those well and truly in Peta's patch, who will miss her greatly, such as the Frankston District Netball Association:

Our Frankston Netball and Peninsula Waves families are saddened to learn of Peta's passing. Peta believed in girls and women's sport and encouraged us to demand equity. She played an instrumental role in the delivery of our new home at Jubilee Park Stadium.

Peta's advice, encouragement and fierce advocacy gave voice to netballers, from grass roots to the elite, from five-year-olds to seniors—she respected and valued everyone equally.

Above all, Peta was our friend. She was the Waves' No. 1 ticketholder and cheered the teams on at almost every home game and event. Netball in our region is better for having learned from Peta—we will miss her dearly.

Our members send our sincere condolences to Rod and to Peta's family. She was a true champion.

Similar words came from the Frankston footy club:

Everyone associated with the club has been overwhelmed with a sense of pride as we have witnessed Peta keenly continue to work for her community and selflessly fight for others, right up until the very end of her own battle.

Peta was a great friend to the Frankston Football Club, advocating strongly and effectively to support our long-term future. She was a passionate advocate for the advancement of our women's football program, which has progressed in leaps and bounds since being introduced four years ago.

There are so many more I could cite here today, but I know our time is tight. We could perhaps fill a week with tales and celebrations of what she has achieved in this place, and that's just on my side. So today I will finish with the words of the chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Reverend Tim Costello, Dunkley resident to whose goals Peta directed so much of her time in her last year in this place, because he sums it up so well: Peta was 'a friend, a neighbour and a gambling reform champion. Peta was the bravest woman I know, serving the community until the very end.'

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Everyone who knew Peta Murphy loved her. How could you not? That smile. That brain. That heart. Like all of us here, I've had the enormous privilege to know Peta, to work with her and spend time with her.

A couple of months ago, I visited Ballam Park Preschool in Frankston and Lyrebird Community Centre in Carrum Downs with Peta. She was unwell, but she was radiant, and you could tell just how much her community loved her and how much she loved her community. During the visit to the community centre, Peta made a beeline for two women who were sitting down playing bridge. One of the women was just about to turn 100, and she was ecstatic to be seeing Peta, and Peta was just as ecstatic to see her. You could see the light in both of their eyes.

I've been in this place now for 16 years, and you get a sense pretty quickly of who the really genuine souls are. That's who Peta was. She was everything a community could want in a representative. She was everything all of us here aspire to be. She was authentic. She was thoughtful. She was hardworking. And she was courageous. How many of us with a week left to live would still be here, fighting for change, fighting for others? That's what Peta did, here, last week, for the release of the Breast Cancer Network Australia report, Time to count people with metastatic breast cancer: a way forward. She was determined to be here in parliament for the release of this important work, which calls for those with metastatic breast cancer to be counted in cancer registries. In Peta's first speech in this place, she said, 'I am neither unique nor alone in this disease, but I am someone who has a platform that I can use to benefit others, and I intend to use it.' From her first act to her last, that's what she did. That's courage. That was Peta. That's a measure of the person that she was. We have lost the best of us.

I spoke to Peta last Tuesday in caucus. After Senator Dodson announced his retirement, we all got up to gather around Pat for a photo. I walked over to Peta and asked how her 50th birthday party was, which had happened just a few weeks earlier. It occurs to me now that Peta would've known then that it wasn't just Patrick who wasn't returning to caucus.

Peta Murphy was a solicitor, a barrister, a public defender, a member of parliament, a champion squash player and a champion for the underprivileged and the overlooked, and she was a friend. First and foremost, she was a wife, a sister and a daughter. I want to send my deepest condolences to her loving husband, Rod; to her sisters, Jodi and Penni; and to her mum and dad, Bob and Jan. You're not supposed to outlive your children. My heart breaks for Peta's family. Finally, I want to send my condolences to Peta's staff, who adored her: Lauren Johnson, Madison Child, Majella Frick, John Conlon, Kitty McLoughlin, Madeleine Van Der Zypp and Louis Robson. We wrap our arms around you. May Peta rest in peace.

Keith Wolahan (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm in the class of 2022, and I don't pretend to know the member for Dunkley, Peta Murphy, as well as those who have spoken before me, but one of the things about being in this place is that you get to work together on committees. It's in committees that you really get to know someone, and I worked with Peta on two committees. One was the Voice referendum committee, where we didn't agree, and the other was the social and legal committee, for gambling reform, where we did agree. When you see someone in both of those circumstances, you really get to test and know each other in ways that no other profession can or does.

I recall—I think it was the last week she was here, or maybe it was two weeks before that. We had our inquiry, which she was chairing, into carers. As often happened, I arrived late to the committee and sat down next to her. As she was doing her work, diligently and professionally, focused on the task at hand, I saw blood pour from her nose, both nostrils. We all knew, and you would just want to wrap your arms around her, but she didn't feel sorry for herself for a second. She just got some tissues, cleaned it off and got on with the questions. That is her to a T. She knew her body was breaking down, yet she turned up every day. Over there are some flowers that add colour to a place that often doesn't have much colour, but, when she was there in person, she added colour to a place that often doesn't have much colour—through her personality and through her conviction. As I sat there and saw her, with great resilience and care for others, not care less about the physical act of her nose bleeding in front of everyone, I wanted to tell her how much she meant to me and, in the short space of time that I'd known her, how much I'd learnt from her. I learnt from her when we disagreed on the Voice committee, and I learnt from her when we agreed, through her leadership in bringing us all together, on an area of reform that is sorely needed. It's because of her that the report stands; that's why it's called the 'Murphy report'. But I didn't have the courage to tell her that in person. I didn't feel it was appropriate and, as many others have said, I didn't think she would welcome it. So I went back to my office here and thought I could do my best in a Christmas card message that I sent to her.

After seeing the member for Gippsland do what he did in this place, in the most extraordinary way—we never get to tell people what we really think when they're here; instead, we do it like this—this morning when I saw him while I was in the gym and he was having a swim, and I caught him when he was in his Speedos, I asked, 'Can you tell me how that happened?' He said, 'I knew she wouldn't like it, so I told her I was going to do it and she said she wasn't sure if she'd come to even hear it.' But she did, and he delivered it. I think he did it on behalf of so many of us. I think back to that meeting, and those were the very words I wanted to say to her. I'm glad he did that in that way.

When we as the class of '22 did our induction for being members, someone gave the quip that you should be very careful writing your first speech, because in many respects it's your obituary. That really causes you to focus on what words you put on that paper. The Parliamentary Library very quickly and beautifully puts together a biographical booklet on someone. Here is the one for Peta Jan Murphy, with her beautiful, smiling face on it. In it is her first speech, some newspaper clippings and other achievements she has accomplished. So many members have referred to her first speech: the Pippi Longstocking quote, how she was proud of being from a public school in Wagga, and the final reference that many give, which is: 'I would like to be able to say that I left Australian politics—Australian democracy—in better shape than when I joined it.' And she certainly did. She certainly did.

She also said in her first speech that this parliament is the cauldron of Australia's national conversation. We are not just participants in it; we're custodians. And custodians know something that others don't: you know that you don't own it, and you know it's going to end. Peta knew that her time here was shorter than for most and that it was going to end. So she made sure that every day counted and that she made a difference.

She also noted that ideas should be contested, and sometimes fiercely. I saw her do that in her passion and commitment to the wording of the Voice referendum. But she also said we should separate that contest of ideas from attacking each other personally—recognising the dignity and the work that we each have to do.

The Attorney-General quite rightly noted a moment in a campaign that she ran earlier, where some from my party in a social media post criticised her for the clients that she represented as a barrister. She'd never do that to anyone. It's called the cab-rank rule. You're supposed to represent everyone you can with your best efforts. It's a very noble thing to do, because our system requires people like Peta, with passion and conviction to do their very best, while knowing that in the end a judge or a jury will be the final decision-maker.

I didn't know her as well as others did, but she left a mark on me and I will be forever grateful to her. My sincere condolences to Rod, her sisters and her parents. You're quite right: parents shouldn't bury their own children. And to her colleagues in the Labor Party, she is a member of your family and you all mourn, and we mourn with you.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join the parliament today in mourning the loss of Peta Murphy, the member for Dunkley. We have lost a passionate advocate for justice, a devoted representative of her community and a beautiful friend and comrade. There are people who embody that line:

One crowded hour of glorious life

Is worth an age without a name.

Peta squeezed more existence into 50 years than most people could get from a full century, which makes losing her even more difficult to accept, knowing just how much she still had left to give.

Peta Murphy was one of a kind: dedicated, determined, smart, funny and strong. It was so beautiful to hear from her family about her childhood when we celebrated Peta's 50th recently. It was a party full of quiet joy. By her parents' account, she was a great student, desperate to start school. Her father, Bob, told the story of how she badgered him into taking her for an interview—she was too young to start school but she was determined, and she was the one that convinced the principal that she should be allowed to go to big school all day. She excelled at school, a trait that she demonstrated throughout her life. She pursued excellence in everything she did. She didn't just play squash; she won gold medals in championships, even after her cancer diagnosis. We heard from former colleagues in the legal profession: she didn't just study law; she became a barrister and a senior public defender in legal aid.

One of her former colleagues told the story of Peta door-knocking the electorate, knocking on the door of someone she had represented—unsuccessfully, you'd have to say on the one hand, because the lady did spend quite some time in jail. On the other hand, that woman said to Peta Murphy, 'If you're running for parliament, I might enrol to vote.' She then decided to take what she had learnt from standing up for disadvantaged people and turn those insights her values into a parliamentary career, to become a legislator. I campaigned with Peta in 2016 and 2019 and 2022. While it's true that she didn't win that first election, she typically kept at it, and she won the second time round, turning what had traditionally been a Liberal seat into a Labor seat with more than a six per cent margin now. As the member for Gorton said earlier, she did actually ring up between those two elections and talk over the fact she had been offered an easier path into state parliament—where I have no doubt she would have absolutely thrived and been a minister. I felt kind of selfish, because on the one hand I was very confident that if she ran again she would win the seat. On the other hand, I thought, as a friend, 'I don't know if I can argue that what you need to do is take a bigger risk on a less certain outcome; it's harder work to get it and harder work once you've got it.' But she was the one who chose that path, and I think it's typical of her that she did.

She took her responsibilities as an elected representative of her community absolutely seriously, and as many have said, just a week ago she was in the parliament asking questions, participating in caucus, leaving only when the pain was too much to bear. She was here because she was determined to launch a report about a register for metastatic breast cancer, always wanting to help other people who had experienced the same disease. Peta and I were flatmates for a while. It was quite a time. When I would ask her how she was at the end of a long day, she might just say, 'A bit tired,' or that the treatment was 'A bit rough.' She just kept going, because her public fight gave voice to the private struggles of so many.

Peta was very proud to be the first woman elected the member for Dunkley, named after Louisa Dunkley. Louisa was a feminist who fought for equal pay, and she was a trade unionist. Peta loved telling people Louisa Dunkley's story. It was a mission for her that people would know why Dunkley was called Dunkley and what Louisa Dunkley had achieved. I would say that Peta Murphy's story is every bit as inspiring as Louisa Dunkley's story and her contribution to women's rights every bit as important.

When Peta served as the chief of staff to the member for Gorton she was absolutely integral to the development of policies that are now being implemented to reduce the gender pay gap, and we've seen the success we've had in beginning to reduce that gender pay gap. Policies like making gender equity an object of the Fair Work Act, like establishing a statutory equal-remuneration principle to support pay rises in low-paid, female-dominated workforces and creating a new pay-equity unit within the commission—I had the great good fortune of working with Peta Murphy on these changes. Brendan and I would pretend it was Brendan and I sorting out the policy, but everybody knows it was really Peta Murphy and Lauren Power who were sorting out these policies.

But, in working closely with Peta, I got to witness her many formidable qualities: a sharp intellect, a deep sense of justice, a policy mind that understood what would and wouldn't work in practice and the ability to build a coalition of support. We also saw those skills at work when Peta pretty much single-handedly stopped the previous government's attempt to make women fleeing domestic violence drain their super accounts before accessing government support. Peta could make serious policy arguments in a meeting room, but she was also amazingly good at making a persuasive public argument in the broader community. The truth is: most people who will benefit from that change will never know that it was Peta Murphy who protected them. She won that campaign, and thousands of women will be protected from poverty in their old age because of it.

I visited Peta's electorate many times. We particularly liked to visit her local schools like Mount Eliza Secondary College. I could see the very real relationships that she had built. The teachers knew her, the students knew her, and she knew what she wanted for them. She wanted every opportunity for every kid. She was especially committed to helping young people who are struggling at school or disengaged from their schooling.

I want to send my love and my condolences to Peta's family and to her many, many loyal friends. To Rod Glover: we have all been so grateful for the deep love and beautiful, gentle care you gave our friend, your best friend. To Peta's parents, to her sisters and their families—to Bob and Jan, to Jodi and Penni—and to her nephew and nieces: it really has been an honour to get to know you all. I am so deeply sorry for your loss. When you meet Peta's family, you see their character, their love, their sense of humour, and it explains so much about Peta. To the friends that Peta made along the way: thank you for the fun and the depth of love that you have shown to this brilliant woman. I particularly loved hearing from her university friends at her birthday party. And to Peta's staff: your loyalty is beyond anything you would expect in a work colleague. I know you loved your boss, and she deserved it. To Peta's friends and family: you loved a magnificent woman, a magnificent Australian. I know that you are hurting and I know that you are proud of your wife, your daughter, your sister, your friend, your boss. You should be proud. Peta was kind, and she was tenacious. She was loving and she was passionate.

In one of her last speeches to parliament, Peta reflected on the great success of the Matildas this year. As an accomplished female athlete herself, she was thrilled to see the new national obsession that the World Cup brought. She told the parliament, about female athletes:

… we're skilled and we're tactical and we're strategic and we do jump high and run fast and throw hard and kick far, and it's interesting to watch.

Goodbye, Peta Murphy—a woman who was skilled, tactical and strategic; a woman who jumped high, ran fast and kicked far; and a woman who was always interesting to watch and to be around. We'll miss your laugh, your smile, your sense of right and wrong—we'll miss your enormous contribution. We'll miss you.

Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Community Safety, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to express my grief and sorrow at the devastating loss of a remarkable individual, the member Dunkley, Ms Peta Murphy. It seems quite bizarre that I was sitting just over there last week when Peta stood up and asked a question in parliament. I looked over and thought, 'She looks gravely ill.' But I also thought, 'Well, she can't actually be here if she's that sick.' Then I spoke to one of the Labor ministers and confirmed she was in a really bad way. The incredible character Peta showed just to be here in parliament was quite amazing, and she could've been anywhere else. She could've been at home and she could've been trying to enjoy life as best she could. But she showed dedication right to the end.

I know she wanted to deliver a report on breast cancer, but she couldn't quite get there. But, in saying that, she did actually get there. The reason I say that is that I was explaining to my little daughter, Jasmine, who's only nine, about Peta, about breast cancer and about how her grandmothers have both had it. I said, 'We just need to make sure as many women as possible, including your mum, get tests et cetera.' As we heard the Prime Minister and also the opposition leader say, how many lives has Peta saved by making women more aware of the need to go and get screened?

I extend my deepest condolences to Peta's husband, Rod, and to her parents, family members, friends and especially colleagues. It's a very emotional day, I see, for so many Labor members of parliament because they were obviously very close to Peta and they knew what she was going through every day. On what Tanya was saying just before, living with someone with cancer is a really tough time, and I know most people in this place probably have; I lived with my father. For Peta to come up here and bat on like nothing was happening was quite incredible. I thank the member for Gorton—Peta was his former chief of staff—and also the member for Gippsland for the speeches they made today. So many members of the government are really hurting. I know Peta's staff are here today and are hurting too. The member for Menzies said he was at committee hearing and saw blood coming out of Peta's nose, and she wiped it away like such is life. It's quite incredible that she just batted on right to the very end. Her legacy does live on, through the online gambling inquiry and just being a member of parliament who represented so many people, especially in her seat of Dunkley.

I must say we did try to win that seat back in 2022, and I went to the Shri Shiva Vishnu Indian temple down there. We had a very good candidate too, but I made a phone call to party headquarters afterwards and basically said, 'You're not going to win the seat.' She was really popular on the ground and in serving her community. I remember, when I was first elected, a former member of parliament said to me, 'The party wins it for you the first time around, and the second time you do it by yourself.' Peta had a swing to her of 3.5 per cent, and there was a big campaign launch by the Liberal party against Peta, but it was a waste of time because she was so highly regarded in the local community. And, if you look at her background prior to entering politics, Peta's professional career as a solicitor, a barrister and a senior public defender enabled her to understand the struggles of individuals at their lowest point. That's probably what made her such a great fighter. It was these experiences that ignited her passion for political office, compelling her to work tirelessly to break the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage and hardship. That is the perfect person you want as a member of parliament.

I remember one time I was on chamber duty and Peta stood up and made a passionate speech about kids' cancer and getting some support for a rare drug, and I'd had a similar experience many years ago. So basically I told her how you lobby a cabinet minister to get on your side. What I love about Peta is she was just soaking it all in: 'Okay, what I need to do and how do we need to go about it?' She was really keen to help others. I said: 'You're the sort of person who can make it happen. Just go in there because you're so passionate.'

To have two battles with breast cancer—when you saw Peta, you kind of just assumed that she was going to be here forever, because she had had cancer and she was surviving and in remission. But obviously that wasn't the case, and it's just such a sad thing to see somebody who is at the age of 50, in public life, a fantastic member of parliament, a fantastic leader for women and young girls all around the country sadly be taken away in her prime. It's one of those things where you think, 'You sometimes get the rough draw in life.' Again I thank Peta for what she did. Also again I say to all Labor Party colleagues: I know it's a really tough day at the office when something like this happens. From what I saw last week, I wasn't expecting to be here this week making this speech. Rest in peace.

Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I come with an Irish heritage, with a name like Kearney, and one thing we like to do when we lose someone we love is to tell stories about them. And with a name like Murphy, I think Peta Murphy might have had a touch of the Irish in her as well, so in fine tradition I would just like to tell some stories about the lovely Peta Murphy.

The first time she touched my life was way, way back—I think around 2006—when I was in need of a barrister. I was going through a very uneasy divorce—most divorces are uneasy—and I went to a friend of mine called Rob Stary, who is a solicitor, and he recommended this young gun who was really great, and she would help me out. And that was Peta Murphy. She looked so young, but at that time she was volunteering for Community Legal Centre, she had been a public defender, and was a team leader in the Law Reform Commission. She had already had this amazing career as a very young barrister. So she came to represent me in a very difficult case in the Magistrates' Court.

I have five sisters and three brothers. They all came to the Magistrates Court to support me—they and their partners and some friends; there was a cast of thousands there. I recall standing in the courtyard of the Magistrates' Court, when Peta was trying to talk to me and ascertain where we were going to go, and all of my family were all around in a circle, all shouting at Peta about what she should do and how she should run the case. Two of my family members are lawyers, I might add, so they of course knew more than her. Here is this tiny young woman looking at me, and eventually she put her hands in the air and just told everyone to shut up. Well, my family all looked at this woman, quite shocked. I will never forget it. But there they saw a very determined, feisty woman telling them to shut up, and they did.

They all moved away from me. Peta drew herself up and said to me, 'Right, now you and I are going to talk about this,' and we did. We went into that court, and Peta was amazing. Not only did she take on the entire Kearney clan, which is a big thing, I might tell you, but she ran a wonderful case for me. She was incredibly capable, and I must say that we had a very good outcome that day. When the magistrate came in to give his decision about the outcome, and it was positive for me, she again had to tell my family to be quiet, because they all cheered behind me, which I've since learned is something you do not do in a courtroom when the magistrate gives his decision. She turned around and, with her back to the magistrate, said to my family, 'Shh,' for the second time that day, and everybody was very quiet. But I'll never forget that, with her back to the judge, she gave my family the most beautiful smile. That smile is something I will never forget.

This is the story of a person who was absolutely determined and very comfortable in her own skin. She knew what she had to do, knew what her job was and just did it. This is the story of a person determined to make the world a better place. The next time I ran into Peta Murphy was maybe about eight to 10 years later, when I was at the ACTU. We were working with Labor, who was then in opposition, to develop antislavery laws, and, would you believe it, there was Peta Murphy helping to draft up these laws and talking about these things. She recognised me, came rushing up to me and talked a little bit about the case, but, more than that, she was just so excited at the prospect for running for Dunkley. She was so happy and really desperately wanted to win the seat. It wasn't to be, of course. But I knew that ultimately one day she would win, and of course she did.

I came across her again when she was working for the member for Gorton in his capacity as the shadow IR minister. She was amazing to work with. She had to deal with the trade union movement, which is not easy. As the minister said this morning, everybody in the trade union movement has an opinion. But she consulted and gave frank and fearless advice and feedback. She never backed away from a position once it was made and did it all with great aplomb. Again, this feisty young woman was able to tell everybody in the trade union movement pretty much how it was. At that time I also saw how sensitively and warmly she helped current minister O'Connor go through his own heartache of losing his beautiful and beloved wife, Jodi, to the same dreadful disease that has ultimately taken our Peta. I can only imagine how my good friend Brendan is feeling. My heart goes out to him, and I acknowledge the beautiful tribute he made this morning.

The next time I met Peta was in this place. There she was, a little older—not much older, still young—but still committed, still feisty and still absolutely whip smart, funny and sarcastic. In Peta, I quickly found an ally on many of the progressive issues that we fight for in this party. She was fearless, she did not suffer fools and she took no prisoners. But she was also able to be incredibly kind, empathetic and helpful. We've heard much about Peta in this House today, and I won't repeat all the wonderful things that she has achieved in her very short life. But I'm so incredibly privileged and grateful to have been able to work with her on many things, particularly on women's health. She would talk about anything, including menopause, heavy periods, reproductive healthcare, period poverty and, of course, cancer, particularly breast cancer.

We heard that she really wanted to come in last week to launch the report that she had worked so hard on with the wonderful people in the breast cancer advocacy world to make sure that people with metastatic breast cancer can be counted on a register. This was the culmination of years of hard work for her, but she didn't make it, in the very end, to the actual launch. I had the privilege of launching that report for her. So many of her Labor colleagues came as a sign of solidarity with her, and I thank all of them for being there. I know she would have been furious that she couldn't be there. There were lots of tears, and I texted her afterwards to say: 'Hey, Pete. There were tears because you weren't there. We missed you.' She texted back in a flash, and in typical style: 'There's no need for tears, Ged. This isn't about me. I had a bit of pain. I couldn't be there. Just get it done.' Peta, we will.

It's strange how people touch your life over time. Peta has come in and out of my life over the last 20-odd years, and at every touchpoint in my life with Peta Murphy she has been unforgettable. It's such a privilege to have had those times with her. They've made my life better and lots of other people's lives better. I'm honoured to say that I have worked with her, and it's so sad to think there'll be no more touchpoints. But we will remember her. We'll remember her in this place. We'll remember her in Dunkley. We'll remember that she was a force—an absolute force—that will not fade. She will be remembered, and her legacy is great. I give all my love to Rod as well as to her family and her staff. Vale Peta Murphy.

Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll start by saying what a privilege it is to stand here and speak to this condolence motion today and to acknowledge the very heartfelt words from colleagues from across all sides of politics and all parties here today in the chamber. It's a sensitive and emotional time for everyone, especially those close to Peta—the member for Jagajaga, the member for Cooper—but also those on our side, like the member for Berowra, who also gave a very fitting tribute.

The loss of Peta Jan Murphy, 1 November 1973 to 4 December 2023, is indeed a reminder to all of us of our mortality. For those of us who have been touched by cancer and lost a loved one, it is a reminder that we must make haste in this place, as the member for Forrest often talks about: don't waste a day of your time here. It is a time for all of us to reflect on what's important in our lives and also to create the best Australia we can, as Peta did in her work and the legacy that she left behind—to create the best version of Australia that we can have. And I applaud all the work Peta did, all the change she made for good during her time.

She was, like my mother, who also died from cancer, cut down in her prime. Peta was 50; my mother was 51, with stomach cancer. It was painful to watch Peta deteriorate over the last years. My condolences go to Rod and of course Peta's parents, her family, her extended family, her community, her friends, her Labor colleagues and the electorate of Dunkley, about which she was so passionate.

Peta and I came together to this place in the class of 2019. Many colleagues have spoken about how special the class of 2019 was, and that was also my experience. But as is sometimes the case in this place, you don't always get the opportunity to get to know members on the other side, even if their office is just across the hallway and every time the bells ring you find yourself in the hallways or stairwells together. So it wasn't until much later than 2019 that I got to know Peta, and that was through the opportunity that many colleagues have spoken about, including the member for Berowra, and I'm sure there'll be others—the McKinnon Institute for Political Leadership opportunity and the great work of Rod Glover, and many others, who put together that very important work to help develop newer politicians to be ready for those senior roles in government or in cabinet. I take the opportunity, as the member for Berowra did, to congratulate all those who worked for that course that we undertook and the learnings we took from that.

There were moments when I had time alone with Peta and Rod. I recall sitting in an airport with just the three of us. We had the opportunity to talk about our vision, our experiences, our hopes and our dreams for the country and for our electorate, but, mainly, Peta and I came to the conclusion we actually had a lot in common. We came to politics for the same reasons: to help others; to champion those who come from underprivileged backgrounds, as I did myself; and to try to hold up those less fortunate, and Peta was passionate about that. We discovered that we both went to public high schools, big public high schools, so we had a lot of similarities growing up.

Before that opportunity to speak with one another and to get to know one another, we really didn't have a connection, so it was very special to have those moments with Peta to understand who she really was. She was a woman of great strength, great courage, great intelligence and great tenacity. She had what we call 'chutzpah'. She wasn't backwards in coming forwards. She had a view, and it was a strong view, and she stuck to her guns. That was something that I admired about her. We shared a joint passion for empowering women and improving cancer research treatments for Australian women and, indeed, all Australians. That was something that we did discuss. But she really was passionate about her work. She was passionate about being the member for Dunkley. We owe it to Peta, every one of us here in this place, to continue the great work that she did.

Something that many of us, if not all of us, are passionate about protecting our children, and online gambling is one of those harms, as well as the dangers that our youngest and most precious Australians face online, where they are exposed to all manner of atrocities and things they simply shouldn't be looking at at their age. I know that it would've been very difficult for Peta and for Rod to accept Peta's inability to have children due to that treatment, which is the case for many hundreds of thousands of women around our country. Peta was open about talking about that. She was open and transparent about the good that she could deliver by just being her and sharing her journey.

To finish, I want to say that the last time I saw Peta, she was sitting where the bouquet of flowers is now last week. The member for Gippsland had delivered a very heartfelt speech, and I looked over at Peta and she had a tear. At that point, I wanted to get up out of my seat, walk over to Peta and put a hand on her shoulder. I didn't because she rose from her seat and left the chamber with a tear in her eye. That was the last time I saw her. That was probably the last time many of us saw her. There's a lesson in that. If you want to get up out of your chair and you want to walk over to someone and give them your support, that's something that all of us need to reflect on, that we can and should support one another.

She was strong, fierce, courageous, intelligent, empathetic and, indeed, unique. She never gave up on her personal fight, her parliamentary fight and the fight for the people of Dunkley. Vale, Peta Murphy.

Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a sad week for this place as we farewell one of our own. Peta Murphy, the member for Dunkley, has been taken from us, from this earth, much too soon, but her legacy will live on. I would like to commend the speakers before me—and no doubt those who will speak after me—who knew Peta even better than I did on some of the tales they have shared and the insights into Peta's personality and the work they have done together, not just on my side of politics but across the chamber. That is a true testament to her and her work and also to the oft disregarded or overlooked shared humanity for all of us in this place.

Peta Murphy, as I knew her, was an absolute champion—and not just a champion at squash. She was a champion of ordinary people, making sure that everyone could have a better future. Peta was also an intellect. She was a great lawyer and a brilliant policy mind. I first got to know her when I was new to this place, and she was working as an advisor to the member for Gorton. I had the great honour of being able to spar with her on policy matters, to tease out amendments to legislation that we wanted to see changed in the law. I got to know her then, but then I had the honour of serving with her in this place as part of our Labor caucus.

Nobody could have ever doubted that her heart was in exactly the right place. She was passionately determined to get good results in everything that she did. That passion never wavered with her diagnosis. If anything, it only made her more driven. As many have noted, you only had to look to the last week when she made the trip up here to Canberra to launch the Breast Cancer Network of Australia's report Time to count people with metastatic breast cancer: a way forward. She made it to question time, and we saw her ask a question in the last week. If anything, it was almost a subterfuge to how she was feeling—that she was able to ask that question and participate in the parliamentary processes. But she didn't make it to being able to be part of launching that report. Of course, as she would say, that wasn't the important part. The work that she did going into that and also making sure the report was out—that was the important part. It represents a road map on how Australia can collect and report cancer stage and recurrence data. She saw the importance of that—to make sure that people living with the disease know that they're seen, that they are heard and that they are counted. Without that visibility, we can't plan to adequately meet their healthcare needs. In being involved with that, Peta was making a difference—not for her; she was making a difference and thinking of others right up until the very end.

When many people would've been looking inward, she was still fighting for what she believed in. As Peta said in her first speech, her diagnosis was 'the reminder that life can be fragile, and we'd better make the most of it.' And that's exactly what she did. Whether it was in an office, in a meeting, in this House, on the squash court or as we sweated through Zoom exercise classes hosted by the member for Macnamara during COVID lockdown from our respective houses and front yards, Peta brought a grin, a sense of humour to everything she did. She had almost an infectious smile, I'd say. She brought humanity to everything she did, and she was never backwards in coming forwards in any way. You always knew what she thought, and we all benefited from knowing what she thought.

In Peta's first speech she told the story of being asked to imagine what, at the end of her parliamentary career, she would like to be able to look back on and say she was proud to have been a part of. I think with everything that she's been a part of she has been able to set out what she tried to do and so she should absolutely be proud. She fought for her community. She fought for our country and everyone in it. She played a key role in reforming national systems and institutions, and that's a mission that we all share. But I know there was so much more that she wanted to do as well.

She will be sorely missed. I do want to pass on my deepest condolences to Peta's loved ones—to Rod, Bob, Jan, Jodi and Penni, to Bert and Ernie—and to all of those who've had the privilege of knowing her. I think we can all agree that we are better people for the influence that Peta has had on all of us. Vale Peta.

Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Though none of us wish we were here for this occasion today, it is a privilege to speak in honour of our Peta. I say 'our' as, although she was a proud member of the Labor family, she was also loved by so many from all sides in this place. Listening to the condolence motions so far, I think Peta would be a little bit chuffed, very embarrassed at all the fuss and probably also wanting to desperately chime in to correct a few things we might not have got right.

How apt it is that Peta was the first woman elected to represent the electorate of Dunkley, named after Louisa Dunkley, a strong woman, a feminist, who fought fiercely for equal pay and led a life committed to making her community and her country a better place for all—values embodied by Peta.

As a fellow member of the class of 2019, I came to know Peta in our early days here as we learnt to navigate this strange new normal. As I sat and listened to her first speech, on 24 July 2019, I knew our parliament had seen the arrival of a woman who was fierce, frank, a fighter who radiated warmth and friendliness. As I came to know her, all these attributes shone through, as did her sassy sense of humour. When things could become a little tough—as they do around here, at times—she never failed to reach out to encourage me and make me smile, and I hope I did the same for her.

Last year, Peta asked me to join her as co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Women's Health, a position she tackled with gusto, ensuring the challenges that women faced across a range of health issues did not stay hidden and giving a voice to patients, health professionals and advocates in the halls of parliament. Peta would lead these events with her typical candour, and a dose of wit and sarcasm when needed, always making those around her feel comfortable in sharing some very personal stories. Peta, I promise I will try to keep your work going.

This year, I've also had the privilege of getting to know Peta's beloved husband, Professor Rod Glover, through my involvement in the McKinnon Advanced Political Leadership course. It was clear to me that Rod and Peta were a great match for each other, and I have to think there must have been some magnificent debates between the two of them in their more than 20 years together. My deepest love and condolences to Rod on the loss of his partner.

Reading social media comments is never a place MPs willingly wade into, but yesterday I was reading the outpouring of love shared on Peta's Facebook page after her passing was announced. Unsurprisingly, it was full of love, praise and wonderful tributes to a woman who, through a long career that spanned law, public service and federal politics, clearly connected with so many from across all walks of life. Peta was absolutely in this job for the right reasons, and I hope she was proud of the legacy that she created.

I'd like to read out a message from the Women's Spirit Project, an organisation that Peta referenced in her first speech, a cause that was clearly dear to her. In part, it read:

It has been an absolute honour to know you and to have your incredible support. With heartful admiration for you and all you have done. You will be dearly missed …

My deepest condolences to Peta's mum and dad, Bob and Jan, and to her sisters, Jodi and Penni, extended family and friends. I'd also like to express my deepest sympathies and appreciation to her staff. In a job like this, with so many hours spent in parliament and on the road, our staff become like family, and I know that you're also feeling the pain and loss of losing Peta. My love to you all.

Go gently, now, Peta. Your legacy is immense. Politics and democracy has been strengthened by the example you set every day that you served, and you'll always be the strongest girl in the world. We'll miss you very much.

Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bass for her beautiful remarks.

Today we farewell, truly, one of the absolute best of us. She was a fierce and funny campaigner for social justice, a public schoolgirl from Wagga, a warm and loving friend, colleague and family member. Peta Murphy was driven to give voice to the voiceless—to advocate for justice on behalf of those who needed it most.

As a local member, she was absolutely unparalleled. She loved her community of Frankston, and campaigned so strongly for them in the community and in this building. As a squash champion, as in most things, she ran rings around her competition and her colleagues, but always with humour and with humility. As a member of the Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport, she brought her sharp intellect, her warm heart and her deep and personal lived experience. As a solicitor, barrister and public defender, Peta had seen firsthand the corrosive affect that intergenerational disadvantage has on people, families and communities.

Health is at the heart of that. Peta knew how hard it is to get an education, or to hold down a job or care for your kids and your community when you're also battling ill-health. In her first speech in this chamber, she said, with trademark honesty:

…cancer sucks… I am neither unique nor alone in the fight that I am about to take on…but I am someone who has a platform that can be used to benefit others.

Peta spoke those words as the new member for Dunkley, having found out just two weeks prior that her cancer, that sneaky and indiscriminate foe, had come back.

As health minister, I know I dearly valued her advice and guidance, particularly as we worked to develop and then launch the Australian Cancer Plan last month. That advice and guidance came from a place of wisdom, a wisdom that sprang from her lived experience, her strong networks and her fierce advocacy for Breast Cancer Network Australia.

Peta was driven to use her platform to benefit others, right to the end, making the trip to Canberra last week, extraordinarily, to help launch a report for the Breast Cancer Network. The report was titled Time to count people with metastatic breast cancer—a way forward and it advocated for a national registry for metastatic cancer patients. Unfortunately, as we've heard on a number of occasions today, she was too unwell to actually attend the launch.

Peta's battle reminds us that the cancer journey can be a complex roller-coaster. It's not the simple matter, as the statistics would sometimes lead you to believe, that you either survive five years or you don't. The reality—and Peta's reality was—is often very different. That complexity is what drove Peta and the BCNA to advocate for a registry that measures breast cancer diagnoses in much more granular detail. What stage was the cancer when it was diagnosed and, in particular, was it metastatic? Is it a recurrence or is it the first occasion of cancer? It's only with more complex data that we can have a complete picture and a more comprehensive response.

Peta desperately wanted to be at the announcement of that report. In her words, she wanted 'to be a voice for those who feel invisible and as if they don't count'. The responsibility now lies with us to be the voice that Peta can no longer be. Her advocacy on this issue, as with so many other issues, has been compelling because what, how and who we count counts. I know that's something I've been considering very deeply since the release of the report last week.

Peta was also such a strong advocate for cancer screening: self-screening and the formal cancer screening programs that have been run in this country for many years. I know that she was concerned about how screening rates had dropped off over COVID, here and around the world, and of the need to turn that around for all cancers, not just breast cancer.

Peta also recognised that a range of the supports that Australians diagnosed with breast cancer have available to them are not there for Australians diagnosed with other cancer types. She knew and said that they should be. It's why I asked Peta to be part of announcement in Sydney last month, when we announced the biggest investment in cancer nurses on record. This investment will see the McGrath Foundation take their extraordinary expertise, reputation and experience in breast cancer support and begin to share those benefits across other cancer types as well, recruiting 100 new all-cancer care nurses. Peta's health, unfortunately, was such that she couldn't make it up to Sydney to be at that event, but I know that she would dearly have loved to have been there, and I would have loved to have had her there.

For Peta, cancer was a reminder, as she said, that life can be fragile and that we'd better make the most of it. And, boy, did she ever. Today we are reminded that life can be fragile and that we'd better make the most of it. Her friends at the Breast Cancer Network put it best when they said: 'Our lives are forever enriched by the life, the voice and the tenacity of Peta Murphy.' We are all poorer for her loss. The Labor family is poorer for it. The government is poorer for it. The country is poorer for it. It's upon us now, her friends and her colleagues, to carry her example forward and to advocate for and on behalf of women with metastatic breast cancer and all the other Australians that Peta championed.

To her parents, Bob and Jan; her loving husband, Rod; her sisters, Jodi and Penni; and every single member of Peta's family: our hearts ache alongside yours. It's an awesome privilege and responsibility to be in this place, and I want to thank all of you for giving her to us for too short a time. To her staff, particularly, but also her friends and colleagues in this place and beyond: we are also all thinking of you. I hope you know that your friend, sibling, daughter, wife and colleague made an enormous difference with every single precious minute that she spent in this place and on this earth. Vale Peta Murphy.

Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the people of Nicholls I offer my condolences on the passing of Peta Murphy. I offer my condolences to her friends, her family and the whole parliament, but particularly to the Labor family for their loss. But it's really our loss as well, as a parliament and as a nation.

It's with some regret that I didn't get to know Peta Murphy as well as some people in this place have. But she was a person I admired greatly, and there are a few reasons for my admiration for Peta Murphy in particular. The first thing I noticed about her was her courage. It's been said before in this place: if any of us had had the same thing happen to us while sitting in this place, how would we have reacted? What would we have done? The member for Gippsland said that earlier. I don't know how I'd react. Peta Murphy had the courage to keep coming into this place, and being a conviction politician, as she was, she felt that her time spent in this life and in this place was so important that she kept turning up day after day in sitting weeks. As a new member of parliament, that's left an imprint on me. Thinking about the time we have in this place, it's not infinite, it is limited and you've got to make every day count for your constituents and for your beliefs—and that's something Peta Murphy did.

As I said, I didn't get to know Peta Murphy as well as I would have liked. I got to know her a bit through my friendship with the member for Gippsland, and his stories of them in New York together, and the great tribute the member for Gippsland gave about her last week—which, fortunately, she was here to listen to—and also his words today. The way that she behaved in this place impresses upon me that new politicians—and there's one over there who's a friend of mine, the member for Hawke. It's a very adversarial place, and we have our beliefs and we have differences and we can play it pretty hard in this place—and we should, because we're standing up for the people we believe in and the ideals we believe in, and sometimes they're not exactly aligned. The general public thinks that when we walk out of this place it continues on, and that maybe we're pushing and shoving in the hallways and that sort of thing. But the friendship particularly of the member for Gippsland and Peta Murphy is an indication that it doesn't have to be like that when good people are here. And it's not like that. That has not been my experience. It's a nice thing to say to the people in my constituency, when they see us having a crack at question time, 'No, it's not like that. We can have friendships across the aisle.' And so, if there's something that I will take out of the way that Peta Murphy conducted herself in this place, it will be to make sure that our generation of politicians—we'll call it the class of 2022; obviously, she was the class of 2019—continue that spirit, where we'll fight hard in this place—it's a willing, robust place—but the respect and the friendship outside will continue on. That's what will stay with me. I think she was just one of those people who exemplified that. Those words in her maiden speech saying, 'I want to leave democracy, and our Australian democracy, better than I found it'—I think how she conducted herself in that way, particularly, means that she did leave democracy better than she found it, and she has been an example for us.

It's a terrible thing, cancer. It's affected so many families in all of our constituencies. And a lot of people feel like they're going through it alone—how frightening it is, how scary it is. But people at home who are going through this, experiencing it, could look to this courageous woman who was going through it, saying, 'I'm still sitting in the parliament. I'm still talking about the fact that this is happening.' As the Prime Minister noted, Peta said, 'I'll be photographed at the tennis so people can see what this is doing to me. I've got the courage to do that so people can see and they don't feel alone, and they don't feel like they're the only people going through it.'

So, again, heartfelt condolences to all in this place but particularly to the Labor family on your loss of the sort of person that you want to be a politician—a conviction politician, someone with humour, someone with humility, someone who is a straight talker. She'll be greatly missed. Vale, Peta Murphy.

Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Look, Pete, no notes! It's a personal joke. It's an intimate joke. But it's a joke about this chamber and it's a joke about the person that we are celebrating today, and her incredible capacity on joining what we fondly call 'Club Fed' in the Labor Party, and leaving an imprint in the first weeks of her being here.

When Pete joined the FPLP and joined the House of Representatives, she walked through the door like we all do. She came through the door as a local member; she came through the door, as all of us on this side do, as a Labor member; and she came through the door as a member of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia as a parliamentarian. The piece of advice I was given when I was first elected was that I needed to make sure that I hit that 33-33-33. Thirty-three per cent of your work is about your community, 33 per cent of your work is within the party and 33 per cent of your work is as a parliamentarian. I've always aspired to try and live that. Peta Murphy did live that every day.

In my contribution today I want to talk about Peta Murphy the local member, because the people of Dunkley sent her here, and what a warrior for them they found. When Pete and I talked, it was often outer suburbs to outer suburbs, the girl from Werribee talking to the girl from Frankston, previously from Wagga—I think you get the drift. We had a bit in common about the core of the communities that we represented, and the history of that. And it oozed from Peta—her love for that community, her love for that place: her love for Frankston, her love for the people of Dunkley she represented here. It was referenced earlier by the member for Berowra: if you haven't checked her Instagram feed, as the saying goes, 'Do yourself a favour.' If you're a member of parliament, do yourself a big favour and go and see how hard a local member works in their community when they know that every minute counts. Peta exemplified that local member.

The memories I will take of Pete in this place include her flying—soaring—in a 90-second statement three months into her first term—absolutely soaring from the back rows on that side in opposition, and stopping this parliament dead. No-notes Pete. She could do it with one idea and passion, and that's what made her such a powerful advocate in everything she did. It was because she spoke from the core of herself, from the core of her beliefs, and that drove her. The core of her beliefs was that her critical role was to improve the lives of the people of Dunkley. I know that they mourn with all of us today, and I know that because in every conversation, when given an amount of time—and in my role that amount of time might have been sneakily checking on Pete's welfare, sneakily shaping the conversation where I needed her to slow down a little bit or was concerned about her health—she would, as quickly as lightning, change the subject and tell the story about someone in Dunkley who was really doing it tough. She was so close to that community; she knew the people of Dunkley so intimately—their struggles, their accomplishments, their aspirations, the hurdles they were facing—and she brought them all to bear in this place. She brought them to bear with her Labor heart and with her fierceness that many people have spoken about.

I think about the number of times I was in committee meetings with her—not necessarily parliamentary committee meetings, as I had the privilege of chairing the internal Labor Party social policy committee. When Peta Murphy joined that committee, she made an impact in the first week. The impact wasn't because she made some solid speech. It wasn't about a massive piece of paper or a document she put on the table. It was because from her contributions everyone lifted their game. They were inspired to match Pete. She lifted our whole caucus. She lifted our aspirations. In the days of the pandemic, that was important. We were miles apart, states apart, on Zooms or telephones, talking about policy, the things that we would prioritise if we were to win government, and how to build back after the pandemic. Peta drove a lot of those conversations—online, on the phone, in committee meetings, privately on the phone after a committee meeting, debriefing, talking about how far we might take something, and at what point we needed to concede that we'd won something. And then we won government, and Pete made those same contributions from this side of the chamber. There was still the soaring rhetoric, but with the capacity to drill down, drop the eloquence and speak directly from her core. She could do both beautifully.

There are many Labor members who have paid tribute to her years of service. The member for Gorton put it so eloquently that I won't try to record her history in the Labor Party—no one could did it as well as he. As a member of the House of Representatives and as a parliamentarian, she also lifted us. She lifted us in this space when she saw an absolutely outrageous idea—she challenged it early, she challenged it hard, and she challenged it without looking over her shoulder or looking to see if everyone was following her. She had decided it was a bad idea and she would make it go away. Pete managed to do that more than once.

Her contributions to our policy development have been extraordinary, and only increased in government. We've heard testament today about her work in committees since we took government, and that has been extraordinary. And there was her work in her passion areas around breast cancer—around cancer—and also around the gaming industry. Again, when you talked to Peta about the report that was authored by the committee she chaired about the gaming industry, she would talk about the people she had met. She understood that storytelling, that narrative, is a way to change the world, and so she would tell you that.

In the last long conversation I had with Peta, she was telling me about a young man that had given evidence to her committee. He had signed up to the never-bet-again process. She said, 'He gave such strong evidence about how he knew it was the right thing to do but, even so, he wondered if he could actually press the button that meant he'd be blocked from gambling for life.' He went on and told his story to other people—how, once he pressed the button, he felt an absolute wave of relief that he had taken action to change his life. He became an advocate in the cause to assist other people changing their lives. Peta understood that his story would touch me, and that I could retell that story and it would touch someone else. She understood the power of narrative, as well as the power of legislation.

The other thing about Peta Murphy—everyone has talked about it, but I want to say something about it too—is that we did see her courage. It took great courage to make the commitment that she made, particularly in these last few months, to be here every day. But she did so, and she didn't see it as courageous; she saw it as doing her job, as living her promise and as doing the job for the people of Dunkley and for the people of Australia. She reminded us every day, in working beside her, that we need to make the most of every moment in this privileged place and of the privileged roles that we have.

She was also a person that inspired us to understand exactly what that meant. Even last week, when she was here, she asked a question in the House of Representatives last Tuesday and then left the chamber that day. In everything, in every ounce of who she was, she was giving to us. We know, on this side, that it meant great sacrifice. In that, I want to pay tribute to Rod; to her parents, Bob and Jan; to her sisters, Jodi and Penni; and to her nieces and nephew, because they shared with us their daughter, their sister and their partner for as long as she could give us and for as long as she could give the country. They supported her to make that choice and to make that commitment. I want to thank Rod, personally, for the way in this last week—across the weekend, in particular, and into Monday—that he kept the Labor family informed. That was an extraordinary thing for him to take the time to do, to think of us. And not just to think of us, as Peta's friends and colleagues, but to think of the country, because that's what Pete would have been thinking when she left the clear instructions that that was what Rod was to do, no doubt!

To know Peta was to love Peta; to listen to Peta was to learn about life, about people and about the way to change the world. If I think about coming into this place in 2013, I walked in with the class of 2013 to join some Labor legends in the federal parliament. Some of us were replacing Labor legends in the federal parliament, with big shoes to fill. And I can think about the class of 2019 coming in to join us—about the quality of the people that come to this place to represent their communities in the name of the Labor Party. I can think of no-one more inspiring than Peta Murphy. Vale, Peta, rest in peace.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise with all of my colleagues in this place to celebrate the life of Peta Jan Murphy, born on 1 November 1973 and deceased on 4 December 2023 at just 50 years of age. By all accounts, Peta had a pretty humble upbringing. She was born in Wagga Wagga, and she was a product of a public school upbringing. I give my condolences to her parents, Bob and Jan, and her sisters, Jodi and Penni.

I first met Peta when she walked into this place in 2019. She actually took the seat of a friend of mine Chris Crewther, which is always a fairly confronting thing, but that's what happens in this place. As you know, Deputy Speaker Claydon, I got to know her pretty well from our involvement with the Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee, which I chaired and you deputy chaired—this is her and I and not so much you and I, Deputy Speaker Claydon, just for clarification. Lest we think we're getting all sentimental here. Peta and I established quite a strong rapport as two barristers. I respected her intellect. I respected her hard work. I respected her wit. I also respected the fact that you were never left wanting where you stood with Peta. She was always very clear about her views on things, and that's as it should be. That was one of her great attributes. As the minister for skills said this morning in his fine speech, you always knew where you stood with Peta.

Some of the seminal work that we did on the Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee was in relation to age verification for online pornography and online gambling and the work that we did together for family, sexual and domestic violence were, I think, two of the best reports we've done in this place and that I've been involved with in this place. I learned that Peta, in that process, was a fierce advocate for her community and her beliefs. In my preparation for this speech—there's the old phrase, 'I respect my political opponent; I might think that she's politically misguided, but I respect her nonetheless'—I read her forward to the report, You win some, you lose more. Whilst we had many differences of opinion politically, deep down I think Peta and I shared a great many number of personal beliefs about, for instance, the damage that gambling does to our community.

I want to send a shout-out to her family, and, of course, to my Labor colleagues, who will most particularly be feeling the pain today, for the leadership that she gave as the chair of the Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee and for the work that she did in that role. It reminded me, in fact. I was only talking about Peta just last Friday to one of her constituents. I had a Zoom meeting with one of her constituents, whose name is Carolyn Crawford. She's the secretary of an organisation called GHLEE, or Gambling Harm Lived Experienced Experts. Carolyn shared with me her story, and she talked passionately about how much she loved Peta Murphy, her federal member. And I have permission from Carolyn to share her story. Carolyn was 64 when she was imprisoned for stealing from her employer so that she could feed her gambling habit. She paid all the money back and then became an advocate to counter gambling harm. She spoke so lovingly of her federal member. I'm not sure that too many people would say the same about me in Fisher. I hope they might; we live in hope! But it was really quite touching to see her love for her own federal member.

In her report, whilst there is a committee behind her, her words jumped out from the page to me—that those words, particularly in the foreword, were Peta's words. But she spoke about the dangers and the harms to millions of Australians who have a gambling problem. She spoke about how Australians are the biggest losers in the world when it comes to online gambling—impacting upon their work, their families, their relationships and, of course, their finances.

In the report, in her foreword, she spoke about the bipartisan nature of that committee, which reached 31 recommendations. The most important, in my view, of those recommendations was to recommend to government to implement a three-year phase-in of a total ban of gambling advertising. This is something that I aspire to and something that I think would be a wonderful legacy on the part of this government to remember and recognise Peta Murphy, the member for Dunkley—the former member for Dunkley. That was, in my view, the greatest recommendation out of that report. Peta's legacy will live on in Australian society forever, to the betterment of millions of Australians, if the government were to accept that recommendation and, ultimately, if the parliament were to accept that recommendation.

She spoke passionately about how our children no longer can differentiate between sport and gambling—how the gambling companies have just leached into our society, leached into sport, such that kids no longer talk about who kicked a goal on Sunday, and wasn't that great; it's all about the odds now. When I talk to kids about sport, there doesn't seem to be that differentiation anymore, and Peta recognised that.

I really want to encourage the government; I really want to encourage you, Deputy Speaker Claydon, because I know that you have a lot of sway in your party room—that, if this government wants to honour the member for Dunkley, there is no greater way to do that than by implementing what I regard to be the most important recommendation out of that report. Call it 'Murphy's law'. I know that word has been used before! But I think that would be a really fitting tribute to her. And, as I said, millions of Australians would lead a better, more fulfilling life by not being hooked on gambling, if the government picks up on Peta's recommendation.

I do want to send a shout-out to my McKinnon Institute colleagues. There have been many messages flying around in the class of '22 group. Peta and I, and other colleagues from around the country, took part in the McKinnon Institute for Political Leadership program last year, where, once again, Peta showed that her true colours in this place are not that she was a politician but that she was a parliamentarian—and there is a very big difference.

When Peta walked through those doors in 2019, it was very clear to me where her priorities lay. She wasn't coming in here to climb the greasy pole; she was coming in—albeit at the expense of one of my friends—to look after the people of Dunkley, to be a parliamentarian in the true sense of the word. I think that that is something that we can all take a leaf out of her book on.

To her husband, Rod, who's one of the coordinators of the McKinnon Institute program, the class of '22 are feeling your pain. We are so sad and so sorry for your loss. I also send out our best wishes to Rod and Peta's family and to our Labor colleagues in their hour of loss. I simply say: vale, Peta Murphy. Rest in peace.

Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

():  Peta Murphy was larger than life. She was not afraid to speak out on the things she believed in. She was brave and tenacious, fierce and funny and often mischievous, with a sharp wit that could cut through an argument with a few well-chosen words—words she would fire across this chamber during a heated MPI or a fierce debate.

Peta absolutely relished her job as the federal member for Dunkley. It wasn't just a job for her. It was her entire life, one she shared so passionately with her husband, Rod. I send my heartfelt condolences to: Rod; Peta's parents, Bob and Jan; her sisters, Jodi and Penni; and all Peta's staff, who have been with us here today.

It is not easy to say goodbye to someone who's star shone so bright and was taken away too soon. Peta knew her time was precious. She threw everything into her life, achieving so much for someone so young. What I know is that Peta absolutely enjoyed her job. She was always fighting hard for her constituents and using her sharp intellect to drive meaningful change on human rights, online gaming, industrial relations and the empowerment of women—to name just a few of her passionate endeavours.

Together, Peta and I were part of the class of '19—elected to parliament in 2019. I would like to acknowledge the moving and heartfelt tributes from all of my colleagues. I'd like to particularly mention the moving speeches of the member for Gorton, Brendan O'Connor, and the member for Isaacs, Mark Dreyfus. You've had your own personal journeys, and I want to thank you for your words today. I'd also like to acknowledge the class of '19 who have spoken today: the member for Jagajaga, the member for Canberra, the member for Macnamara and the member for Swan. Your friendship and love for Peta is profound, and we will all miss her terribly.

I first met Peta in 2015, when we both stood as Victorian candidates in the 2016 election. She stood in Dunkley and I stood in Corangamite. We both experienced fierce campaigns, with many a nasty front page and brutal commentary. So it was always comforting to speak with Peta, get her sage advice and crack a joke together about the latest nasty tactics. Unfortunately for both of us, we lost at that election. Peta had run a brilliant campaign and had a substantial swing towards her. Shortly afterwards, we caught up for lunch to lick our wounds and look to the future. We talked about many things: her diagnosis with breast cancer at 37, her sadness at not being able to have children, her love of the law, and the people she had met on her campaign trail in Dunkley. I asked Peta if she was going to stand again. She was not sure, and neither was I. It had been a tough fight. It's hard to win from opposition. But, true to character, Peta did stand again, as did I. Once again, it was a fierce battle—one that, in 2019, we won. The party didn't win, but we did win.

When we came together that July to take part in our first class of '19 induction, I have a clear memory of Peta. She was absolutely joyous. Her smile was infectious. She was ready. She wanted to get stuck into it to make a difference, to stand up for justice and a fair go, and to act with purpose in the true Labor tradition. But, soon after this, Peta discovered that the cancer had returned—such shocking news. It would have defeated many, but not Peta. Her courage in the face of much pain and fatigue was amazing. She did not like to discuss it, so instead I would send her a text: thinking of you, hoping all is going well. And, without words, I would often give her a hug and a smile.

Peta was a fierce advocate for improving the lives of others and particularly improving the lives of those with breast cancer, only last week coming to Canberra with the intention of supporting the Breast Cancer Network Australia's call—a call for people with metastatic breast cancer to be consistently counted on cancer registries in order to better plan for health and supportive services. I hope that our government will take up this call. Sadly, Peta could not attend that event. But she did come to question time, and, in true tenacious and determined style, Peta asked a question, representing the people of Dunkley right until the end.

Today, it is hard to come to terms with the fact that Peta is no longer with us. Her star shone so bright. The world was a better place with Peta in it. It has been an honour to serve alongside my friend Peta Jan Murphy. She reminds all of us in this place why we are here. It is not the amount of time that we spend here that matters. It is what we do with our time that matters. We as MPs in this place are in a unique position to help others. Peta knew this and she made her time matter. Her legacy will live on. She touched, and will continue to touch, so many lives.

On behalf of my husband, Hugh, and I, and my staff, I send my heartfelt condolences to Rod and all the family. Farewell, my beautiful friend. May you rest in peace.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to join other members of the House in acknowledging the life and service of the late Peta Murphy and expressing my admiration for the way she conducted herself. I know there are many in this chamber who are very deeply impacted by Peta's death—people who worked with her closely, people who were personal friends of hers. I did not have the chance to spend a lot of time with Peta. She came into the parliament in 2019, at the start of a three-year term, where COVID, amongst other things, meant that we did not as parliamentarians spend as much time together as would ordinarily happen. Because of the range of responsibilities that I was engaged with, it was just in the natural order of things that I didn't get to spend a lot of time with Peta. But I did have some interactions with her and I was certainly able to observe the way she conducted herself. I had some dealings with Peta in the context of rail projects promised in the electorate of Dunkley at a time when I was Minister For Urban Infrastructure, and she spoke up for the interests of her electorate as a conscientious and diligent local MP.

The aspect of Peta's conduct and behaviour that made the biggest impression on me, however—like, I suspect, others in this place—was the way that she conducted herself once her cancer had returned and she was fighting that on a daily basis. I was enormously impressed by her dignity and determination in carrying on her work as a member of parliament, even as the disease continued to take its toll on her. I happened to run into her in the corridor two or three months ago and mentioned to her how much I admired the way she was dealing with the cancer that was causing her so much difficulty. She of course responded in a friendly and gracious manner, and I am pleased that I managed to have the opportunity to express that sentiment to her. I know that many others in this place, across the political spectrum, feel the same way and had the chance to say that to her. My sense is that she derived some strength from the knowledge that she was widely respected across the political spectrum.

The observation I'd like to make is that, when you come into this place, there is no instruction manual on how you spend your time. Everyone of us learns from experience and makes choices and judgements along the way. Some of those are good judgements; some of them are not always good judgements. Politics is a very messy and human process. But, in the brief time that Peta had in this place, she used her time wisely. She succeeded in focusing attention on the challenge faced by people who are suffering from cancer, be it breast cancer or one of the many other cancers that afflict so many Australians. She certainly did make an impact in that work and in the other work that she did, and my own observations, as I've mentioned, of her work on behalf of her electorate when it came to infrastructure projects are absolutely consistent with the recollections and observations that many other members have shared in this debate today.

I want to conclude by expressing my condolences to Peta's partner, Rod; her family; her friends; her supporters; and all who loved and admired her. I think we can certainly conclude that, although her life was cut short far too soon, she did what many of us aim to do, which is to live a meaningful life and make a worthwhile contribution. I hope that her family and friends will take some consolation in the knowledge that Peta has made the world a better place for the things that she did through her life and work.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I join the many fine words that have been spoken today on the sad, sad death of Peta Murphy. I don't know when I got to know Peta. I assume it was just travelling to and from Victoria. It might have been here. I think it probably happened because two country people just began chatting, passing the time, and began to be able to share experiences and share time together. And, I must say, from the moment I first got to know Peta, I was just struck by her honesty, by her openness, by the breadth of her smile and by her warmth. She was someone who, no matter what was going on, what was taking place and what had occurred in this place, you could always just have a friendly chat with about things.

The last time I did that was about three or four weeks ago, when we caught a plane together back from Canberra to Melbourne, and we sat and we chatted. We just chatted about various things: what had gone on that week, what her plans were for the next week and how things were going. It was the normal sort of conversation that you would have with someone, and she was so easy to strike up a conversation with. There were no pretensions, and there was no ego. She was just someone who was happy to be naturally herself. The thing that has struck me more than anything as I've seen Peta, especially over the last couple of years, is her extraordinary courage. I think the words we've heard today absolutely demonstrate that, beyond anything.

Last week we saw the very moving words by the member for Gippsland, which he had the great fortune to be able to deliver in person to Peta, looking her in the eyes. I think all of us here in this place now look back and wish that we could have had that opportunity. Can I say to the member for Gippsland, on behalf of all of us in this chamber, thank you for those fine words, because they were fine words indeed. The way that Peta took those words and understood those words and the smile that lit her face up from them showed her extraordinary courage, because she knew that death was coming. She knew that death was around the corner, yet the courageous way in which she turned up here, and the courageous way in which she accepted that the time was coming, was truly, truly remarkable. A lesson for all of us is that, even in the darkest hour, you can be a person of strength, you can be a person of conviction and you can still think not only of yourself but of others.

From hearing the stories today, it is not only that courage that has struck me—because it is just truly remarkable—but it's her courage in other ways as well. That damn disease cancer, that evil disease cancer, also took away any opportunity her and her loving husband, Rod, would have to have children, yet, rather than be bitter about that, she had the real courage to put all her passion and love into other people's children. That, once again, shows an incredibly remarkable person, someone who not only doesn't let adversity get them down, doesn't let adversity make them become bitter and doesn't let adversity make them become twisted but, rather, tries to see the good out of the card that they've been dealt. That, once again, is truly, truly courageous.

We saw other instances of it as well, and one of the things that will always stick with me was her interrogation of a CEO—I think it was Sportsbet's—in that Senate inquiry. I'm someone who will openly confess that I like a bet. But, I must say, one of the things that I find very disappointing is when I hear stories about those who win, through genuine research and genuine work, yet these betting agencies, using the algorithms that they have and everything else, basically shut them down. Really, all they want to be doing is making sure they're taking the money from those that lose. Her questioning along these lines was an absolute delight to see because it went to the heart of what is wrong with all of this online gambling and, especially, what is wrong with just using algorithms to try and make pure profit from some people and to stop others, who genuinely like the fun of the punt, from being able to be successful. I will hold that with me for the rest of my life and I still smile when I picture the vision of that questioning.

I say to the Prime Minister: we could see your emotion today and we can see how upset you are, and, to you and all your Labor party colleagues, I express my condolences because you have truly lost someone who, we've heard and seen, you all loved and who touched you, just as she touched many on this side. The reference to Pippi Longstocking was a really lovely one and really touching. I think it said so much about Peta.

To her husband, Rod, and to all the extended family and to her parents, I pass on my condolences. Fifty is far too young an age to die, and what we have to do now collectively as a parliament is to make sure that Peta's courage does not go to waste. We have to make sure that we honour her passing by making sure we can do everything we can to ensure that women don't have to suffer what she has suffered, and also to adhere to that message that she said to us males in this parliament: make sure you listen to your body and look after your health as well.

Peta will be dearly, dearly missed. She will leave a gaping whole in this parliament, and can I just add my condolences to everyone else's who has spoken in this place—to her family, to her loving husband, Rod. May she rest in peace.

Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Peta Murphy always asked why—often, I thought, inconveniently! Peta was always someone seeking to understand, so she asked the questions that others wouldn't. In this place, and in all the places in which she participated, she needed to get beyond the surface to the essence of a matter. When I've been thinking about Peta in these past difficult days, I've been thinking about this characteristic, which was one of the many ways in which she defined herself to me: someone who never rested until she got to the truth.

I want to start my remarks by speaking a little bit about what knowing Peta Murphy means to me and having had the privilege of working with her in this place and of knowing her for sometime prior to that—two lawyers from Victoria who came to represent seats in Melbourne in this parliament. But, of course, my knowing Peta is the smallest part. What I believe matters in this debate is to, in Australia's parliament, seek to recognise Peta on her terms and to highlight the impact she made on all of those around her, on her community and in public life. I hope, in this light, that the perspective I bring isn't a selfish one but one that might illuminate this a little further—add something to what's already been said so well by many.

I think of the powerful and emotional remarks of the Prime Minister starting this debate this morning. I think, amongst many other contributions, of the minister for skills, who knew Peta so well, and her dear friend—my dear friend—the member for Jagajaga too. Like them, like all of us, today I stand here overwhelmed by a sense of missing Peta. Her absence here is a gaping and, indeed, aching hole in this building—a place in which she really belonged; a place in which, as the Prime Minister said, she really should have had the opportunities to do so much more, because it is incredible to think of what Peta Murphy might have achieved, extraordinary indeed as her achievements have been to date.

But what I would say is this: what she did, everything that Peta did, and how she did it matters. All the things that Peta did in life she did well. She was exacting and demanding both of herself and of those of us who came into contact with her. And her contribution in public life really does speak to this, from the detailed policy work that many have spoken of to how she connected with and advocated for her constituents—something I saw firsthand in some of the communities that make up the Dunkley electorate, something I have experienced since becoming a minister and dealing with her representations.

I think, as everyone else has been doing in this debate, about Peta's courage. The thing that I really want to convey in reflecting on this is how she managed something quite extraordinary in that Peta was never defined by that insidious disease, but nonetheless was such a powerful advocate in respect of combating it. That is a very unusual combination, and a powerful one. She showed that courage at other times too. I'm disappointed—devastated too, I would say—that she was elected to this parliament in 2019 when I believe she should have been elected in 2016. The circumstances of that election and some of the things that she was subjected to in the media were awful. They were awful and they were things that would have held a lesser person back, but they did not hold her. And when she was elected, she showed no rancour ever, no sense of resentment for what had been denied her, only a determination to make every moment count.

And in that I think too about how effectively she worked with her colleagues, and I'm incredibly privileged to have been one—not just her Labor colleagues but across the chamber as a true parliamentarian rather than someone who saw herself as a politician. And far more than anything I can say, the conduct of this entire debate is a testament to that: the words which have been spoken, the words which will be spoken, and the depth of feeling behind them from so many devastated colleagues in mourning.

Others have spent some time setting out Peta's achievements, her achievements in work before she came here, in this place and her achievements in life too. I won't repeat them, but I will instead say this: Peta, I'm so much the better for knowing you and, I hope, too, that I am better at doing my job. I know, too, that we are all, all of us in this place, better with this awful, powerful reminder not to waste a moment as, to be honest, we all too often do. All of us here, every day, have chances to make a difference, and these are chances that this week I've been reflecting more than ever can't be spurned. They can't be spurned if we are to honour her memory and her legacy. And, similarly, chances to tell the people around us who we love and who we admire that we love them and we admire them can't be spurned either.

I'm sure I'm not the only person in this place who wishes that they had made more of their last moments with Peta. I'm consumed with regret about this. I'm sure she would be rolling her eyes at hearing me say that, but I hope she does hear me say that because I wish that, over the course of our friendship, I could have been clearer about how much I looked up to her, about how every opportunity I had to sit in her office—sometimes with a cup of tea and sometimes with a gin and tonic—meant a lot to me and about how much I look to her example in how I go about my work and how I conduct myself. I didn't say these things, but I'm thinking about them now. I'm thinking about what an extraordinary person Peta was as a public person. I'm thinking how privileged I was to know her a little bit as a private person.

Lastly, I'm thinking about those most affected by this—those who don't sit in this chamber. I'm so glad the Prime Minister touched on Peta's staff. They've carried a burden for a time, and I hope they get all the support that they need right now. I hope they see that all of us here, all of us who know how important our staff are to us, are thinking of them and doing everything we can to support them in the coming days and months. I'm thinking about Peta's family: her parents, her sisters and their kids. I wish I had more to say than that you are in my thoughts and that I hope this debate provides some measure of comfort in these darkest hours. Lastly and most importantly, I'm thinking of Rod. Speaking for myself and for Jill too, in recent days we've been thinking about you. I know you are an extraordinary human being. I can only imagine the burden that you have been carrying. But I know, too, that you knew better than anyone what an extraordinary human being Peta Murphy is. Rest in peace, Peta.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Wagga Wagga in the 1980s and 1990s was a colossus of sporting greats and greatness. It remains so. The eighties and nineties were particularly special when it comes to sporting success. Kooringal High in that era became Wagga Wagga's largest school. Kooringal High bristled with sporting talent. The names on the school's honour board are amongst Wagga Wagga's finest sporting achievers. Know this: Kooringal High was the alma mater of rugby league legend Peter Sterling, first-class batsman Jason Young and many others, including cricketer Karen Bland and volleyballer Kate Glastonbury. Take a quick glance at Kooringal High's sporting honours board and one family name stands out amongst all others—Murphy. There's Penni Murphy, who features year after year for diving, and then there's Penni's elder sister Peta, whose name is etched in gold on the board in 1990 for softball and 1991 for squash.

Peta Murphy was named Kooringal High's sportsperson of the year in 1990 and again in 1991. Given the number of outstanding sports boys and girls attending a school with such a large student population, to win this prestigious award once, let alone twice, is extraordinary. But when it came to Peta Murphy, it's probably, as we've heard today in the Australian parliament and in recent days in tributes given right across the nation, not that surprising at all. You see, the late Peta Murphy was an extraordinary person. She was a sportswoman of immense talent, a women's rights advocate of fierce determination, a solicitor, a barrister and a senior public defender, who, in her own words in her inaugural speech in this place, 'represented the damaged and the difficult, victims and perpetrators, the blameless and the blameworthy'. A passionate politician and a loving wife, daughter, sister, family member—Peta was all of these and so much, much more.

It seems incongruous to be referring to Peta in the past tense, to even use the term 'late' ahead of her name. It is so unfair, so very, very unfair. One of this parliament's—indeed, this nation's—brightest lights has been extinguished. At 50 years young, Peta had so much more to live for, so much more to give, but cancer does not discriminate. Cancer has taken someone who, judging by the touching words afforded by parliamentarians today, was a person we all admired, all looked up to. I hope in life she knew just how much she was respected, just how much she was loved and just how much we all cared about her. I can well recall the wicked humour she had and the texts we'd swap during question time. This will be a memory I will live with the rest of my parliamentary days, moments I will cherish.

This framed photograph hangs proudly in the library at Kooringal High School. It shows a bright-eyed teenager, squash racquet in hand, ready to take on the world. Just look at her—a beautiful smile, such vitality, such beauty, such grace, such dignity. That was Peta. That was her as a schoolgirl, and we remember her as a woman, and we will do that always. I hope that present students are made aware of Peta's life and that those who will be educated at Kooringal High in the future will draw inspiration from that photograph—from who she was and what she did, particularly girls, because she was a role model. She is a role model and she will continue to be so.

This is a copy of Peta's 1990 Riverina region sporting blue, a certificate marking her reaching the highest level of play and sportsmanship in softball. Peta could play; she really could. Her name appears over and over and over again in Kooringal High's The Lake yearbook during her secondary schooling. It was usually for sport, but it wasn't just that. She excelled at school sport. Anyone can play in a school sports team—I did—but not everybody can achieve regional, state or national level. Peta did, and she was so very good.

In the 1991 yearbook, when she was in her final year, year 12, her profile lists her being known as 'pumpkin eater', 'Nudge', and 'pita bread'. Amongst the things she hated—and this just goes to show her selflessness, modesty and humility—it lists 'trying to think of things to write about myself'. That probably doesn't sum up a politician, but it does sum up Peta. It sums her up perfectly. She lived for others. She loved being there for others. It was never about her, never ever.

In her first speech, on 24 July 2019, Peta mentioned very early on: 'It's been quite a journey to this place for a public-school girl from Wagga.' Kooringal High is mourning Peta's passing. I spoke to both the principal, Helen Schmetzer, and one of her former teachers, Margot Brissenden, this morning. Mrs Schmetzer used to live opposite us, and Mrs Brissenden used to live next door to us. That's Wagga Wagga. It's a caring community, and Peta loved being from there. She loved being educated there. Mrs Schmetzer remembered fondly the way that people have spoken about Peta, and Margot said:

Peta was an amazing student of kooringal high school. Very sad news to hear.

Margot, who is having her own health struggles with cancer at the moment, remembered making Peta's year 10 formal dress in 1989. Margot and Peta's mother, Jan, coached gymnastics together.

Kooringal High posted on Facebook:

The Kooringal High School community was saddened this week to learn of the passing of Peta Murphy. Peta was a student at KHS from 1985-1991 and her name is synonymous with many sports during that time, particularly squash and softball. Peta went on to have a successful career as a barrister prior to entering parliament. At the time of her death, Peta was the Labor member for the Victorian seat of Dunkley. The KHS community sends our deepest condolences to her family and friends.

The Wagga Wagga Squash Club honoured Peta, as she and her father, Bob, were ex-Wagga Squashies:

Peta played as a Tolland Squash junior in the eighties. She was a great player and carried a passion for our sport right throughout her life, even addressing Parliament on the many virtues of our great game.

The club posted that on Facebook.

Interesting, too, was one of the comments on the Squash Australia Facebook page, from Julie Berry:

I remember Peta as a young girl from Wagga through Tolland Squash. She was a great squash player, incredibly intelligent and a lovely person. Gone far too young. Condolences to her family.

In 2019 Peta was one of 26 new MPs, and of those 26 she is in the top five for speeches given in this place—306 speeches, each and every one of them articulating her passion, her commitment and her dedication not just to her electorate but, indeed, to the country she loved. Chris Crewther, who beat her in the 2016 election but then lost to her in the 2019 election, who is now the state member for Mornington, passed on his condolences. He also mentioned her beloved pooches. I recall texting pictures of our dogs—we both had labradors. That was a special moment for me.

Saying 'the late' and then Peta's name leaves a lump in the throat for all of us; it just does. She has been taken too soon. Deepest condolences to her husband of 24 years, Rod Glover; her parents, Bob and Jan; her sisters, Jodi and Penni; and her legion of friends and fans—and she had many. To the ALP family: my heart goes out to each and every one of you—I know how special she was and will continue to be—and also to her staff. May the perpetual light shine upon her. May Peta Murphy rest in peace.

Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm really grateful for the opportunity to join the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition and say a few words about Peta Murphy, as so many have. I want to pay tribute to the member for Riverina, who has given a typically generous and beautiful speech about one of our colleagues. To those of you on the other side of politics: I feel deeply grateful to those of you that have taken the time to say something about Peta. We have to have moments in this chamber where things sit above politics, and this is one of them. I really appreciate people talking about how much she meant to all of us.

The member for Riverina talked about the Labor family—and we are a family. People outside of politics may not see this but politics is a completely all-consuming pursuit of your beliefs. It involves a level of heart and commitment that is very rare. For those of us in the Labor Party, we are a driven, idealistic, full of heart, sometimes dysfunctional but always striving to do better kind of family. Today we commemorate not just the loss of a colleague but the loss of a Labor sister—someone who fought in a battle that we believe in every day with us, and did it with such grit and steely determination. You could not find a person on any side of politics that showed the guts Peta Murphy showed in every aspect of her life.

I want to acknowledge her community around south-east Melbourne. I'm also a representative of south-east Melbourne. She represented an area around Frankston—a little bit further out than me. They have lost a very fierce advocate, the fiercest of advocates, for their local area. I extend my deepest sympathies to my friend Rod Glover. He and Peta shared a beautiful partnership and a beautiful marriage, and life is not going to be the same after this. I just want to say to you, Rod, how sorry I am. Our party has lost a sister. I have lost a friend. Peta Murphy was not just a member of our Labor family; she was the very essence of everything we stand for as a party.

I love the way Peta did politics. Whether we like it or not, I'm sure all of us can have moments when we admit that there's a bit of bulldust that surrounds our business and the things that go on in this chamber. Peta Murphy was the rawest and the realest of any of us. She had an unwavering dedication to justice in almost every step she took in her life. She was original and fearless. She had authenticity, passion and determination that was obvious to anyone who met her. You would watch Peta in her local community, and it was a beautiful thing. She really had that feeling that anyone could come and talk to her, and they did. You would walk down the main street of Frankston with her and people would come up to her constantly and check in about their problems and talk to her about their children and their mum who was struggling to get into aged care and all the other problems we deal with as members of parliament.

I think her mettle came from her personal experience—and we've heard a bit about her growing up in Wagga—but no doubt partly from the work she did as a criminal barrister, working for and defending Australians who came from some very, very hard knocks. She defended them truly and faithfully, and it takes a very special kind of person to be able to play that very important role in our justice system.

Coming to parliament, she brought all that grit and steel with her, and also a lot of fun and quick intellect, humour and smile that made working with her such a pleasure. And she achieved so much while she was here. We heard about the efforts she put into online gambling and trying to attack this awful practice which is so affecting the people she represents in this parliament. She of course did a lot of work on healthcare issues, and I want to talk a little bit about her battle with cancer in just a second.

But before I get to that, I will say that I think the enduring image for me and one that I don't think will ever leave my head is seeing Peta Murphy here in her final days of life—just to see her standing at that seat, so unwell, but coming in here in the last days of her life to represent her community. That is a level of commitment that so few people ever show in their lives, and she did it. And she stood up, so sick, to ask a question. I'm going to carry that image of her looking unwell but so powerful and standing in this very important chamber. It was an amazing thing to see.

Peta had a very personal battle with breast cancer, but it of course became a public crusade, with her second diagnosis occurring just days before she took her seat in this parliament in 2019. Breast cancer is a horrible disease. It is a horrible illness, and it takes the lives of thousands of Australian women every year. I want the many families around this country who are affected by this disease to know they had the most powerful advocate they could imagine in this chamber fighting for their rights to get proper resourcing, proper care, proper attention to this important national health problem. Peta fought for recognition and she fought to not be seen as a victim. She was so brave and strong in how she tackled this to the very last second.

Other speakers have talked about Peta's love for children, and I certainly felt that very personally. I've had three babies come with me to Canberra in that first year of their lives, and Peta's one of the enduring faces I can bring to mind—making those clown faces and getting my little babies smiling and laughing in the chamber. It's an incredibly loving thing for anyone to do, but I think that for someone who couldn't have their own children it takes a particularly big heart, and I really found that extraordinary. It was beautiful, they way she cared for our kids.

To Peta's loved ones and to everyone who had the privilege of knowing her, I just want to talk about this grit that she showed in those final days, coming back to parliament again. Politics requires a kind of grinding courage and determination. The only way to get anything done in this chamber, in this parliament, is just to get out of bed every day and fight and fight and fight. And Peta did that. She did that every day that she was a member of parliament. That's why, even in the very short time she was here as a member of parliament, she achieved so much. She was a remarkable person—a truly remarkable person. She was a dedicated public servant, she was a beloved family member, she was a cherished friend and she was our Labor sister. Vale, Peta. My greatest of sympathies to her family and to the Frankston community, who are going to miss her so very much.

Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a tragic day for all of us, but none more than for Peta's family. So I'd like to start by particularly acknowledging her husband, Rod; parents, Bob and Jan; sisters, Jodi and Penni; nieces; nephew; and friends who loved her. My heart goes out to them today. I hope they can find some comfort and solace in the many wonderful stories they're hearing in the debate on today's motion. I also want to particularly acknowledge the pain of my parliamentary colleagues, her broader ALP family, her staff and her constituents.

It is a loss to all them. It has been an education and a privilege to listen today to the words in the House commemorating the life of Peta Murphy, the member for Dunkley. One of my favourite bits of being an MP is bringing together primary school students from some of the different schools in Wentworth and discussing leadership with them. I always ask them what are the qualities they think are important in a leader, and I'm always impressed with the results. There is a lot of wisdom in years 5 and 6. Consistently, they talk about five key qualities: determination, kindness, fairness, humility and courage. The tributes today have highlighted how Peta Murphy had all of those qualities. The primary students of Wentworth would recognise her as one of their own, one of the good ones.

Many in this House have acknowledged what she achieved as a staffer, a lawyer, a local member and a parliamentarian. I particularly want to pay tribute to her in two areas from her work in this place: her advocacy for women's health and on gambling reform. As has been quoted in many speeches today, Peta said in her first speech that she was 'neither unique nor alone' in her experience of cancer. But it is how she stepped above the pain of her own personal experience, how she used it as a fuel for the fire to make a difference to people like her across the country, that has inspired so many of us.

Her work as the chair of the social policy committee and the author of the report You win some, you lose more was inspiring, equally. She brought broad recommendations to truly address the social harm inflicted on so many in this country by gambling. She took on vested interests, worked with some of our most vulnerable community members and, with curiosity, open-mindedness and a deep sense of fairness, brought to parliament inspiring recommendations. I think it must be the legacy of this parliament and a responsibility of all of us to take up the mantle, to take up the challenge that she laid down to us when she was sick, and implement those recommendations this term.

She had all those wonderful qualities the Wentworth kids like—determination, kindness, fairness, humility, and courage. But you shouldn't get the impression she was a killjoy. As so many have highlighted today, she was also fun, mischievous, and hilarious. In my family, one of the greatest insults you can make is accusing another one of the family of taking themselves too seriously. No-one could accuse Peta of that. In a memorable moment for me, I expressed my concern to her after hearing her cancer diagnosis. She looked at me quizzically with raised eyebrows like, 'What's the big deal?' and proceeded to change the subject. She was more interested in making a difference than reflecting on her own challenges.

I didn't know her well, but I have been inspired by her actions, her words and her example; by her desire to rise above the general grubbiness of politics so often, to play the ball not the person; and by the words of her maiden speech:

This parliament is the cauldron of Australia's national conversation, and politicians are not just participants in it; we are its custodians, and we must do better.

We must do better.

Even in her death, I think she is strengthening our democracy and our parliament. There is real grief in this place today, across the parliament, not just in the Labor Party. In that grief, I think we have done three things. We have reflected on character—on her character in particular and what we can learn from her example. We have reflected on her achievements, what it means to serve here, and what we must passionately seek to change, as she passionately sought to change things. We have listened to each other, across the parliament, and I think we've been surprised by the stories, shared experiences and common feeling. I believe we have come close to each other in our humanity and in our grief. I hope we take all these lessons forward and, in doing so, become better leaders and really honour her legacy. On that note, I would like to finish with a poem by John Donne, one which speaks to our shared humanity and the grief that we're all feeling:

No man is an island,

Entire of itself;

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less,

As well as if a promontory were:

As well as if a manor of thy friend's

Or of thine own were.

Any man's death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind,

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

It tolls for thee.

Vale, Peta Murphy.

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In Arabic and Egyptian culture, one of the ways that we express condolences after someone passes is to say 'El Baa'i fi Hayatak'. Roughly translated, it means, 'May the remainder of the deceased's life be lived in your life.' I've always struggled to explain this phrase to some of my non-Arabic speaking friends, partly because a lot of it gets lost in translation but mostly because there are some lives that are just so huge, some lights that shine so brightly, some lives that are so inspiring and just so worthy that it is impossible to fathom that any single person could carry that light through their own life and do it justice. Peta Murphy's was one of those lives.

There's been a lot said today, from both sides of the House, which I think is testimony to the person that Peta was. But there are many things that have not been said. There are some things that I want to say but never got a chance to tell Peta when she was alive—the things that are left unsaid. I don't want to leave these things unsaid, so I'm going to say them now.

I often watched Peta from afar. She didn't know that. She didn't know that I watched her, but Peta made it look so easy to be yourself. I know it's not the easiest thing. I know, for all of us here, it's not the easiest thing, but she made it look easy. I'd often watch Peta and think to myself, 'If I was more like her in my younger life, perhaps I wouldn't have gone through some of the things that I've gone through.' But I know we can't rewind our lives. So, instead, I used to think about how, if I had a daughter, I'd want her to be like Peta. I'd want her to be fearless—unapologetically fearless—feisty and smart. I'd want her to be unwavering in her conviction. I'd want her to believe in something and I'd want her to stand for those less fortunate. I'd want her to have Peta's grace under pressure and I'd want her to have Peta's resilience.

But I don't have a daughter and I didn't take the chance to tell Peta these things when she was alive. So, instead, I will try to be like Peta, and may we all live the remainder of our lives the way that Peta lived hers. Rest in peace.

Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In May this year, the Labor parliamentary Left Right Out band got a new member; Peta Murphy joined for the Wiggles' performance in this place. I snapped photos of that performance, Peta with a huge smile, banging away on the xylophone. She confessed to me afterwards that she didn't really know what notes she was playing, but she didn't care and neither did we. That typified what I saw in Peta from the day she arrived here: full of energy, fiercely independent in her thinking, and in a hurry to make a difference. She was also the first to take the mickey out of herself and, to be fair, out of those opposite, too—very effectively.

I saw Peta embrace opportunities here, making the most of the unpredictability of this place, and operating with a determination to simply make the most of each moment, all the while managing cancer treatment and the pain and exhaustion that no doubt went with it, doing so without complaint. She never gave up on fighting for the issues that were important for her, from women's health to gambling reform to women's economic independence, and I think that we will all call on her words as we continue to advocate on issues like breast cancer, which Peta never stopped tenaciously fighting for.

Peta was inspiring to listen to when she took to the floor in parliament. Her speech in 2020 on the previous government's plan for women fleeing domestic violence to use their own superannuation, rather than be provided with any additional federal government support, is one that shows how she could cut through to the heart of an issue in just 90 seconds. It was also really clear, from her 90-seconders and all the constituency statements she made, that she clearly love the electorate of Dunkley. Her passion absolutely shone through. I let Peta know that I was visiting a neighbouring MP not that long ago, and Peta texted me saying: 'Why are you going there? Do you want to stay with me?' I could hear her saying it as the words were popping up on my phone. It was such a tangible example of her belief that Dunkley was the centre of the universe, and Frankston in particular. She had such generosity of spirit, in spite of all her own challenges.

Peta's persuasive powers when speaking on this floor were such that I confess even I was tempted to pick up the squash racket again—just briefly, unfortunately. I know that I would have been on a hiding to nothing against her and her gold-medal achievements. With me, Peta referred very rarely in conversation to being unwell, and that has been remarked on similarly by many of us here on both sides today. Her death this week was a particular shock to me as I was absent from the last week in parliament and had been texting her the week before about typically matter-of-fact details—asking her advice about whether she had been at the United Nations during cold weather, which is what I was about to do. For the record, I took her final fashion advice, which was, ultimately, one word: layers.

I loved conversations with Peta because of her sharp intellect, her quick wit and her blunt words. I knew we could have a really frank and very efficient conversation, unless it was about dogs. It would rarely be without her making a wry joke. The humour was always there. I'm sorry there weren't more of those conversations, but I've been really grateful to hear the people who were closest to her in this place share so many stories today, not just about her time here but also about things that she achieved beforehand.

Peta's community and this parliament have benefited from her commitment, her warmth, her attention, her courage and her energy, while her family—husband, Rod, parents Bob and Jan, and the rest of her very loving family—will have missed out on so much time with her. I thank them for letting us have her here, and her staff, who will be feeling this loss so deeply. I also thank the community of Dunkley for making such a good choice in sending her here to represent them. Her death leaves us very sad, but her contributions will endure, and I feel really lucky to have travelled in her orbit for the last few years. Vale, Peta Murphy.

Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like many people that have spoken today, I find it tough and sad to think that only last week Peta was sitting across from us, yelling out some good banter—and giving some free advice—with such a brave face. I went through baby-MP school with Peta in the class of 2019. As previous speakers have said, there is no real teaching of how to be an MP. You've kind of got to figure it out on your own. I remember not knowing where the toilets were, and there was really no-one there to help. Having Peta there, with her experience but also her cheeky little way and wit of giving a little bit of a jab to her opposition, was something that I kind of relished and liked. I just found Peta to be a good person.

We definitely disagreed on lots of things. I remember giving a speech about youth justice and the crimes that are happening in Townsville and my views on it, and as I looked over, I could see Peta staring at me in disbelief of my views. But she didn't heckle me. She wasn't upset with how I was thinking, and as soon as I finished my speech she came out and wanted to discuss it—not robustly at all; it was like a friend with a differing opinion. I said I disagreed with her, and that didn't matter. There were no issues and there was this kind of respect. Any time she spoke and said things that I didn't agree with, I would give her a little bit of a hard time afterwards and we would laugh and be friends, but on the opposite side. With any speech that I would give, I knew that when Peta was here she would actually be listening, because she cared—not just about her electorate, but about the nation, and she cared about how all of us in here represent.

It's extremely sad for Rod and Peta's family members, but also the Labor Party and her family there, to go from being next to your friend one day to now—her passing. I think it deeply affects everyone. Peta's personality—her laugh, her wit, her interjections but also her intelligence—will be greatly missed. It was always good to see Peta rise to her feet, especially for a 90-second statement, right towards the end, before question time, when everyone is in the chamber. She would deliver this awesome 90-seconder—sometimes laying the boot into us, but that's okay. She'd do it with such grace and style, and then right at the end she'd look over and she'd let you know that she was there. She was larger than life.

When I found out that her cancer had come back in 2019, Peta didn't want to talk about her. That wasn't her style. She wanted to talk about what she could do for others. She was a person of graciousness but also a person that cared about everyone else. I don't think I'd be as strong as she was through that whole time. I don't think I would be here, as unwell as she got, and still going to committee meetings, still asking questions, still giving speeches and still asking others about how they were. I don't know if I'm that strong.

I remember talking to Peta about my kids, and I thought it was quite fitting that when the Prime Minister was speaking this morning there was a child up in the visitors' area—in the viewing gallery—making a noise and being loud. Peta wouldn't want that child to be quiet. Peta would want that child to be loud, to laugh and to yell out, because her time in here focused on the future of this country, and that's what that child would represent.

When my kids are in here, they're a little bit like me: a bit loud and a bit of a ratbag sometimes! They run around and cause a bit of trouble. Peta would poke her tongue out at them, or pull her ears out or make funny faces, and she would come over and say hi. Outside the rough and tumble of question time, people get along in this place; she demonstrated that. She was a fantastic politician and parliamentarian who knew the time for the fight but who also knew the time when we were in here trying to do the right thing by our communities and by the nation. I liked that she would run across and talk to me and, when my kids were in here, talk to them. It showed her humility and who she was.

This place now has a big hole in its heart and we are worse off for her not now being here; but we are better off for her contributions in this place. To Rod, I acknowledge what he has been going through—and the tough times the family has been through. Both of them turned up to help others. The Advanced Political Leadership program at the McKinnon Institute is about having better politicians serving the nation at a better standard. For Rod to be there whilst Peta was unwell shows the sacrifices they both made in the service of this nation. My heart goes out to him and to the extended family. Like everyone else has said today, I think it will be a tough time for many, and for a long time, because Peta touched so many people.

Peta: on behalf of my family and everyone who you met from my neck of the woods, you will be missed and be loved for eternity. May you rest in peace.

Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a hard day. I thank members for their contributions today, but it has been really painful listening to them. It really hurts to be having this conversation today. I know that Peta would be saying, if she were watching this, just to stop having such a sook! But it's really all that I can manage today.

I haven't been able to let go of the idea over the last few days this is just so unfair. In a fair world we would be here listening to Peta talk about her time in this place in a valedictory speech as a long-time senior cabinet minister in a long-term Labor government like the Hawke and Keating governments that she so admired. Peta was the best of us in this place. She had a sharp and incisive policy mind, and she was a savvy political strategist and a fearsome campaigner. She was a fighter for the causes that she believed in and for the people that she represented. She was fierce, she was frank and she was funny, as so many of the contributions today have recognised.

She was in this place until the day before she went to hospital for the last time. Circumstances beyond her control meant that Peta had to do it the hard way, but she got on and did it anyway. She ended her remarkable first speech with that iconic quote from Pippi Longstocking:

… I'm the strongest girl in the world, remember that.

And, boy, she was! She fought and lost a marginal seat campaign, saddling up again three years later and fighting a marginal seat campaign and winning. She was diagnosed with metastatic cancer just two weeks before her swearing-in, and then she fought and won a marginal seat campaign again, with a bumper margin—a bumper endorsement from her community that they had made the right choice in choosing her to fight for them.

She was an outstanding local member of parliament. She knew everything and everyone; she was across everything. She seemed to be everywhere at once in her community. I don't know how she did it all. The rest of us in this place complain about how exhausting sitting weeks are and how wrecked we all feel on the Friday after a sitting. Three out of four Fridays, Peta would be on an IV for cancer treatment. I thought it was so unfair, but Peta described herself as lucky because the treatment that she was able to receive had gotten so much better in the last five to 10 years, and that people with metastatic breast cancer are now able to live longer and healthier lives.

I am thankful for every day we got with Peta in this place, but I still can't reckon with the fact that we are here having this condolence motion. I was never really able to process Peta's diagnosis—as many people in the chamber recognised, she didn't like talking about it. I understood what her diagnosis meant at an intellectual level. I knew it was treatable, but incurable; I knew what that meant, but it never felt real to me. I knew it, but something in me couldn't accept it. I felt, somehow, like the rules wouldn't apply to Peta: she was too exceptional. She was too strong, just too determined. I knew it, but something in me refused to accept it. And I regret that now, because the memories that we all have with Peta are so precious to us now. A lot of people have spoken here about Peta's kindness and generosity as a friend, and she had those things in spades. But here in this place, we have to record Peta's relentlessness and her viciousness on the squash court!

The member for Macquarie had better judgement than the member for Macnamara and me. I don't think you really could have known Peta until you played against her on the squash court. One year, for World Squash Day, Peta invited myself and the member for Macnamara down to the parliamentary courts for a few games. I knew that Peta was a gun player, but I still didn't quite know what we were getting ourselves into. By the end of the morning, the member for Macnamara and I—who fancied ourselves as athletes in the way that middle-aged men sometimes do—were both drenched in sweat and covered in bruises from all the times she repeatedly and sadistically sent us slamming into the walls of the court. I don't think she took more than a dozen steps herself on those courts during those games; she certainly didn't break a sweat. And she did it with a smile—the smile of an assassin who was very pleased with her work! I look forward to watching the squash at the Olympics and remembering Peta's face on that day.

I know that Rod will read these speeches one day. I'm so sorry, mate. Everyone in this building can see what a beautiful relationship Peta and Rod had. They were a genuine partnership—agreeing, disagreeing, getting to somewhere better by collaborating. I so admired their relationship. She'd often tell me, 'Rod thinks X,' or, 'Rod thinks Y,' sometimes with rolled eyes, sometimes with reflective, narrowed eyes and always with a deep well of passion and respect. It was something to envy.

Peta was exceptional to all of us but, as Peta said herself, many times, her circumstances were not exceptional. So many extraordinary women have had to confront the challenge that she faced. So many families, so many friendship groups and so many workplaces have had to confront the loss of someone that they love through this horrible, horrible illness. Indeed, 57 women will be told that they have breast cancer in Australia today—today and every day. In this regard, I want to acknowledge the work of Breast Cancer Network Australia and Peta's advocacy for them. BCNA works that to ensure that everyone diagnosed with breast cancer receives the very best care, treatment and support. Peta was fighting for the BCNA until the very end, supporting the launch of the BCNA report just last week, calling for those with metastatic breast cancer to be counted on registries to help improve outcomes. All of us in the House are wearing the BCNA pins today, and I encourage everyone in the community to support their work in every way that they can.

But I want to leave the House the way Peta would like it—with her own words. In her own remarkable first speech that she gave just a fortnight after receiving her diagnosis, Peta made a call for all of us in this place to be better, to think of ourselves as custodians for our democracy during our time in this place, and to seek to leave it in a better condition than we found it. I know that that is a watchword for the McKinnon leaders program that Peta was a participant in and Rod is fundamental to. I reflect on this often, and, as someone regarded so highly across the entire chamber, there would be no more fitting legacy of Peta's time in this place than for all of us to heed her words. So I finish with her words:

Recently I was asked to imagine what, at the end of my parliamentary career, I would like to be able to look back on and say I was proud to have been a part of—what I would like to have achieved … above all else, I would like to be able to say that I left Australian politics—Australian democracy—in better shape than when I joined it, that I was part of a generation of Australian politicians who worked to recover the public's faith in our democratic system and who strove to reharness politics as that vehicle for enlarging opportunities and enlarging our national imagination, and that we did so by rejecting politics based on fear and division, by refusing to see societal problems as weapons with which to wedge our political opponents and by choosing robust debates about ideas and solutions over personal attacks and petty judgements. It's what my community wants me to do. It's what Australians want all of us here to do. And, be in no doubt, it's what we have to do. At a time when less than half of all Australians are satisfied with the way democracy works and only one in five say they trust politicians, surely the alarm bells are ringing. There is too often a machismo about politics which mistakes aggressiveness for advocacy, which demands certainty and rejects reflection as weakness, and which is quick to judge and slow to forgive.

This parliament is the cauldron of Australia's national conversation, and politicians are not just participants in it; we are its custodians, and we must do better.

Vale, Peta Murphy.

Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise, as many others have in this place today, to pay my respects to the member for Dunkley, Peta Murphy. I first offer my deepest sympathies to Peta's husband, Rod, her immediately family, her friends, her Labor family, her colleagues, her staff and Peta's community of Dunkley. Peta has been taken from all of you—from all of us—far too early. There have been many outstanding tributes made to Peta today, and I particularly mention the speeches of the member for Gorton, the member for Jagajaga, the member for Gippsland, the member for Canberra and the member for Riverina.

Peta Murphy was an extraordinary woman, an immense intellect, a sparkling smile, a tireless advocate for social justice and one of the most courageous people I have ever met. Peta was a proud feminist, a warrior for women's equality, and it was entirely fitting that she was the first woman to represent Dunkley, the seat named after Louise Dunkley, a pioneering trade unionist woman, who is credited with achieving an equal pay provision in the Public Service Act of 1902.

Before entering politics, Peta had a very successful career as a lawyer, including at the bar, but felt that the best way she could continue to advocate for her commitment to her causes of social justice and equity, to reform national systems and institutions, was as a federal parliamentarian. She was extremely determined to pursue this path after unsuccessfully contesting the seat of Dunkley in 2016. She returned in 2019 and won the seat against the odds and against the margins.

She used her first speech in this place to speak about those issues that were most important to her. She said parliament is a place where ideas should be 'contested with passion'. She spoke about gender disparity, about the importance of educational opportunity to break the cycle of disadvantage and dysfunction, about the fact 'cancer really sucks'—and I will return to that. Mostly though, she spoke about her community of Dunkley. She was immersed in that community, and it was reflected in many of the 90-second and three-minute speeches she gave in this place. If she was not extolling the virtues of squash or recognising one of our national women's sporting teams or heckling us, she recognised her community.

Peta gave her first speech two weeks after being told that the breast cancer she had battled for many years had returned. She confirmed, 'Cancer really sucks'. She used her experience to speak as often as she could in this place about women's health. She issued press releases imploring women to check their breasts. In her first term she co-chaired the Parliamentary Friends of Women's Health, which she continued in this term with the member for Bass. Particularly, she wanted to raise awareness about metastatic breast cancer, advocating for better treatment, services and support. Even last week, when Peta was in this place and clearly very unwell, she travelled down here to advocate with Breast Cancer Network Australia for a national registry for metastatic cancer patients.

Too many patients of both cancer and other diseases try to fight the diseases alone and in silence. Peta did the opposite, announcing in her first speech that she was neither 'unique nor alone' in the fight she was about to take on. Cancer really sucks. And in this era and in the role that we have here, where far too much attention is put on women's appearances—our clothes, our make-up, our hair—Peta chose, through refusing to wear a wig or any other headgear, to make an impactful statement about the side-effects of cancer treatment. Cancer really sucks. In this place, where she made so many commanding speeches, this was, to my mind, probably her most powerful non-verbal speech.

I got to know Peta through her chairing of the social policy and legal affairs committee. Her leadership on the inquiry we completed into online gambling and the impacts of advertising, particularly on children, was inspirational. This showed both her legal and parliamentary skills at their best. Her probing of evidence, her inquisitorial abilities while remaining at all times highly professional as the chair and respectful of each witness: this ensured that we on that committee were able to produce a report that is intended to frame government policy on online gambling advertising into the future and for the betterment of Australians. Peta demonstrated, through her stewardship of that committee, her resolute determination to do what she could in the short term and in the short time she had in this place to improve lives for Australian women, children and families.

We often spoke, before and after committee meetings, around things that were happening in parliament and about issues relevant to the committee, and what we found, as we often do when we reach out to others across this chamber, was that we had quite a lot in common. We both have parents called Rob or Bob and Jan, we share a devotion to our dogs and we also often talked sport, especially women's sport. I didn't share Peta's intense passion for squash, nor her talent for squash; however, we often spoke about baseball and our shared devotion for softball. As lawyers, we often spoke about some of the bigger legal challenges facing us as a nation and how working together, across the chamber, within the committee, we could work to improve our country. We disagreed on issues, certainly; but we found overall that we agreed most of the time, and a lot more than we disagreed. Often in the Federation Chamber, she would be speaking on women's health issues and a lot of the time I would be as well. I will say this in terms of continuing her legacy: I think there are many of us in this place now that will continue to advocate for breast cancer and for all forms of women's health.

In her first speech, Peta stated she would like to leave 'Australian politics—Australian democracy—in better shape than when I joined it.' She did that and far more. Vale, Peta Murphy.

Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Each of us wishes that the parliament wasn't sitting today. Here we are in a time when everyone walking through this building has sorrow and loss in their hearts, this loss that our friend—and I think we have learned how many people Peta Murphy was a true friend to—will not be here again, that 'the strongest girl in the world' will not walk into this chamber. There's that reflection that you never know exactly what is happening in the lives of many of your colleagues. We had Peta in question time last week, and it felt like any other question time, but, now, reflecting on that question time we're shown what a strong and determined colleague we have lost.

If I can say to Professor Rod Glover; to her parents, Bob and Jan; to her family members Jodi and Penni, there's been a day of outpouring love and support. No words in this place will fill any of that whole, but hopefully what goes into Hansard today does something to amplify the causes and the purpose for which your family shared Peta with the Australian people.

I've been fortunate, this year in particular, to get to know Rod Glover better than I did previously. What always shone through was his absolute love for his wife and the incredible partnership that they had. Again, the most sincere of condolences.

What has also struck me is that we've seen today that much of what Peta set out to do in terms of how she'd be remembered has, indeed, been delivered upon, because you've had people sharing views about someone who really was a parliamentarian, not a politician. That's not to say that in any way she didn't fight or that she was gentle but that she fought smart and she fought hard and you could not argue with the purpose behind what she was arguing for because she was a true change maker.

I first met Peta when she was an adviser in this place. She was sharp, purpose driven, incredibly welcoming—she was chief of staff—to all who came through her shadow minister's door. She was incredibly dedicated to the cause of Labor, just as she was a incredibly dedicated to the causes of women's economic equality. So much of that work that she did when we were in opposition is work that has been carried on in this government, which she was a key part of.

I sat over there, just behind her, for her first speech. Like others have said in their remarks, I also remember being intimidated, thinking, 'Gosh, this person is bright,' but also being quite inspired with the strength and purpose which she brought to this place.

In that, I want to actually thank Peta's branch members. They supported her at two elections and, ultimately, her successful election in 2019, but they also chose her. Choosing a candidate is the easy bit sometimes. Making sure they get over the line is the really tough bit, and they did that as well. I want to thank all of her branch members for giving this parliament such an outstanding representative.

What I enjoyed, particularly when I did sit over there just behind her, was that Peta had phenomenal speeches. It was always clear who she loved, what she stood for, what she was fighting for and what outcome she wanted. She had that wonderful balance in speeches that could have cut through and compassion. I must say that I'm grateful to be a Labor MP where I was never on the receiving end of one of her 90-second statements.

She did also use this place to make change. One of her early battles was to protect Mornington Centrelink, which was due to close at the start of the pandemic. It stayed open and not just during the pandemic; it's still open to this day, and that's thanks to Peta Murphy. She also had a strong commitment to public service, to public servants and to public institutions. Again, it's been great to hear some of the reflects of that commitment in people's remarks today.

We know that, while there are many who worked with Peta, her friends, there are also thousands of people who never met her but looked up to her as the person who was just like them, someone who was just going about the things they wanted to do and achieve in their life but who had cancer along for that journey. She was a voice for those battling, surviving and grieving from cancer. I think one of the lasting pieces that she leaves with us is the message that she gave us in her first speech:

Ladies, check your breasts! Men, stop ignoring what your body's telling you. Fellow members of this parliament, listen to the experts who warn that the promise of universal health care is under threat.

She left us with that message. While the Prime Minister noted that she never got the opportunity to sit around the cabinet table, I think the message that she brought to this place is undoubtedly louder around that cabinet table, whether that be a Labor or a coalition government, and that to me is a demonstration of true impact.

I want to express condolences to Peta's staff. One of the things that struck me when I saw the news—which the Prime Minister announced but which also was an announcement on her Facebook page—was that one of her staff, who would have been grieving so deeply at that point in time, had to have posted the announcement and had to work to share that tragic news. I want to thank them for the way they've provided a platform for so many to celebrate their boss, their friend, and the impact she had.

I was amazed at some of the commentary that flowed from Peta's community on that Facebook post. One woman, Isabel, wrote: 'Peta, you changed everything for me. I met you when I was in year 9 for principal's day at ENC. I learnt from you that women can do whatever they want.' The district netball association said she achieved so much for women. A woman called Jenny writes of Peta, 'She was so genuine, and she was the first federal member to ever knock on my door.' I think the one that obviously would be the greatest compliment of all to our friend Peta was that Squash Australia came and said: 'The squash community across Australia is devastated by this news. Our deepest and heartfelt condolences to Peta's family and friends and colleagues. Peta will be greatly missed.'

We really will miss Peta. As was noted earlier, the Leader of the House is not the only master of the standing orders in this place, and the first time Peta spoke in this place was to give a condolence to Bob Hawke, not to give her so-called first speech. I'm going to paraphrase what Peta said about Bob because I know it is equally true about her: the great Peta Murphy will always be loved, and she will be missed. Her legacy will live on.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to acknowledge everybody who's spoken in the debate so far and particularly thank those who are not government members of parliament who have spoken in this debate and offered their condolences to the Labor Party generally as well. There have been some beautiful speeches, and it's deeply appreciated.

I also want to acknowledge what the member for Gippsland did. We're very good in this place at saying nice things about people when they're not in the room. To have had that moment in 90-second statements when you delivered a speech with complete generosity and love, effectively on behalf of all of us, was a real gift to the chamber and the only one of these speeches that Peta got to hear. So I want to acknowledge that with deep appreciation.

First speeches are always powerful, but I'll never forget the moment Peta let us know, in amongst jokes about her love of squash, that the cancer had returned. So, for effectively Peta's entire time as a member here, we knew there was a risk of today, and yet Peta acted like there wasn't, in so many ways. Sometimes we talk, when someone passes way, about a candle having been extinguished, but Peta Murphy was no candle. This was the entire New Year's Eve fireworks display, with all the colour, vibrancy and thunder of it.

At 90-second statements, you can always rev up the other side and your own with a bit of anger or shouting, and different people do that at different times. But Peta would come in with a relaxed smile, stand her ground and this room would ignite. And policy changes would happen. It's already been referred to—that speech she gave with respect to a wild policy that had been floated by the previous government with respect to superannuation. Peta came in, 90 seconds—smashed it. We never heard of the policy again. And that policy strength from Peta is something that I am so deeply grateful for. I'll say a bit more about arts policy, but let me start with workplace relations.

When Peta worked here as a staffer for Brendan O'Connor, the member for Gorton, a whole lot of the election commitments we are now delivering will forever have Peta Murphy's fingerprints all over them—in particular, I say, what has been the most heated of all of them, whether you want to call it labour hire loophole or same job, same pay. That policy was announced by Bill Shorten when the member for Gorton was the shadow minister. The consultation, paperwork—right from the start, Peta Murphy was all over it. As that bill finds its way through parliamentary debate—not as quickly as I'd hoped—I am very mindful that, while I've had the honour to be the one to bring it into this House as the minister, the work started a long time before me, and a whole lot of it is very much owned by Peta Murphy.

I want to, obviously, extend condolences to Rod and extend condolences to her staff. It is sometimes said in this place, certainly never by me—as this concept of who has a real job and who doesn't, staffers are often on the list. If someone's a staffer, that somehow is not a real job. The staff in this place work so unbelievably hard, and Peta's staff, in a marginal seat, making sure that every single constituent, group and inquiry is respectfully dealt with and resolved, are doing an incredible service in democracy and were doing so under Peta's leadership. Our deep condolences to you.

I want to tell just one story, and it's one story that I know no-one else has told today because this one is mine to be able to tell. Peta used to get me down to the McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery quite a bit, a beautiful gallery in her electorate. We'd get there, we'd do a little tour—some beautiful artworks there—and then Peta would organise what she'd call a roundtable, but it was always a packed house, with the sorts of crowds that only Peta Murphy could draw. You'd have a couple of speeches and then a Q&A. Branch members would be there. Former members of parliament would be there. A series of artists and performers would be there. And the Q&A happened in this form—and there are some photos that I never shared; I'll share them later today. I'm going to read the script. I got the office to pull it out because we recorded the Q&A at the time, not realising it would ever be used for a purpose like this. Peta Murphy: 'I also just want to make it clear that I am not in the parliamentary band, despite the fact that I have told Tony a number of times that I was chosen to play the glockenspiel at the Wagga choral festival when I was in grade 6. It may be because they didn't want me to sing, but I still played the glockenspiel "By the rivers of Babylon".' I responded, 'Ah, can we settle something now?' Peta, realising what I was up to, said no and laughed, to which I responded: 'What are you doing Tuesday night or Wednesday night? Only the other day I bought a new instrument for the band, and it's a glockenspiel.' At that point, the people of Dunkley applauded. I said, 'Seriously?' Peta responded indignantly with these words: 'But I'm a published poet.' I said, 'You're going to want to play with us on Wednesday night.'

Jimmy Barnes was going to join us—he ended up being sick on the day—but, at that point, I said: 'We're playing with the Wiggles and Jimmy Barnes. Should I write a glockenspiel part?' The whole room cheered. Peta said, 'I don't know how to play "Flame Trees" on the glockenspiel.' I said: 'No, we're doing "Long Way to the Top". So is Peta in the band?' The crowd said yes, and there was thunderous applause. Peta then responded: 'My husband just walked in. He's going to say to me, "I've told you a million times, Peta: think before you speak."'

On the Tuesday night and the Wednesday night, Peter knew what would happen when we got to the end. We did this really bizarre merging of Blur's song '2' with 'Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga, Big Red Car', and there's a moment at the end of song '2' where I had Peta furiously, as quickly as possible, play C sharp and F sharp at the same time. So she came, sat in the back corner, practised and played it all right. Then, on stage, she insisted that she not be miked. No microphone was there—you had to listen pretty hard to hear the glockenspiel—but, dutifully, on stage in the Great Hall with the Wiggles and Dorothy the Dinosaur, Peta was there with her glockenspiel playing with the Wiggles and going all the way through to 'Long Way to the Top'.

The joy and fun of it are in pictures that I have got of her on stage hamming it up. There are also pictures afterwards of her chatting to Simon and Lachy from the Wiggles. She didn't want to be there at all, but, once she decided she was in, she was all in, with that smile that we know and, as I said, with that part of the fireworks display with the thunder and the noise that, when you watch it, you don't really think will ever come to an end.

For the changes that are only happening because of Peta and for the joy that she has given all of us in so many ways, our thanks and our love go to her, as well our dedication that the flame of not only Peta, as a beautiful person, but also the causes that she represented never goes out.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sometimes in life we think it's those who speak rather than those who do who are righteous or good. In fact, in Peta's case, one of the most noble things she did and one of best examples of why she was such a wonderful person was during the height of COVID, back in February 2021. Don't forget: there were conspiracy theories everywhere and all manner of things that were going on at the time. There was a picture of her with the now Prime Minister and the Leader of the Greens, the member for Melbourne, in the Canberra hospital getting the COVID injection and saying to people, 'This is the time; she has advanced breast cancer.' She said: 'If you had a flu injection, it's the same. It honestly didn't hurt at all.' Peta was asked about why she was doing this, and she said: 'I genuinely volunteered to do it to try to give other people confidence.'

When you met Peta, you had confidence. She gave everyone who knew her confidence. It wasn't just through her words but through what she did. What a demonstration that was at the time—not only for her local community but nationally. That was all over the media. In fact, I have seen social media with that picture of her sitting with the Prime Minister.

I want to pass on my deepest condolences to Peta's family and her whole community of Dunkley. She was a terrific person, a force of nature and a magnificent contributor to our party, our parliament and her community. She was tenacious, passionate, warm hearted and super intelligent—anyone who met her knew that. She was courageous and thoroughly decent. She was a person of principle and a communitarian of conviction. She was much loved and will be missed by many people in this chamber across both sides.

There's a lot of absolute nonsense that people say about staffers, but they often make terrific parliamentarians. She worked for Duncan Kerr, and, of course, the government leader here, the member for Watson, talked about the fact that she worked for Brendan O'Connor. I was the shadow minister for immigration and border protection; Brendan was the shadow minister for industrial relations. A lot of people from the Labor opposition thought, leading up to the 2019 election, we were concentrating to neutralise the issue of border protection, but we also met with the unions on many occasions. Brendan, in that role, and I, in the immigration space, met with the unions on many occasions. Peta was so well briefed that she made us look good in those meetings—she was terrific. You couldn't have anything but confidence when she was there. It was just astonishing. That experience as a staffer for Duncan and also for the member for Gorton, Brendan O'Connor, really prepared her.

Don't forget, she not only was involved and active in her health community back home—people forget that as well—but was an advocate as a lawyer and defender, working in criminal law and other areas of law. That demonstrated her incredible preparedness to come here. When she came here, she hit the ground running. Anyone who saw her knew she was a terrific local member and a consummate parliamentarian. She really knew the standing orders; she would have made a good Speaker. People talked about her being a potential cabinet minister; she would have been a terrific Speaker, can I tell you.

Everyone who comes to this place looks around and sees if anyone is going to be any good in their first term. Honestly, you look and see how they go in 90-second statements, three-minute speeches, MPIs and questions, in the way that they put it, and you see in committees whether they know their stuff. Well, Peta really knew her stuff. She really knew it in her speeches here, her 90-second statements, her three-minute speeches and her MPIs. The opposition must have feared when Peta Murphy got up on her feet during MPIs, because she was about the best we could deliver on our side on an MPI. She was absolutely brilliant. When I was the shadow minister for veterans' affairs, she was constantly coming up with good ideas, because she was an ideas person in many respects. She was a great advocate for veterans issues—even now. She was advocating right till the end on health issues, not just nationally but in her local community.

Don't forget she thought about parliament. Don't forget she talked about the fact that she didn't want these things—mobile phones—in during question time. She also talked about Dorothy Dixers. She was an advocate not afraid to say that JobKeeper or JobSeeker should be increased. On any issue that came to her mind, she was not afraid at all to speak out and let everyone know. She was a bit like that prophet Nathan in the Old Testament, speaking truth to power—that was her. Peta was never afraid to speak her mind, that's for sure.

She practised as a lawyer. Can I tell you: I enjoyed working with her in the parliamentary inquiry of the joint select committee on the Voice to Parliament. Peta did most of the hard, legal stuff. I did a bit of it. I almost acted like a second chair on occasion during that inquiry. I remember coming back one night from Canberra after we were all quizzing these learned lawyers, juris and judges. Sitting on the plane, I thought to myself, 'I was a lawyer with more than two decades experience'—I was a litigation lawyer before I came here. I was sitting on the plane as I was thinking about it, thinking, 'If there were one person in this parliament, apart from the member for Isaacs, who I wouldn't want to go up against in court, it would be Peta Murphy.' I thought she would be tenacious. I thought, 'I don't know how I'd be able to cope with her if I were arguing a case against her in court'—certainly not in criminal law, that's for sure. Her contribution to that inquiry was brilliant. She was across every detail. Every time I thought about a question to ask anyone, Peta had it in front of her. Her preparation was completely thorough, and she was absolutely forensic in relation to it.

As someone who's father was an alcoholic and had a gambling problem, I've been through a couple of gambling inquiries in this parliament since I've been here, and they were variable in terms of their outcomes. Peta was incredibly inquisitive, investigative and forensic during the inquiry she led on the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs. There were 31 recommendations in the report, called You win some, you lose more. It's all about a public health focus, rather than personal choice. She got it.

I want to tell the member for Cowper, who might be listening, that before Peta went to New York with the UN and the member for Gippsland—whose speech I want to praise; it was a great 90-second statement that he made in parliament last week—she rang me up. I was on the committee with her, so she said: 'Shayne, I want to let you know I'm going over to New York. I'm just not sure—can you take control of this committee for me?' I said: 'Okay, Peta. What are the issues and challenges and the matters?' You know when you can tell that someone hasn't got the information in front of them? She then proceeded, on the phone, to outline all the details to me, thoroughly and comprehensively and, indeed, concisely at the same time. I thought, 'She's right across everything.' She said: 'The member for Cowper's a good bloke. I don't think he'll cause you any problems, Shayne.' But you know what? Here she was, coming in from New York, chairing meetings! I don't know what time in the morning or evening it was over there, but she would be there. Despite the fact that she was going to New York, she never forgot the parliament here. She took that inquiry so seriously. It's not revealing stuff to say how patiently and perfectly she worked to get everyone together on that inquiry and that report. That is the Murphy report. Those recommendations are terrific, and I know the government's taking them seriously.

Hers was a life lived well—50 years, but not long enough. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that she's not here. I'm a right-winger in the Labor party from Queensland. I'm a long way from a suburban/urban left-winger in the Victorian branch of the Labor party! It took me a while to get to know her, and it took me a while to respect her and understand her. But I'm telling you: by the time I got on committees with Peta Murphy, I deeply respected and admired her and thought she was a great contributor. I remember those days with Brendan O'Connor, and I remember what she did and how she performed. Tony was right when he said that the IR changes owe a lot to Peta Murphy. She lived politics. She was prophetic in what she said. She talked about the fact that she wanted to leave democracy in a better shape than when she joined it, and she did.

My sincerest condolences to her loving husband of decades, Rod; her family and friends; her staff; and her supporters. We mourn her, we grieve her, we admired her and we respected her. She was well loved and well liked. Vale, Peta. Rest in peace. You've made our country better.

Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are few people who can say that they contributed as much to their community as Peta Murphy did. In public life, Peta was guided by a sense of equality of opportunity and giving a voice to those who might not otherwise be heard. She was a lawyer, a volunteer at her local community legal centre, a solicitor advocate, a senior public defender at Victoria Legal Aid, and a team leader at the Victorian Law Reform Commission. The thing is: she made all of those contributions before coming to this place—a life well lived before her second life here. Throughout all of that, Peta used her intellect and her deep sense of social justice to improve the lives of others, create a more equitable Victoria and, beyond that, build a better Australia for all.

Looking back to 2019, when she was elected as the first woman to represent the seat of Dunkley, it's now clear that Peta's greatest and most impactful contributions were yet to come. I do recall her maiden speech to parliament, sitting on that side of the chamber in 2019. She spoke of being inspired by Labor values to create opportunities and advocate for those without power or means. Just as the member for Blair said, when new people arrive you note particularly which backbenchers get up and speak on topics, and I remember Peta spoke a lot. But she wasn't speaking to take up space. She was speaking because she was able to do two really unique things: she had a policy sense that went right across portfolios, and she was one of those people—I can name a couple of them in this place—who, if you needed someone to speak to save your life, she would have been one of them. The second thing is she always managed to tie this back to the lived experience of the people that she represented. I think that those contributions are a sign of someone who is made to be in this place to represent people so well.

Peta, of course, had been inspired by previous Labor governments, who showed how good governance can deliver a better future for all. She advocated for all Australian women to get their breasts screened for cancer, and she made a distinct shout-out to all her friends from squash, a game close to her heart and which she championed so well.

2019 was a tough fight for Peta on her health front, and it was a tough fight for Labor at that election. Defiantly, she was the first Labor MP to take the seat of Dunkley in 23 years. There weren't many winners on this side of the chamber on that night, but Peta was one of them, and how fortuitous it was. Winning the seat named after Louisa Dunkley, an early campaigner for equal pay for women, Peta shone a spotlight on women's representation in this place. She was a keen advocate and participant in the Labor women's caucus as well. She took it seriously, not only because of what it meant to have more Labor women in this place; but she took very seriously the women's budget statements that we would issue from both opposition and later from government. She wanted to see the way in which the parliament was accountable to the women and, ultimately, the people of Australia in decisions that were being made.

Peta once said, 'What are you in politics for if it's not to make a difference, and make a difference to other peoples' lives.' And that's exactly what she did. She changed lives, and she changed them every single day in this place by her presence, by her contributions and by being who she was. This was even when her own life proved incredibly difficult. She didn't want to be treated differently. She always put the people of Dunkley first, from the smaller things that made a world of difference—like delivering new music equipment for Patterson River Secondary College in her electorate—through to her tireless campaigning for better health care and awareness.

Through Breast Cancer Network Australia, she helped improve reporting and data mechanisms for people with breast cancer. She delivered funding to train people in her electorate in life-saving CPR. She gave a voice to vulnerable people, raising awareness around online gambling harms and ably chairing the House of Representatives inquiry into online gambling—with the government currently considering the committee's many recommendations. It is heartening that this week the Senate will consider new laws designed to minimise gambling harms by banning the use of credit cards to wager online. These changes will have a positive impact on the lives of countless Australians, and their families, loved ones and communities. This is a proud part of Peta's legacy. I always valued Peta's drive to do better by Australians, and I'll continue to be inspired by her advocacy. The fact that she achieved all of this despite her declining health—I don't actually recall a time when she actually talked about her health. She just kept going, kept participating, and she of course did it with a touch of humour and sarcasm as well.

She once said, 'I would like to be able to say that I left Australian politics—Australian democracy—in better shape than when I joined it.' On behalf of all of us in this House, your constituents and countless Australians, Peta, that's exactly what you've done. The people of Dunkley were so fortunate, were such lucky people, to have a member who listened, advocated and delivered with passion. They will forever be better off for having had the privilege to call you their member for Dunkley, as will we in this place. I send my deepest condolences to her husband, her two dogs—Bert and Ernie—her extended family and everyone who had the pleasure of knowing Peta. May she rest in eternal peace.

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to join my voice to the many colleagues across this parliament who are speaking on this condolence motion on our beloved Peta Murphy, the member for Dunkley. She was one of those people that just got on with things, didn't want to fuss about them and didn't seek the media spotlight. She just wanted to do good, and good she did.

In her first speech in this place, Peta spoke about her electorate of Dunkley. She said:

We are wealthy and poor. We're old and we're young. We're migrant and we're First Peoples. We're employers and employees. But we have a lot more that binds us than separates us … We are ambitious for our children. We are proud of where we live. We would like life to be just that little bit easier for us and for our neighbours. And we really, really love our dogs!

Listening to the speeches from across the House today, you can also add one more thing to that: they really loved Peta Murphy.

Peta only served in this House for four years, six months and 17 days. It feels as though she has been amongst us forever. But she didn't waste a single minute of her time. She knew that she couldn't. I first met her as a staffer to the member for Gorton, Brendan O'Connor, her good friend and mentor; then as a candidate, campaigning with her in 2016 and 2019 with the health portfolio—I can't tell you how many hospital visits and street stalls we did together, but she was a relentless and unbelievable candidate—and then, of course, post 2019 as a member. And, in every single one of these roles that I have known her, she has been her authentic self always—always. I've never seen her put on pretensions, never seen her be anything different—just always Peta. And, again, in her first speech, Peta spoke about her cancer. We know that she was first diagnosed back in 2011, just as Rod and she were preparing to depart our shores for a new life in San Francisco.

'Murphy's law', she called it. But her mum told her that everything happens for a reason, and it was that diagnosis that in time, in fact, brought Peta to this place. She and Rod decided to move to Dunkley, and years later Peta ran for parliament. If that diagnosis hadn't come, our nation may have missed out on one of our greatest MPs. In 2019, just days after been sworn in as an MP, Peta's cancer came back. For a secondary diagnosis of breast cancer, Peta knew the stats; they're not good. She turned her personal struggle into something more than just about herself. As her mother said, everything happens for a reason.

Peta knew she wasn't alone. In the year of her secondary diagnosis, she was one of 19,000 Australian women who learned that they had breast cancer. She dedicated her time to making their lives better, to advocating the support that they need and to ensuring her community of Dunkley received the investment it deserved. But Peta was always determined to be known for more than her cancer, and, in fact, she only talked about it at all because she thought it would help other people. If she had more time here, she could have accomplished anything. I have no doubt, as the Prime Minister said, she would have been a cabinet minister—absolutely no doubt about that at all.

But, from her short time here, her legacy will certainly live on. The lives of countless Australians will be forever enriched by the life and service of Peta Murphy. From her time as a solicitor, a barrister, a staffer, a senior public defender, she left her mark wherever she went. She often worked with people when they were at the lowest and often at their worst, but she saw in them the best that they could be. Whenever you spent time with her, you could see how much she meant to people and how much she loved representing her community.

I will always see her at Emil Madsen Reserve, when we announced some funding as part of the election campaign and the joy that she showed—flitting from child to child, from parent to parent, from community member to community member—and the delight she had in being able to talk to her community and bring them together for something that was so important. At the Frankston RSL, walking through there with her, everybody stopped, everybody knew who she was and everybody wanted to talk to her. And, at every street corner that we've stood on to talk about road funding, to talk about the importance of community engagement, to talk about neighbours and suburbs right the way through Frankston, Peta had a story to tell and was ready to hear someone else's.

To Rod: our hearts well and truly go out to you. Thank you for your grace, your kindness and the incredible support that you gave Peta. Please know that the thoughts of this House and the entire nation are with you. Anyone who saw you together knows just how much you loved her.

The same goes, of course, for all of Peta's friends and family. You are in our hearts. To Ernie and Bert, the great loves of Peta's life: I know that they'll be looking for their favourite person every single day. To her loyal and kind and caring staff: she could absolutely not have managed any of this without you. We're here to support you. We know that you are also finding this incredibly difficult, and I know that many of us have reached out and many of our staff have done the same and will continue to do so in the coming days.

We will miss you dearly, our darling Peta, you brave, sassy, funny, hard-nosed, clear-eyed, and fierce and kind, determined and loved friend. Thank you so much for letting us be part of your wonderful life—what a journey. Vale, Peta.

Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I've just received a photograph from the office at Dunkley, and it shows a window with Peta's smiling face, looking to the outside, and on the inside it's full to the brim with flowers. The people of Dunkley are pouring out their grief at the loss of their beloved federal member, Peta Jan Murphy, and I want to thank them for that. I also want to thank them for their judgement in sending Peta to us as their representative. While some have said they were lucky to have Peta, I think that they were wise to choose her, to send her to this place to represent them—and to represent them so magnificently as she did.

To be fair, I wasn't sure about Peta when I first met her. I thought she was very confident, very outspoken, and she certainly didn't suffer fools. Maybe that was partly my problem. There was just something about her I couldn't pin down. In this place, we tend to befriend, firstly, our caucus colleagues that we may have been elected with, our factional state friends, but, after awhile, you start to work on committees, potentially you go on a trip and you make friends with people from other states and, dare I say it, other parties. But that didn't happen for Peta and I either. I really didn't know very well at all. Then COVID happened, and we were all locked up—none more so than her in Melbourne. But then a strange thing happened, as it often does in this place we call parliament and in this strange game we call politics.

There's something that the Prime Minister and I and Peta had in common: we had a staff member called Susanne Heath. Susanne Heath came to me from the Prime Minister's office, with her little dog, Peachy, but before that she'd run Peta's campaign to be successfully elected in Dunkley in 2019. She started to tell me about 'Pete', as she warmly called her, and how funny she was and, if I really spent some time and took the time to get to know her, that we'd get on famously—and that was actually the case. So Sue created a bridge for Peta and I to lay down our factional disagreements. I once said to Sue: 'I like golf. That's where you play with a hard white ball and you walk around in open spaces and you take your time and you strategise. Pete, she loves squash. It's a small black ball, and you just run around inside in a box. How can we ever really like each other?' Actually, Pete and I laughed about that, as it seemed to sum up so much of our beliefs. But then, when we scratched a little deeper, we realised that we had a lot in common, none so much as our love of dogs, shoes on sale and British crime shows.

I do want to send a special shout-out to her beloved husband, Rod. It was when we first talked about those crime shows and your love, Rod, and her love for those shows, that I thought, 'The world's a funny place, isn't it?' I know that she absolutely adored you, and you her, and you were her rock as she was yours. In these coming days, when you find yourself without your rock and you are between a rock and a hard place, I want you to think about the legacy she leaves here in parliament—and, as many have spoken about, for someone who served such a short time she has left an indelible impression not only on those of us who served with her but on the laws of this land. Every time you hear the phrase 'you win some, you lose more', I want you to think of Peta Murphy because she was the person who helped effect that change for all of us here in Australia. She wanted kids to know more about their sporting heroes than their multi odds, and that is something to truly remember and reflect upon for her.

The other thing I have thought about today is that we have a garden here in Parliament House. Peta used to tell me she couldn't grow anything but I loved gardening, and we'd often laugh about that. There's a garden here, and there are roses planted specifically for members who have died whilst serving their country. I've been thinking about Peta and the rose we might plant for her, and I think she is worthy of a rose called 'double delight' because, indeed, she was a double delight. The rose is cream with a beautiful red edge. A little bit like that rose, Peta wore her beliefs right on the edge where we could all see them. She was Labor to the core and she was a humanitarian and a humanist to the core. She believed in fellow humans whether they be rich or poor, whether they had high standing or low. She stood up for them and she was a voice for them not only here in this place but her entire life. 'Double delight' could represent Peta in that garden. It is a striking flower. Occasionally we'd be chatting and she'd say to me: 'Maz, do I smell? I can't smell myself.' I'd say, 'No, Pete, you smell fine.' I just want you to know that 'double delight' has a magnificent smell. They often say that when you smell a rose it's the angels speaking to you, so whenever I smell that rose in the future I'll think of you, Pete. But the best part about 'double delight' is it's got magnificent thorns, and it pricks like none other. And let me tell you: Peta could be the best thorn in the side of so many, and she used those thorns in the right way to make us all bleed a little better for our country.

Lastly, I thank Peta's father and mother, Bob and Jan, and her beloved sisters and nieces and nephew. It's not right, it goes against every principle of our human values and beliefs and culture, and it goes against every law that we know: you don't bury your children before yourselves. It is wrong and unjust. But you should know that your girl was the strongest girl. Vale, Peta Jan Murphy.

Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a privilege to follow those heartfelt words from my friend the member for Paterson. This is an incredibly hard debate for all of us, but I think it's one of those days where you see parliament shine through. I was here for the passing of Don Randall, and the love and affection for Don was something that was clear across the chamber. He was a hard man and he fought for his beliefs every day. The parliament united to honour his passing, and to see the same thing for Peta Murphy, the member for Dunkley, someone who—it is a great honour to say—was a friend and comrade, is parliament at its best. I want to start with that.

When I was sitting down to think about what I'd say about Peta in my contribution, there were three words that struck me which I knew had to be central, because they were central to Peta: bravery, honesty and empathy. For me, they were the three characteristics, the personality, that characterised Peta's life and her service in this place. It was a life of immeasurable contribution to the people of this country and to people beyond the borders of this country, contributions which Peta made in such a short time—only 50 years. I'll reflect on her parliamentary career, as everyone else has, but I just want to spend a bit of time on the six roles that brought her here, because I think they characterise her fundamental being; they characterise how she wanted to live her life and contribute to her fellow human beings. They are: volunteer, public defender, barrister, law reformer, health advocate and then policy adviser and chief of staff.

She volunteered her time at a community legal centre. I'm not a lawyer, but I do see a fair number of people coming through asking for legal assistance. They do it because they've got nowhere else to turn to. Often their cases are hopeless, or they don't have the resources to pursue cases or they don't have the opportunity to understand the legal system. For Peta to volunteer at her community legal centre and give her time to fight for people without a voice—who, by definition, did not have the ability to turn to anyone else—was just a testament to her character.

Then, to be a senior public defender at Victoria Legal Aid must have been a remarkable experience. Legal Aid performs such a hugely important role in our system. But the people who work there are under constant stress. They're underresourced and have to deal with cases with very little background and with very little support. Often, they're dealing with some of the most troubling cases in the system, fighting against structural injustice. For Peta to be a public defender was another very significant contribution.

To be a barrister and argue before the courts of the land was a remarkable achievement. And the one I think I could see shining through in everything she did in this place, was as a team leader at the Victorian Law Reform Commission. To fight every day to reform the law, to make the law more accessible to all people, to argue for equality of access to the law and for justice for all just demonstrated her commitment to improving the world. And there was her advocacy on health issues. She was a director on the board of Peninsula Health—again, advocating for people who didn't have a voice and advocating for people who the system had been left behind. That speaks to her character.

Then, finally, before entering parliament, she was a new policy adviser and chief of staff to Brendan O'Connor in his role as shadow minister for employment and workplace relations. That's when I had my first interactions with Peta. She had a fierce intellect. She was used to dealing with MPs and shadow ministers coming in with bright ideas and convictions. She dealt with them respectfully but was very clear when she disagreed with them, developing good policy that we took to many an election and which, as the Leader of the House said, laid the groundwork for the very important workplace relations reforms that we have driven through this place.

I've highlighted those six roles because I would say that, even if she never got elected to this place, even if she hadn't won Dunkley for the first time in decades for Labor, her life would have been well and truly lived—a life of making a massive contribution to helping her fellow human beings. But then she did get elected; she ran a magnificent campaign in a very tough year for Labor. It was tough going for all Labor candidates and MPs in 2019, particularly for those trying to win seats against incumbents. She ran a brilliant campaign, and then she went about actually implementing what she committed to. I truly remember her magnificent first speech. I had the honour of sitting near her while she delivered that speech.

I'll talk a bit in a second about her honesty around her cancer returning, but the five things she talked about in that speech, among many other things, that I think were so emblematic of such a wonderful person were: the need to tackle disadvantage; arguing for equality of access to education, health and economic opportunity, which she fought for before she entered parliament and dedicated her life to; her love of her local community; and her overarching ethos of not letting a day's opportunity pass by. First speeches are always challenging things for people because you want to talk about your priorities, you want to talk about your community and you want to talk about what animates you, but you also want to talk about other things that are important to you. The fifth thing that struck me was that she talked about her love of squash and the injustice in the lack of recognition for squash as an international sport. I just found it amazing and refreshing that, while talking about equality of access to education and while talking about the need to tackle disadvantage, she also wanted to tackle inequality in the sporting system by arguing for squash to get the recognition it deserved. Occasionally we talk about who are the great sportspeople of this place. She undoubtedly was one of the greatest.

Then it came to the most poignant part of her speech, which is where she disclosed not just her battle with cancer but the fact that it had returned. For her to deliver what is the hardest speech for any of us—I'm convinced that the first speech is the hardest speech for anyone in this place—and to then be honest with people here, around the country and around the world about the return of her cancer was remarkable bravery and remarkable honesty. You could hear a pin drop in the chamber when she did that. It was something of huge significance.

Then there are her actions as an MP. She did not let a single day pass. She lived and breathed the ethos of her speech. Every day she advocated for those doing it tough. She fought to support others, especially those in the critical role of carers, and she fought for the rights and needs of unpaid carers. She clearly supported those dealing with gambling addiction in her leadership of that inquiry. She supported the victims of robodebt. She dedicated many, many thousands of hours to raising the profile of women's health, and every day she celebrated her bayside home community. These were her actions in this place every single day, and it was a remarkable contribution in such a short period of time—in only 4½ years.

Before concluding I just want to reflect a bit on her honesty—her sometimes brutal honesty. The member for Paterson talked about the rose, and I saw that in action in caucus and in this place. She did not suffer fools gladly. She was quite sick of men patronising women in this place. She was sick of hypocrites. I think hypocrisy was the thing she could not stand the most. I was always very nervous when I was speaking in front of Peta because she had a truth detector, and, if you were BS-ing, you could tell on her face that she was calling you out. I think that honesty is more and more needed in this place, and I think it's a testament to her that she had the bravery and conviction to stand up for her community but also to stand up and call out poor actions by anyone, not just on the other side of politics but in her own party.

Can I pass on my condolences to her parents, Bob and Jan; her sisters, Jodi and Penni; and, most particularly, her husband, Rod Glover, someone who I had the privilege of working with a decade ago. Rod, can I say how sorry I am on behalf of not just myself but the community of Shortland. We have lost such a magnificent human being. You've lost the love of your life. We are all immeasurably poorer for her passing, but we are so much richer for her contribution. Vale, Peta Murphy.

Andrew Leigh (Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I first met Peta Jan Murphy in 1999. She was working as Duncan Kerr's justice and arts adviser. I was working as Peter Cook's trade adviser. We were pretty excited at that point. Labor was running strong, and we thought in 1999 that it was near the end of Labor's time in opposition. Little did we know that Labor's 11 long years in opposition were just beginning. There weren't a lot of us policy advisors—as I recall, there were about 25 of us—and we used to get together to talk about ideas. We were idealistic, wanting to make a difference, and we were bonded, as you offered are in the crucible of opposition. We felt very mature at the time, although Peta and I were in our mid-twenties, half the age that I am and that she was. It is funny to think that you've known somebody for half a lifetime. Neither of us stayed as Labor advisers for very long in that period, but both of us stayed in touch, and it was such a pleasure in 2016 to have the chance to work with Peta again. She had returned from a stellar career at the Victorian Bar and was serving as Brendan O'Connor's chief of staff.

I want to say something about the role of advisers and, in particular, the criticism that sometimes comes from the public about people who enter politics after working as an adviser. It's easy to forget that one of the side-effects of that pathway is that we get some remarkable people in this place working as advisers. Peta's time as a barrister meant that she deeply understood the legal system. She brought all of those talents to bear in Duncan's office before her time as a barrister, and in Brendan's office after her time as a barrister. That time included a stint working as Victorian public defender, and in some sense 'public defender' is a great description of the way in which Peta lived her life. In everything she did, she was always a public defender.

We worked together on the House economics committee, where I was deputy chair from 2016 to 2019. Peta Murphy, the member for Fraser Daniel Mulino and I were, for most of that period, the Labor members on that committee. Peta grilled bank CEOs on questions of gender diversity and pay secrecy. She was forensic in her questions in an area where she didn't naturally have the policy expertise. She threw herself into getting good policy outcomes and highlighting the problems that pay secrecy caused for women.

She also loved teasing the Liberals on the committee. Last night I was going back through the hundreds of text messages we exchanged on that committee, and I was struck, when re-reading them, by her incisive wit and her slightly apologetic manner. I love the point where she confessed, 'I know she is very conservative, but I quite like Celia Hammond.' I'm sure the Liberals who served with us on the House economics committee—Tim Wilson, Jason Falinski and Celia Hammond—would have enjoyed sharing with us in parliament their memories of Peta, were it not for the fact that in 2022, in what is known as the curse of the House economics committee, almost all of the Liberals on that committee lost their seats.

Peta loves Dunkley, and she was proud of her little slice of it—a home in Frankston between the river and the sea. When I travel down to campaign with her in 2018, I said that I was keen to stay somewhere where I could go for a run in the morning. Peta's immediate response was, 'Why don't you just stay with Rod and me?' I arrived late in the evening and was met with the doggy hospitality of Bert and Ernie, and an immediate discussion with Peta and Rod about some issue or other of public policy. I can't over the specifics, but what I do I remember was feeling immediately at home in the warmth of their place. Rod and Peta wanted kids, and they loved the kids of their friends. The members for Jagajaga, Lilley and Canberra have shared with the House their memories of how Peta warmed to their children.

She was proud to be the first woman to represent Dunkley, a seat named after another trailblazing feminist, Louisa Dunkley. She won a seat that had been held for 23 years by the Liberals. That made her a marginal seat MP through and through, but that was a role that came naturally to Peta. She knew everyone's name and knew their stories. When we held a charity round table together, she introduced every charity and told the room exactly how they were making a difference to her beloved community.

During her first tilt at Dunkley, in 2016, I joined Peta to make a sporting announcement. She could not have been more in her element. The woman who once won a World Masters gold medal in squash loved chatting sport with anyone and everyone. She had that knockabout, egalitarian language that was so suited to her community and that so fitted her as a person. The member for Canberra has talked about how Peta's love for squash benefited Canberra through her time at Dickson Squash Club. Peta loved squash, but she didn't live to squash her opponents. She preferred to tease the other side, rather than insult or humiliate. The generous tributes from the other side of the House today, including from Zoe McKenzie, her neighbour in Flinders, show us that you can play politics and disagree without being disagreeable.

Peta was a talented policy generalist, with views on everything from human rights to superannuation. When she was struck by the emperor of all maladies, she turned her attention to improving cancer policies, and she brought a whole lot of her colleagues with her. I confess that I don't attend every breast cancer event in this building, but, when Peta invited parliamentarians to an event on metastatic breast cancer last week, I was there alongside many colleagues. Peta at that stage was in hospital, but every speech referred to her, and her presence in the room was palpable.

Most of my conversations with Peta touched on her ideas for building a better world, and that included our final discussion. As she slipped out the door of question time last week, I caught Peta in the anteroom. I wanted to talk with her about the unanimous report on online gambling that she chaired, You win some, you lose more. Peta was frail in body but passionate in soul about those recommendations, which included a full ban on online gambling ads. It would be a fitting tribute to Peta if parliament were to enact that ban and name it after her. And, as a side benefit, we could forever rename the maxim Murphy's law. As Peta pointed out to me last week, it's the most vulnerable who lose the most from gambling.

Peta's contribution made a mark on the nation. I was at a hardware store yesterday when a woman came up to me unprompted and told me how much she liked Peta. I'd like to thank those who've called and emailed my office to share with me their admiration for Peta Murphy. But, among Peta's admirers, none loved her more than Rod Glover. I remember when Peta and Rod got together, and from the outset theirs was a partnership built on gentle teasing and underpinned by mutual admiration and a deep love. Rod, I know that Peta was able to do so much more as a parliamentarian thanks to you. All Australians are in your debt.

To Peta's parents, Bob and Jan; her sisters, her friends, her staff and her constituents—all 100,472 of them—my condolences on the loss of a remarkable woman, an extraordinary parliamentarian and somebody who I'm proud to have been able to call a mate for 24 years.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a tough day. Peta Jan Murphy—a colleague, a mate, a great sounding board and, more recently, my chamber buddy. She was taken away well before her time and certainly well before she could do all the things that she was capable of doing. Peta, as anyone who met her would attest, was as genuine as she was principled and compassionate. She oozed integrity. She stood tall for everything she believed in, and, if she believed in your cause, there was never a more fierce, dedicated and powerful advocate you could have on your side.

She was someone you could have the most serious in-dept conversations with on anything, like our discussions over the United Nations and local issues, like the work she did helping fix up the mess of the district workforce shortages for doctors in outer suburbs. But she was also someone that you could go and have a joke with—a sharp quip, a great dose of sass and always with that beaming smile and that mischievous little glint in her eye. She even made me appreciate her love of squash, but—jeez!—it was fun to wind her up about it, and, when she clicked what you were doing, generally you came off second best, because that was the kind of person she was. She was just so in-depth and intelligent and such a wonderful human being. It was an amazing privilege to be able to work with Peta.

As Brendan said today, in Peta's first speech she paid tribute to her parents, describing them as the 'most humble, principled and selfless people' she'd ever met. That was Peta to a tee, and it just proves the old adage that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Bob and Jan will be hurting now, and forever, as they begin this journey forward, a journey no parent wishes to ever have to take. I say to them that I hope they'll be able to take a moment and see what an incredible, positive impact their daughter made on this earth, both here and outside. Each of us here are better off for having the honour and privilege of having Murphy in our lives.

In Labor terms, we talk about the light on the hill. Peta was a light on the hill. She lived it, she breathed it and she espoused it. As someone from a normal, ordinary background, she had the ability to utilise her talent and dedication and, through sheer hard work, reach her goals and take advantage of all those opportunities for others. She took those opportunities she got and she opened the door to help others achieve their goals. As her battle went on, Peta drew on every strength she had. She had to make that light shine brighter for all to see. In fact, I would go as far as to say that she became a brighter light at a time when she was struggling the most with her illness. I remember saying to her once: 'Ease up a bit, mate. Give yourself a break.' But I only said that once, because Murph made it absolutely clear she didn't know how long she was going to be here but she was not going to waste a second doing the things she loved doing, which was to help those who she stood up for in this place.

I know that, if she were here right now next to me, she would be telling me to pull up, because that was Peta—humble to the core. She was an amazing person, and I know the hurt and the pain that Rod is going through now, and goes on with—and God knows I wish I could find words that would help ease that pain. We send our deepest sympathies knowing nothing we can say will remotely take away the pain that they feel and their family are feeling. I'd like to keep this short and brief because I know if I said to Peta, 'I'm going to spend 10 minutes talking about you', there would have been a pretty short two-word response, with the last one being 'off'! I want to say to Rod: it's a tough time for you and the family, but thank you for sharing Peta with us. She'll be at peace now, and I say goodbye, my friend.

Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I honestly can't remember when I first met Peta Murphy, but it was in one of those moments of six degrees of separation. Like me, Peta was a former advisor to Duncan Kerr SC, the former member for Denison, although Peta and I worked for Duncan at different times. Peta was Duncan's arts and justice policy advisor from 1999 to 2001 when he was shadow justice and arts minister, and I was Duncan's chief of staff in 2007 to 2008 when he was the Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs under Kevin Rudd. I'm pretty sure we first met by accident, with Duncan somewhere in the middle of it. I know, for sure, we met after my election in 2016 when Peta was Brendan O'Connor's chief of staff, before her own election to parliament in 2019, because we would swap stories about working for Duncan. Nothing salacious, I'm afraid. Duncan was terrific to work for, and Peta and I both thought very highly of him.

Following her own election to Dunkley in 2019, Peta and I were neighbours on the opposition backbench for a short time—right over there—egging each other on. We were both 94(a)'d at various times. And the contribution from the member for McEwen remembered me that she started her parliamentary career sitting next to one Mitchell, and she ended it, in the saddest terms, sitting next to another—not related!

It was clear to me that Peta Murphy was someone special. I wrote this last night, when I came to Canberra, and the contributions throughout today have remarked on this: 'a sharply honed intellect' were the words I used. I think every contribution I have heard today has mentioned Peta's intellect. She had a sharply honed intellect and a passion for social justice, but these were forged with a clarity to provide practical change that made a positive difference to people's lives. All of us here in this place have got a passion to try and drive forward the things that we believe in, but Peta had something that was able to bring it all together and drive through it, whether it was her experience in Brendan's office, her experience as a lawyer and a barrister—I don't know, but she really cut through it. She really was one out of the box.

Everything I recall about Peta—other than her obsession with squash—was about making people's lives better. It was never about herself; it was always about other people. She got in touch with me a couple of years ago to urge me to support a new education counselling service that had been running in her electorate and which she was keen to see spread far and wide. There was nothing in it for her. She just saw an opportunity to make more kids' lives better, no matter where they lived.

I have no doubt that, if Peta Murphy had survived her illness, she'd be well on her way to a senior ministry within a national Labor government. And she certainly never let her illness define her, defying it to the very last week of her life. I wasn't sure I was going to mention this but I will. We both came into the Reps last week, on the same day, the same morning. I was going through the scanning machine, and Peta was just behind me, coming through the doors with some bags. They didn't look heavy, but they were bags she was carrying, and it was clear to me she was unwell. For a moment, I hesitated. I thought, 'Should I offer to carry the bags? and I thought: 'Hang on, mate, this is Peta Murphy you're talking about. Give it a rest.' Peta was one of those people that, if she wanted help, she would have asked for it. So I didn't, and, of course, that's probably one of the last times I saw her. I didn't speak to her the rest of the week.

Over the years Duncan Kerr and Peta maintained contact and friendship, and I recall how Duncan would speak fondly of Peta and her many achievements. Duncan, who's now a constituent of mine in Lyons and who I continue to treasure, has provided me with the following words that I'd like to put into Hansard on his behalf.

Peta was always going to fly high. Her feisty character when she was young as my adviser was never going to be satisfied by the ordinary. Barrister, academic, sports coach or left wing shock jock were all possible candidates for Peta's career. If the time she worked with me helped to open Peta to the possibility that her future might be in elected public service it was at the cost to other paths of her extraordinary potential and paths not travelled. I will miss Peta's sharp wit and a friendship that was maintained to the end.

Breast cancer robs us of so many people every year, most of them women, and now we have lost Peta Murphy. Peta's family, her husband, Rod; her parents, Bob and Jenny; and her sisters, Jodi and Penni, have been robbed of someone they cherished—new memories never to be made, new achievements never to be marked. The parliament has been robbed of someone we all loved and admired, and the nation has been robbed of someone with so much more to contribute to public life.

I'd like to end with this Gaelic saying, and I apologise for any mispronunciation: ar scath a cheile a mhaireann na daoine. Through the shelter of each other, people survive. Vale Peta Murphy.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My overwhelming feeling about the passing of Peta Murphy is how desperately unfair it is. It is simply unfair. The parliament is giving speeches that none of us ever wanted to give. We're speaking words that we wish need not be spoken. I hope that Peta, wherever she is in heaven, can hear some of the sentiment being expressed, because she was everything a politician should be and everything a politician should aspire to.

She came to the job with a wealth of experience, both personal and professional. She believed in public service in its purest form. She was equal parts consummate professional and humanitarian. Her distinguished previous career as a solicitor, barrister and senior public defender meant that Peta came face to face with what she termed to be the 'corrosive effect' that intergenerational disadvantage can have on people, families and communities. She identified a deep need within her own community, where people struggle with mental illness, addiction, homelessness and family violence and breakdown. Peta understood that her skills could be put to good use in public life. She was motivated to make the move from law to politics by the understanding that Australians wanted to see people in parliament who could understand and would champion the needs of the people that they served. She believed in power for purpose.

I first got to meet Peta in her first foray into the world of Australian politics, as the candidate for Dunkley, in the 2016 federal election, when I was leader. I remember during that campaign that then Attorney-General George Brandis—at his performative, Brandis-esqe best—demanded the immediate disendorsement of the Labor candidate for Dunkley, over views that she'd expressed some seven years earlier, in the course of her being a lawyer, and had since rejected, as the national security climate changed. After discussion with Peta, we were able to politely point out to Senator Brandis that he may wish to look in his own backyard: the former member for Goldstein, Tim Wilson, had criticised Senator Brandis's own antiterrorism laws not seven years before but actually a year earlier.

I was privileged to have Peta as a candidate in 2016; I backed her 100 per cent. We weren't going to fall for Senator Brandis's, or any other coalition minister's, disingenuous distraction tactics. She wasn't successful on that occasion, but in 2019, after being elected, her first speech to the House challenged us all here to do better, reminding us that we're not just participants in, but custodians of, the parliament and that, if we get so caught up with winning the daily argument at all costs and we stop listening and striving to understand what others are saying in this cauldron of national conversation, we are not only diminished in the eyes of the Australian people but diminished in our capacity to tackle the difficult challenges. They weren't empty words.

Peta's time in parliament was characterised by respect for the parliamentary process, an unmatched work ethic and unswerving dedication to her constituents. I got to see the connection she had with the people of Dunkley on the campaign trail and at NDIS forums that I attended with their local member. There was care and mutual trust between Peta and those that she represented. She genuinely wanted to make a difference in their lives, and they knew it.

She said she drew inspiration from the Hawke and Keating governments, which she grew up under, whose core business was, as Peta put it, not only enlarging opportunities for those without power or resources but enlarging the national imagination. She was the walking embodiment of Labor values. She felt a natural affinity with Louisa Dunkley, the feminist and trade unionist after whom the seat is named. She was proud to be part of the Labor family that had taken real action to address gender inequity and was prepared to take on challenges such as preserving our egalitarian society and protecting our environment.

Peta was one of those people who probably didn't realise how much she was loved by those around her, because she was so self-deprecating, humble, funny and smart. She loved sport, particularly squash. She represented New South Wales, the ACT and Victoria at junior and senior levels and won gold medals at the Australian masters, the US masters and the world masters games. But, gee, she loved her family and friends—especially her most constructive critic, most loyal supporter and greatest friend, her husband, Rod.

To those of us who worked with Peta, she was a light. She was warm and caring; she was a colleague and a friend. She said in a recent interview that she had the opportunity, as an MP, to be part of some big stuff and would do everything she could for as long as she could. True to her word—and I know every member of the House can remember—she was here less than a week ago. She was clearly unwell. She gave some of her much-needed energy to others by travelling to Canberra to advocate a national registry of metastatic cancer patients. She refused to be defined by her illness. Rather, she decided to put it to good use, saying her breast cancer establishes an authority on the subject, and, when she spoke about it, there was no space for people not to listen to her.

The fact was it didn't matter what the subject was; when Peta Murphy spoke, we all listened. We listened because her words came from her heart—a heart brimming with authenticity, compassion, courage, strength, wisdom, truth and integrity. It is a rare combination of attributes, and we are all conscious and keenly aware of what we've lost.

Peta, in her trademark humble style, said the people of Dunkley had bestowed upon her the awesome privilege of sitting alongside her colleagues and serving the Australian people. The fact is, Peta, the privilege was ours. The loss is, clearly, most keenly felt by Rod and her parents and her sisters and her family. But I'm grateful to all of my colleagues who are speaking in this motion about Peta Murphy, because one group of people who have lost, with Peta passing, are those who haven't had a chance to meet her, and I hope that these words of the members of parliament who have served with her can at least provide some sliver or fraction of insight into what a remarkable human being and parliamentarian Peta Murphy was.

Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a sad occasion. I want to start by, in the most genuine way, associating myself with all the wonderful tributes that have been given by members of the House on both sides in this condolence debate this evening. The Prime Minister, the minister for skills—there wasn't a dry eye in the House when the member for Jagajaga was giving her address. There were wonderful words from the Leader of the Opposition and the member for Melbourne, and just now from the minister for disability services—eloquent, heartfelt, wonderful words, and a great tribute to our friend and comrade.

I've thought a lot about what I'd say because I wanted to make this about Peta. I couldn't help thinking about the first time I met Peta back in 2015. It was in a pub in Melbourne. She'd not long been preselected as the candidate for Melbourne, and I liked her instantly. I liked her instantly. Those of us who have grown up in a strong, Irish, working-class matriarchy—you kind of recognise it straight up. Peta was that. There's a brassy earthiness about it. You're never left wondering. Whip smart, funny, principled: I liked everything about her. She was warm. She was funny. She was tough and whip smart. We shared a passion for the law, for legal representation, for advocacy, for policy and for the rights and representation of people who were unloved and unrepresented. And that, in public life, can sometimes take a lot of courage—particularly the unloved. But she saw the importance of ensuring that everyone had representation before the law.

As I was walking through the corridors to give this tribute here, I was reminded of a speech I gave a little over a year ago. It was in the course of the debate around the religious discrimination bill. I don't know why, but, before walking into the chamber, I showed Peta a copy of the speech that I was going to give. For me it was a really difficult and emotional moment. I'd just lost a nephew, and my son was angry and distressed and upset that we in this place were dissecting his identity as part of the political process. I remember I was showing this speech to Peta—and you'll forgive me, Deputy Speaker, if I repeat word for word what she said. She just looked at me with shock and said, 'Oh fuck,' and moved immediately. I didn't know it; I came in to give the speech and I looked around and Peta had organised—I know I've offended the standing orders, but I'll push on—

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm sure it was 'truck'.

Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

She'd organised room for all of my colleagues to sit behind me for what was really tough. I didn't know it and wasn't asking her to, but that was the kind of measure of a person she was. She just knew what to say and what to do at the right point in time.

I did campaign with her. It was my pleasure to campaign with her during her unsuccessful 2016 campaign and again in the 2019 campaign. In 2016 she was up against a formidable opponent in Bruce Billson. He got up, just, in 2016, but she stood up again in 2019 and won through. She was a consummate professional. She walked into a room and everyone warmed to her. It was a great pleasure to work alongside her.

I had the pleasure of campaigning and working with her again in the last election. I recall I was down in her electorate in March earlier this year. We'd organised a forum in an aged-care facility. There were about 100 people lined up there, and I had underestimated the amount of time it was going to take for me to get from Melbourne to Frankston South—it was about 40 minutes longer than I had estimated. When I got there, I saw Peta on stage cracking jokes and entertaining a roomful of the elderly residents. She was holding the fort as if it was the most natural thing in the world. It was a measure of the person she was. She was warm, she was engaging and she always knew what to do in those difficult circumstances.

The job of an MP, as all of us know, is demanding and tiring. I can't begin to imagine how demanding and tiring it was for Peta when she was juggling those difficult public responsibilities with her own personal turmoil and health problems. Everybody would have forgiven her if she said, 'This is all too much,' and just pulled up stumps and finished. Everybody would have forgiven her. As a mark of who she was, she did none of that.

A number of colleagues have commented about the fact that she was here until Tuesday last week. Her last contribution in this parliament was asking a question in question time. Therein, she got in her car, went home and straight to hospital. I'm so happy that she got to spend her final hours with her beloved husband, Rod. Like all other speakers before me, I offer my condolences to her wonderful family, Rod, her sisters and mum and dad, and all who knew and loved her.

Because it is parliament I want to say something about the job not yet completed that Peta was working on. She threw her heart and soul into the parliamentary committee that was looking at online gambling, particularly the report that she published You win some, you lose more. I share a passion with that. If you just pick it up you will see the very forceful, blunt, un-ignorable truths that were grouped together in that report:

Australians outspend the citizens of every other country on online gambling. This is wreaking havoc in our communities.

…   …   …

The torrent of advertising is inescapable. It is manipulating an impressionable and vulnerable audience to gamble online.

…   …   …

Australia would be diminished if sport was to be so captured by gambling revenue that providing an opportunity for betting came to be seen as its primary purpose.

I wholeheartedly endorse those words. I think it would be a great tribute to our friend if this parliament took seriously the job of reform in this area, to take that report and ensure that it doesn't just sit on the shelf—another parliamentary committee report. We see that as the joint mission of this parliament, to take forward the reforms that our wonderful friend and parliamentary colleague committed to writing as her last contribution to public life.

She was a great mate, a great colleague, a fantastic parliamentarian and just an outstanding human being. There are many in this place who were closer to her than I, and I don't try to pretend otherwise, but I admired her enormously. I'm going to miss her, and, from the tenor of other contributions in this place, I'm not alone. Vale, Peta Murphy, and love to all who loved you so much.

Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, too, rise tonight to remember and pay tribute to the remarkable Peta Murphy. I echo the sentiments of all those in this House who deeply respected Peta and who will deeply miss her. She was an incredible person, and we've seen that through the wide range of tributes right throughout the House, all the interactions that everyone had, the history that many people had in terms of knowing her for long periods of time, and the sentiment we've heard from everybody today. It shows how deeply respected she was.

We were all so heartbroken to hear the news of Peta's death just two days ago because we'll all miss her so much. We'll miss her incredible passion and dedication, her immense intellect and sharp wit and humour, her vast generosity and kindness, that massive smile she had that would just light up every single room she was in, and her absolute authenticity—which we saw all the time with Peta. She was always so incredibly down-to-earth and you knew exactly where she stood on all issues and how fiercely she believed in them, how well she articulated them and the passionate intellect she brought to every task she had. We'll miss her courage; she was so tough and was truly fearless.

There are many people here who have spoken who knew Peta for very long periods of time, over various times throughout her life. Unfortunately, I'd only known her since she came to parliament but I felt like I'd known her for so long; I think many of us who had only met her since she came to parliament felt that. That was the magic of Peta; she was so warm and engaging with everyone she came across.

Just two weeks before being sworn in as an MP in 2019, as we know, Peta received the terrible news that her cancer had returned. In that remarkable first speech in parliament, she said:

I am neither unique nor alone in the fight that I am about to take on.

The courage she showed then and since then was remarkable. She fought on, and she bravely fought cancer whilst tirelessly continuing to raise awareness and action needed around breast cancer. She did that in so many different ways and different forums. Even last week she was here, raising the issue. She just didn't stop.

Peta epitomised the great privilege we all share in serving in our federal parliament and the opportunity to make a real difference. Making a difference is exactly what Peta did across so many areas, whether it was in women's health, gender equality—her strong commitment to ensuring we had greater gender equality was fierce—education, workers rights, climate change and the environment, and, most recently, as many people have spoken of, online gambling; she raised her concerns about that. She was here last week talking about that. She used every minute in this place to further the fight for action on these and so many other issues, and she understood the true power of change that Labor governments can bring to our nation. She was Labor through and through, always focused on delivering outcomes for the most vulnerable in our community and always focused on social justice and equity.

I'd like to quote from her first speech:

It's been quite a journey to this place for a public-school girl from Wagga. I grew up during the Hawke and Keating years, benefitting from the long list of economic, social and environmental reforms their government introduced. Their government was a Labor government who, like all Labor governments before and since, took seriously their core business of enlarging opportunities for those without power or resources. But what really inspired teenage me was the way Hawke and Keating also enlarged our national imagination about who we could be and the place we could take in the world. They made me believe in our democratic system because they demonstrated how that system could deliver good government and how good government could deliver a better future. They, and the values my parents instilled in me, also made me Labor.

And Peta certainly was, as I said, Labor through and through with her deep commitment to social justice.

As we've heard from so many people here, she was such a dedicated local member in terms of representing the people of Dunkley here in parliament and her strong role within her community. She was so passionate about all the issues impacting her region and the people within her area. She was always raising those issues, community issues, and standing up for those people in her community that she was so incredibly proud to represent—a community that loved her so much in return. She was held in such high regard, and she kept representing them fiercely right up until last week.

I had the privilege of working closely with Peta on our Protecting Pensioners Taskforce during the last term of parliament. As with everything else that she was involved in, she was fearless and dedicated to the cause of getting rid of the cashless debit card. She was so proud we did that in government and her contributions, her involvement and working with her were, like at all times, so smart, so values based, so clearly focused in everything she put her mind to do and everything she was involved in.

Peta was so strong, and she was such a true warrior. As many people have mentioned here today, she wonderfully quoted the great Pippi Longstocking in her first speech. She said:

Finally, I want to end with a quote from Pippi Longstocking … Pippi's friend Annika had just told her that she couldn't beat the strong man at the show because 'he's the strongest man in the world'.

'Man, yes,' said Pippi, 'but I'm the strongest girl in the world, remember that.'

And she was that; she was so strong.

At this saddest of times, we offer our deepest sympathies to Peta's loving husband, Rod, and all her family, friends, colleagues and her wonderful staff. We feel for all of them. Our deepest condolences to all of them. Peta inspired us all and, as the Prime Minister said here earlier today, it's hard to believe she isn't here and it's harder to believe she won't be here. She was a true warrior. May she rest in peace. We'll miss her so dearly.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I walked into parliament this morning, it was a magnificent Canberra summer day, a beautiful day. That's fitting to me because that's how I remember Peta. I see these beautiful flowers here and they remind me of her as well.

I only met Peta after she came into this place after the 2019 election, and to me she was someone who lit up every room she was in. I dealt with her a bit in that parliament, on the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs. She really made it a pleasure to be on that committee. It's a pretty dry committee sometimes, but she really made it a great place to be. She struck me from the very first time I met her in that first committee meeting. We were getting some evidence, from the Attorney-General's Department I think it was, and I said to one of the people who was giving us evidence to explain it to me as I didn't understand it. Peta immediately turned to me and she said: 'A miracle! A male doctor who doesn't think he knows everything!' She grabbed my imagination from that time onwards.

I knew something of her medical history, and I did try and help her through the time that we were together in that parliament and this one. I understood some of what she was going through, and it was terrible and heartbreaking. I give my condolences to her husband, Rod Glover, who she loved dearly, her parents, her sisters, her extended family, her staff and the people of Dunkley. I give my condolences to them, but I thank them all for allowing us some time to spend with Peta. Dylan Thomas has said people should 'rage, rage against the dying of the light'. Peta was never like that. She saw what she was going through as what many people in our world go through, and she didn't see herself as being special, but I thought she was really special.

I understood what she was going through. In fact, a few weeks ago when I said to her, 'Look, you don't look well, you need to go home,' she said to me, 'I know I'm dying, but I'll kill you if you tell anyone about it.' She didn't want anyone to know what she was going through. She did all the things she did in this parliament, the amazing policy work, the things she did about social justice, people going through health problems, everything that we as a Labor government are dealing with—she went through all that but, I knew, in constant pain. She must have been in agony. Even the way she sat in her chair in parliament, you could see she was in pain—bone pain, which is said to be the worst pain you can go through.

She didn't want to take pain relief, and I hope I'm not divulging personal history that she wouldn't want said. But she wouldn't take narcotics because she didn't want her mentation dulled. It certainly was obvious that she didn't take pain medication when perhaps she should have. She wanted to be bright and she wanted to give what she could give for every minute and every day that she was here without giving in to that terrible cancer. And so she did what she could, putting up with the pain, putting up with the discomfort. We saw, in the last week, she was sick; she really was functioning with her last breath, with her last bit of energy to try and be here, and she did—giving a radio interview, giving talks, asking questions in parliament to the very, very end, and I just admired her amazingly for that.

Many members of parliament, on all sides, have spoken to me about how highly they regarded her and how much they valued her input. The Independent member for Kooyong, Monique Ryan, has contacted me and has said she was just an all-round good egg who gave as much as she could to our parliament. The member for Hughes has also expressed to me how much she valued Peta's input. And that just is a sign of how much the whole parliament valued her. She won't be forgotten.

It is appropriate that we grieve for her but also give thanks for what she has given to us all and given to this parliament. For me personally, it has been a great privilege to have been with her. She was on the standing committee on health, and she gave incredible input there, every minute she was in that meeting. As I said, every meeting she came to, she lit up the room. It was something that I looked forward to—to have her there—and that is something I will value for as long as I live.

None of us gets to choose the timing of our death, really. I'm so sorry to see Peta go, but I have fantastic memories of her, and I know many people in the parliament feel exactly the same way. Many words have been spoken today about Peta, and she will live on in the things that she has done and the impression she has made upon people. For her family, there must be unbelievable grief—and for her husband, who she often spoke about and clearly loved dearly. It must be a time that they wonder how they are going to get through this. None of us will forget Peta. None of us will deny what she has given to us all, and I'm very privileged and very glad I was here for at least a part of it. I know she's given so much more to her local community, but everyone who had contact with her loved her dearly and valued what she did. I will remember her for the rest of my days. Vale, Peta. It's been a beautiful day, just like you were a beautiful person. We will remember you forever.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the federal member for Wright I'd like to associate myself with the overwhelmingly kind and beautiful words that have been said today by the Prime Minister and the opposition leader—the heartfelt words that I've heard whilst being in the chamber. My contribution will be slightly different because I didn't know she was a barrister before coming to this place. I didn't know the extent of work that she did with charity groups. I knew she was the member for Dunkley and I knew that, to be member for Dunkley, you'd have to fight hard because it's one of those marginal seats that doesn't have a lot of fat in it. So you start to build a sense of her character in her being able to win a seat like that. I didn't know that she was a gold medallist in the Masters for her squash. I didn't know that. I didn't know her family. I'd never had the privilege of meeting them. Like many members in this House, I didn't have those tentacles. I didn't sit on any committees with her.

But there are some things that I did know about this lady. We were corridor pals. In the machinations of this place, when the bells ring there are four minutes to get to the chamber. There are many divisions every term, and for most of those I would walk with Peta to the chamber, or on the way back to the corridor, and there are things I learnt about her, particularly when she first got ill and was undertaking therapy. She had the shaved head, and I said, 'I love what you've done to your hair,' and our relationship grew from there. She was a fierce opponent when we spoke about politics. On the way back to our rooms, she would not give or yield to a political point that may have been won or lost in the chamber. She would defend her position most aggressively. She was a fierce opponent. One day, when her hair was starting to grow back, I said—I'm man of faith—'God bless. You look healthier.' She knew that she wasn't getting healthier, and she said to me, 'You keep praying.' I did and I will continue to.

Can I give a shout-out to those that continue to do work in Australia and throughout all of our communities in advocating the cause against breast cancer. Whatever organisation it might be—thank you. It's a cause that we need to, as a government and community, continue to invest money in. I was the Chief Government Whip when we last lost a member of parliament, Don Randall from Western Australia. I remind all members that, when these speeches conclude tonight, the pain of the memory of our colleagues that have departed will continue on. There are services within this building that you can reach out to, but the best thing you can do is to share your thoughts with a colleague, share your pain with someone and speak about it. Don't bottle it up. The other thing I would ask colleagues in this place to do is to keep an eye out for those who may be grieving more than others as the weeks and months go on. Our challenge will be to make sure that we keep an eye on each other. Keep your eye on colleagues because it's a terrible day.

I want to finish by sending my condolences to the family. It is a terrible passing, an absolutely terrible passing. To the God that I pray to, keep that family in your thoughts. As I put my head on my pillow tonight, I will say a prayer of thanks for the amazing work that Peta did in this place. God bless. Rest in peace.

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was the latecomer to the class of 2019. I was elected in a by-election in July 2020—peak-COVID. This place was a very different and interesting one to come into, because we didn't have people sitting next to us. We were all spread out across the chamber. Giving my first speech, I had to get special dispensation to actually get family members in to watch. When I met the rest of the class of 2019, they quickly added me to their group chat, which I was eternally grateful for. There were a whole bunch of new things that I was trying to get my head around, and what a fantastic group of people it was to be able to ask for help. Peta was one of those people who spoke to me and said, 'I got elected only last year; let me know if you need anything.' She put herself out there from day one and always made sure that I had someone to check in with.

As with the previous speaker, Peta and I were in the same corridor after I got elected. I wandered into her office not long after being elected here and asked for her advice, because, like Peta's, mine was a marginal electorate. She spoke to me about some of the things that she did in her community. I started following her on social media and quickly realised that people in the seat of Dunkley just loved her. She showed up to football games, to netball games, to local businesses and to community groups, and each and every time there were so many comments afterwards saying: 'Thanks for your for work, Peta. We appreciate what you do for us.' People genuinely responded to Peta and the way she went about things, because she was so incredibly down to earth and so incredibly humble—so humble that she'd probably hate what today is all about: people giving her recognition all day about what a fantastic person she was and all the things that she accomplished in her lifetime.

She was, as I said, an incredibly hard worker. She was a ferocious advocate and, as many speakers have said, whip smart. She would have the most fantastic comebacks in milliseconds, and I genuinely loved her sarcastic sense of humour. It was just amazing to witness at times. She was someone that also wanted to make a difference. She reached across the aisle and she worked with whomever she needed to to get things done. I saw her advocate for life-saving medicines to be added to the PBS. I saw her advocate for human rights across the world. I know the trip she took with the member for Gippsland to the UN was one that she genuinely appreciated and loved. You've heard a lot of people talk about her focus in standing up for those less fortunate to make sure that community members from right across the spectrum—the socio-economic spectrum and the educational spectrum—had a fair go at things. And that was exactly who she was. She was someone that wanted a fair go for everyone and was prepared to work hard to achieve that.

When I arrived here in 2020, party politics was something new for me. It was on the back of multiple reports about the behaviour in this place—I think in every Four Corners episode there was a new revelation—but it couldn't have been further from what I saw happening. The night of the debate on the religious discrimination legislation, there were a number of people milling around former Opposition Whip Chris Hayes's office. I was having a chat to the whip at the time, and the member for Macarthur walked in with Peta. He pointed at the Opposition Whip, Chris Hayes, and said, 'Peta is going home.' That is the care and compassion of the place that I walked into—people who genuinely looked out for each other, people who had a real sense of knowing who Peta was. She wasn't prepared to go home and call it an early night. As the member for Jagajaga said earlier on, so many times she attempted to say to Peta, 'You probably don't need to be here this week,' and each and every time Peta would say, 'Oh no; I'm going to be here.' That was who she was. She had so many people in this place and in the Labor Party who loved and cared about her and who wanted the best for her.

She did a lot of work across standing committees, and she'll be forever known for some of that work. I know how much she treasured her two dogs, Bert and Ernie. She frequently showed pictures of them to us and spoke about their antics. She was fantastic at not mincing her words. As many people have said, you always knew where you stood with Peta Murphy, which I genuinely love.

Last week she attempted to launch the Breast Cancer Network Australia report Making metastatic breast cancer count. I heard her on RN last week. She said, 'I feel a responsibility to use my platform for this,' and PK said to her, 'Absolutely, but how are you?' In typical Peta fashion, she said, 'I'll be okay,' and just completely brushed it off because she'd gone on that show to talk about the launch of this report.

In her maiden speech, Peta said, 'Cancer sucks' and joked about whether it was unparliamentary language. She was absolutely right: cancer does suck, but she never let it get in the way of what she wanted to achieve. We'll all deeply miss her presence, her dedication and, as many people have said, her fantastic smile. I want to join the very loud chorus of people acknowledging Rod. I send my condolences to him, to her parents, to her sisters and to her nieces and nephew. Peta, you'll be forever missed.

Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like a lot of colleagues, as I sought to prepare for this I read Peta Murphy's first speech. As I did so, the voice in my head was hers, loud and clear. There's a moment where she begins her thankyous. She talks about her friends who play squash, and there is a giggle that emanates from the rest of us. She continues for a moment and then she stops. She looks up with a grin, with a glint in her eye, departs from her prepared speech and asks why everyone laughs whenever she talks about squash. She then gives an impromptu history on Australian women's squash—Heather McKay and Vicki Cardwell, who was in the gallery on that day. Then, having chastised us all for laughing at her sport, she announces that she's going to start the section again, which is exactly what she does. Right there, in that moment, is her sense of humour—a bit wicked—her bright intelligence and her sense of fun and joy. As I read that part of her speech, I could remember the moment, and that moment played out in my head completely vividly, just as it was the first time. And it was hard not to cry, because the idea that Peta Murphy is no longer among us feels totally preposterous.

I didn't meet Peta until she came to this place, but Peta had been a staffer. She had worked as a lawyer in Victoria, as a criminal barrister—a pathway not too far distant from my own. The three bosses that she referred to in her first speech—Duncan Kerr, Rob Stary and Brendan O'Connor—are all people who are in my life. Indeed, my wife, Rachel, met Peta before I did when she attended a fundraiser for Peta amongst the Labor law community in Victoria. So when I first met Peta here, for me her reputation quite literally preceded her. That reputation was of a person who was thoroughly decent, who was very smart and who was going to make an impact in this place, and that reputation has been completely fulfilled in the presence she has given here. But no-one told me about the fun Peta. No-one told me about the emotionally intelligent Peta. No-one told me about the magnetic-personality Peta. So, I got to know that person all on my own.

In this building, relationships can be complex; they can be intense—and that's probably as it should be. It reflects the complexity of our society and it reflects the material we work and deal with. But, against that backdrop, to observe that every dealing I had with Peta Murphy was only good is genuinely remarkable. We can perhaps find a hint of that in her speech, when she said she aspired to be part of a generation of Australian politicians who worked to recover the public's faith in our democratic system and who strove to re-harness politics as that vehicle for enlarging opportunities and enlarging our national imagination. There was a philosophical underpinning to Peta Murphy's personality, and she belonged to that rare group of people, which perhaps we all aspire to, of whom it can be said that they were much loved. And she certainly was.

To spend a day with Peta, as I did on numerous occasions, was to experience the delight of having Bert or Ernie, her puppies, thrust into your arms to have a photo taken to be put on the picture wall of her electorate office, or to go and visit one of her local businesses, such as the Eeny Meeny Cafe, and see on the face of the owner an already great affection for their new federal member. To do that was to have a happy to day and to get in the car at the end of it and to drive home with a fundamentally optimistic outlook on life.

I can remember an occasion when Peta and I attended the Frankston Centenary Tennis Club's open day. We were in our business dress, but inevitably tennis racquets were thrust into our hands. Now, Peta was an accomplished sportsperson. I am not; my greatest aspiration in that moment was for racquet to connect with ball. But Peta played tennis strokes with an exquisite timing, which portrayed a complete understanding of how her body worked. By mistake, really, I hit a ball away from her, and instantaneously she reacted—quite competitively, I might say—to pursue the chase. But, not wearing tennis shoes, before long her really inappropriate footwear saw her take a tumble, and all of us took a deep breath. But then, in an instant, she was jumping up, a big smile on her face. Any sense of awkwardness completely evaporated in a cackle of laughter, which was totally infectious. In the hilarity of that moment, there she was: completely full of life—effervescent, distilled joy.

Peta's first speech was full of emotion. She talked about the battle that she had had with breast cancer and then, in a cruel twist, she revealed that in the couple of weeks beforehand the cancer had returned. I think in that moment all of us had our collective hearts in our mouths about whether one day, this day, would ensue. It would always be difficult, but as we got to know Peta, as we saw her qualities, it amplified the potential tragedy, because, absent the cancer, Peta was 50, and, given everything that she had already done, she could have expected a 20-year career here and she could have been anything. What we have is a shortened career, but, to use the phrase of another, we have been given a profile in courage—each and every day her indomitable spirit, each and every day her irrepressible joy.

Breast cancer is all too common. For all of us, we know people in our lives who have wrestled with it—a friend in Geelong, my chief of staff, my sister. Thankfully, there are many really wonderful and inspiring stories of survival, but sadly there are also too many stories like Peta's. Somehow, I feel that Victorian Labor women have been particularly affected, going right back to Pauline Toner, Lynne Kosky, Fiona Richardson and more recently Jane Garrett. That is a list about which Peta would have been acutely aware. But she said that she wanted to use the platform of this place to advocate on behalf of those who had suffered, and that vow she maintained right through until last week when she was here to participate in the launch by Breast Cancer Network Australia of their national report into the establishment of the national registry for metastatic cancer patients. That is an act of enormous bravery and courage—and a call to action, which, in Peta's words, would be to commit to the reform and funding that our health system needs and to do whatever is required to ensure that Australia trains, retains and invests in the healthcare professionals and researchers who make our system great.

I didn't know Peta Murphy as well as some of my colleagues. To them, to her family and particularly to Rod: you are all deeply in my thoughts. But for me I am just so grateful and so honoured that in the last 4½ years I had the enormous privilege of coming to know Peta Murphy. May she rest in peace.

Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We're all so deeply saddened at the passing of our friend and colleague Peta Murphy. We've heard so many speakers on both sides talk about her life and her contribution to this place and to her community, and you get this theme that has come through around Peta being a fighter, a warrior, both in this place, in the parliament, but also in her electorate of Dunkley. I think maybe she was a warrior more in the sense of a person engaged in a struggle, in a just cause or a struggle, not just for herself, although she obviously struggled and fought her own health battles. Her real struggle was for others, in helping others have a better life. You couldn't have asked for a more dedicated and passionate member of parliament, or local member. The strength and determination in which Peta approached all the issues that were close to her heart, that she was passionate about, was nothing short of inspiring. We all remember—and we discussed this as recently as last week—how we saw her standing there, asking questions in the House, raising awareness about the issues that mattered deeply to her.

Despite her own health battles and her own struggle—which she fought with such great determination and grit like the sporting champion that she was, with that tenacity that she had—she maintained an unwavering focus on helping others rather than herself. It wasn't about herself; it was about all the people she could help in her community, nationally and in the issues that matter to her, particularly through her support for those with breast cancer and all the work she did in advocating and fighting for that national registry for metastatic cancer patients, with the report being launched last week. A couple of previous speeches have quoted this her maiden speech when, just weeks after discovering her cancer had returned, she said: 'I am someone who has a platform that can be used to benefit others. And … I intend to use it.' And use it she did. She really did.

From my perspective, as a friend and a colleague of Peta's, I have to say that, personally, it was just a privilege to know her as a person and to have spent time with her. She had a really sharp legal mind—she was very good at that—and I will be always grateful for the time she generously shared her insight with me. I will miss the times we were in meetings together when someone would say 'Peta' and we would both start speaking. Of course, it was always referring to the smart one—which was, naturally, Peta—not the hairy one—which was me. I will miss that laughter that we shared. There has been a lot of reflection around Peta's legacy. We've been reminded of a woman who had unparalleled strength, resilience and compassion, and the impact that she had not only on her community but also on the broader and national community, given the policy work that she did, both local and national. It's a mark of a really good member of parliament, a really good representative in a democracy. I don't think you can really measure that impact—there are no real metrics for that—but we all know it. We all know what kind of contribution she made. We understand it.

My condolences go out to Rod Glover. He and I worked together as staffers a long time ago. I know he's feeling a lot of pain right now. Condolences to her family, her sisters, her parents, all of her friends, all of her loved ones, and all of the people in her community who had the privilege of knowing and working with her as we had. Peta, we're going to miss you very deeply. We're going to miss you in this place. We're going to miss you being around. Peta, I hope you rest in eternal peace. I know that all the contributions you have made to our society, to our nation and to your community will continue to inspire generations to come. Rest in peace, Peta Jan Murphy.

Cassandra Fernando (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with deep sorrow and a heavy heart that we mourn the passing of our esteemed colleague, the incredible Peta Murphy. Something Peta and I have in common is being the first female members for our respective seats. Peta was more than just a fellow parliamentarian; she was a beacon of strength, resilience and unwavering dedication to her constituents and to the causes she held dear. Peta's untimely departure leaves a void that will be felt not only in this chamber but also in the hearts of those who were touched by her grace, wisdom and unyielding spirit.

I had the privilege of sitting next to Peta in parliament, witnessing firsthand her commitment to the people of Dunkley and her tireless efforts to bring about positive change. It is hard to sit here now without her by my side. Peta's passion for justice and equality was evident in every action she took, both within the political arena and in her personal life. During my early days in the House, Peta offered me invaluable advice, guidance and a warm welcome, which continued to be a source of inspiration throughout my tenure. She mentored me and pulled my head in when I was causing a bit of ruckus in the House—most question times, actually.

Peta's battle with cancer served as a reminder of the challenges faced by so many Australians. Breast cancer remains one of the most prevalent forms of cancer, affecting countless lives across our nation. The statistics are sobering, with one in seven Australian women diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 85. Metastatic breast cancer in particular presents unique challenges. Peta was a fierce advocate for greater awareness and support for those living with this treatable but not curable form of disease. In her advocacy work, Peta recognised that visibility is crucial for addressing healthcare needs adequately. Her dedication to this cause culminated in the support of Breast Cancer Network Australia's report Time to count people with metastatic breast cancer: a way forward. The report was a roadmap for reporting the vital data that will make a meaningful difference in the lives of those affected.

Peta's commitment to her community remained unwavering, even during her most challenging days. She worked tirelessly until the very last day, exemplifying her belief that service to our nation is the highest calling. Her determination was not only a testament to her character but an inspiration to all who knew her. Peta was not just a politician; she was a compassionate human being who faced adversity with unparalleled courage and grace. Her advocacy transcends personal battles, aiming to improve the lives of countless Australians facing similar challenges. Her legacy will endure through the positive changes she fought for, and her impact on the lives of those she served will be felt for generations to come. Even in her final moments, Peta retained her dignity, strength and trademark sense of humour. She lived and died on her terms, never wanting to be a burden, and always faced adversity with unparalleled courage. Peta's life was a testament to the power of hope, resilience and an unwavering commitment to justice.

As we mourn her passing, let us also celebrate the incredible legacy she leaves behind. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends and all those who had the privilege of knowing this extraordinary woman that sat next to me. May Peta Murphy rest in peace, knowing that her spirit will continue to inspire us all. God bless you. God bless us all. May her memory be a guiding light in our collective journey toward a more compassionate and just society. Rest in peace, my friend. It was so good to see you last Tuesday. Your last words to me I couldn't write in this speech. As she walked up, I grabbed her hand and I said, 'I'll see you soon,' and she said, 'You will not see me soon.' You will be really missed, Peta Murphy. Rest in peace.

Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There's been a lot said today about the wonderful life of Peta Jan Murphy. I'm filled with an immense emptiness and sorrow at the circumstances, the reason we have all lined up to celebrate, to commemorate, to mourn and to honour the life, the legacy and the passing of our colleague, the member for Dunkley.

Losing such a guiding light, a beacon in this place, you seldom wonder why things feel darker in here for it no longer contains the beaming glow of her presence. It was only mere days ago when Peta graced this chamber and this building with her boundless presence, her sharp wit and her sense of humour lagging not far behind her infectious smile.

Peta did not allow her illness to define her. Instead, she used her experiences and her platform to advocate for better healthcare policies, to raise awareness and to support others going through similar struggles. Selfless is one of the many words others and I would describe Peta as being—selfless to the very end. Even during her toughest times, she remained focused on her responsibilities and her duty to the people of Dunkley, driven by an unwavering desire to make a difference. It takes a certain kind of person to persevere in the face of that kind of adversity and doing so in a very public setting. But Peta did so with the same grace and tenacity with which she sailed past every hurdle that waited in front of her. For this alone, this 47th Parliament, including all those that work within it, around it and adjacent to it, and the federal parliamentary Labor Party—including me—are poorer for losing Peta's presence in this place.

At the very same time, I know that we are all richer for having been able to bask in the friendship, the counsel, the kindness of her heart and the sheer breadth and depth of her mind that Peta has shared with us all in one way or another. The rare and marvellous thing about Peta, both in life and in tributes to it, has been the remarks made about her by those from all sides of politics. Both in Hansard and in private, the notable part has been the consistency of those words. What you saw was what you got with Peta—a rare trait not only to possess but openly display from within this building. Those who knew Peta, from the squash court to the law court to merely holding court with Peta in her time as the member for Dunkley, you'd have known a proud, talented and thoroughly sanguine individual who would always give you the time of day to speak to your own passions just as much as she would be relentless about her own.

Gambling reform was an area of policy dear to her heart, with the Alliance for Gambling Reform's Chief Advocate, Reverend Tim Costello, calling her a champion of that cause, namely for her work to reform online gambling. As such, I find it quite fitting that, although Peta never made a valedictory address to this place, some of her final speeches in this place comprised contributions to legislation concerning the regulation of online gambling.

Some people choose their time when they leave this place. Others know that they have to choose what they do with their time wisely and make sure their impact is both effective and profound. Peta, you've made a profound impact on all of us which, at the same time, makes this all the more difficult. A little bit of that collegiality was on display last Tuesday, just before question time, courtesy of the member for Gippsland, with his jovial yet bittersweet statement to the House, honouring Peta whilst weathering her interjections upon the member for Gippsland questioning whether squash was, indeed, a sport. It's certainly one of those rare moments the public doesn't usually get to witness in lieu of the rough-and-tumble of question time. Sometimes I think that it's those moments that we shouldn't keep secret from the Australian public.

Whilst I'm saddened in the realisation that I'll never hear Peta's voice in this chamber again, making well-reasoned points, often in unassuming rapid-fire succession—especially against the member for Riverina during an MPI—I'm all the richer for these experiences and I will forever cherish being lucky enough to be in her presence, soaring far above the rest of us.

As is often the case with condolence motions, they are made in honour of giant figures of yesteryear. Whether their contributions have made them larger-than-life figures or whether they were impactful yet unassuming, we often forget that we stand shoulder to shoulder with both every single day. I will cherish those days that I stood with Peta in this place and will continue doing so during rare, quiet moments that this job sometimes allows for.

In celebrating the life of Peta Murphy, let us remember her for not just the policies she championed or the speeches she made but the lives she touched, the communities she uplifted and the difference she made. Let us remember her for her kindness, her warmth and her indomitable spirit. Peta's legacy is not just something that is recorded in the Hansard but is one that exists in the hearts and minds of the people she represented, the lives she improved, the positions she changed and inspired. Peta is absolutely right about a number of things from her first speech back in 2019. Whether she knew it at the time or not, Peta would, in no shadow of a doubt, be known as one of the strongest of them all—certainly amongst all of us. And secondly, this has truly been quite a journey for a public school girl from Wagga, and what a remarkable journey it has been for a remarkable woman, a remarkable colleague and a remarkable friend. Rest in peace, Peta.

Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are moments when it feels like time stands still, and other moments where it flashes by you in an instant. The member for Dunkley was here for question time just last week, but then there's today, where all sides of politics have come together to pay tribute to the fierce, brave and witty Peta Murphy.

It is rare that we put our political tools down and unite in our humanity. Let's face it: Peta was a rare human with a disease that unfortunately is not rare. Her death leaves us with an incredible legacy, and the tragedy of her loss leaves us with broken-hearted questions: How could she be gone? How could she have been in parliament only last week? But her defiant life leaves us with questions too: How inclusive is our vision for the future? How large is our national imagination and how deep is our dedication? Are we working hard enough? Are we striving high enough? Are we taking ourselves too seriously? Her example shines back at us and should inspire us every day. The ideals of Peta Murphy must echo through all that we do.

Peta was my parliamentary neighbour, and I can open my door and still see her name on the wall. When I was a brand new MP settling into my office, this place felt very foreign and very unfamiliar, but Peta went out of her way to make me feel at home. Parliament was not new to Peta. She knew these halls, she knew her way around and she knew how to make stuff happen, even in finding a microwave. Anyone who knows me knows that I love food, so I would sometimes go to Peta's office and borrow her microwave. Of course, being a practical woman of action, she found me a microwave of my own. Not being phased about the pecking order, she let me know that the Minister for the Skills and Training had a microwave without a home, so the member for Gorton's old microwave can be found in a new home in my office thanks to Peta going above and beyond in all things and turning something as mundane as a microwave into a treasure.

When thinking about Peta's first speech, her first speech is a true treasure. Her words seem to speak to us now, in this very moment, inspiring us and reaffirming our commitments, and she challenges all of us in this place to be a better version of ourselves. We have all rediscovered these words in the past few days like a sacred text. In her first speech she spoke about her legacy and spoke about the need to recover the public's faith in our democracy. What she wanted to see was a reharnessing of politics as a vehicle for enlarging opportunities and enlarging our national imagination. I just love her emphasis on imagination, the childlike wonder and curiosity that draws us into a world that gets us excited about solving problems—and there are a lot of problems that we need to solve in this place.

Like a prophecy, she warns us against the politics of hate, she counsels us to understand one another and she calls on us to do what she did in Dunkley, which is to build faith in democracy and to never lose touch and to be a great local member like her. Everyone in this place knows how hard Peta worked in her community. Her wonderful and dedicated staff put up a photo mural in her office of all the amazing work that Peta has done in her office. Her genuine commitment shines through, and this is the reason why community groups have all lined up to pay tribute—groups such as Frankston basketballers, the squash community, the Alliance for Gambling Reform and of course Breast Cancer Network Australia.

Peta became a fierce advocate for breast cancer. Despite getting a diagnosis two weeks before giving her first speech, rather than stepping back, she stepped up. She wrote an open letter to her past self, which is on the Breast Cancer Network Australia website. I'll read you an excerpt:

you will be angry, you will be distressed, you will rail that life is not fair (of course it's not!), you will blame yourself because you listened to GPs who told you the pain in your chest was nothing to worry about, you will wonder why you did everything right and followed every piece of medical advice you were given but still this happened to you. It will be almost unbearable to have to tell your family and friends. You will feel all of this, and you will feel it in waves. But, you will also use that strength, that acceptance of vulnerability that your previous diagnosis gave you. You will take a deep breath and you will choose to use this latest bump in your life journey to make a difference. Because, remember—you are fortunate, there is excellent treatment available and you have the privilege of serving in the federal parliament. Use that privilege to help other people living with cancer feel less alone; to push for better cancer treatment and services; and to show your community that it is possible to demonstrate strength and vulnerability, acceptance and determination, illness and wellbeing.

Using that privilege is exactly what Peta did. She used this unique platform to bring national awareness to breast cancer and, as she said in her first speech: 'Ladies, check your breasts! Men, stop ignoring what your body's telling you.'

I offer my sincere condolences to her husband, Rod; her parents, Bob and Jan; Peta's sisters, Jodi and Penni; her nieces, nephews and extended family; and to her tireless staff—Lauren, Madison, John, Kitty, Majella, Madeleine and Louis.

Peta cared for the battlers, for the damaged and the difficult. She fought for them as a solicitor, a barrister and a public defendant. She fought for them every day here in parliament. Many people have spoken today, and the common themes were clear: squash, women's rights, human rights, unionism, a great local member, a tireless advocate for women with breast cancer, a hero to us all. Peta was both serious and funny, strong and vulnerable, fierce and kind, and, while she has passed away, a little bit of Peta will live in all of us. Vale, Peta Murphy.

Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Peta Murphy was an incredibly genuine, vibrant and dynamic person who inspired all who met her and worked with her, with her passion for the community, for public policy and for advocacy. Over the course of her life she fought for many issues, always driven by justice and fairness. I feel privileged to have known her before entering this place and as a co-member of the class of 2019.

Quite some years ago I used to live in Melbourne's inner north, not far from Peta and her husband, Rod. This was not long after the birth of my daughter, Carina. I remember occasionally running into Peta and Rod in the street at the local shops. Carina, who had only just started talking, was very eloquent and often very articulate in loudly explaining to my wife and I why she wanted to keep on moving and not stop and engage in banter with people in the street. I remember Peta being very adept at engaging with Carina. A number of members in this place have talked about how incredible Peta was in engaging with their young children, including with clown faces in the chamber. I don't feel that I have ever won an argument with my daughter. In Peta, I think that Carina had met one of the few people who were able to match her in quick-witted, verbal jousting, and often we stopped much past Carina's usual tolerance level so that we could talk to Peta and Rod in the street.

Later, Peta became a member of the class of '19, a group that I'm also a member of. Peta achieved this distinction having contested and won the difficult seat of Dunkley in a hard-fought campaign. As with so many other things that we remember about Peta today, she showed great guts and determination not only in winning Dunkley but in winning it on the second attempt. She was a marginal seat campaigner par excellence, but, for Peta, marginal seat campaigning wasn't a burden. I think it was the only way that she probably would have wanted to campaign.

At one point during the 2019 campaign, I remember seeing Peta's team out campaigning at the crack of dawn at the Frankston train station, all of them imbued with her infectious enthusiasm. I remember thinking at the time that the sitting member must have been in trouble, and that's how it turned out.

Following the 2019 election, one of the key members of my office when I was a state MP moved across to join Peta's office. Whenever I talked to him about the new office, it was clear to me that he was thoroughly enjoying the energy and camaraderie of the new team. If anything, I would listen to his stories of the amazing team Dunkley and wonder if he looked back on his time with me as a somewhat dull time. I also knew other members of her team, and they all had the same enthusiasm.

What was clear to me, whenever Peta regularly popped up on my Facebook feed, was that Peta was continuously immersed in her community as if she was perpetually in the final week of yet another hard fought campaign—not out of necessity but rather out of the joy that she had from representing her local community. She was always finding the time to be at another school or with another sporting group or another volunteer organisation, and doing so with unrivalled enthusiasm.

During our first term together, Peta and I were both on the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics with Andrew Leigh. Peta always brought curiosity, humour and humanity to a committee that didn't necessarily have all of those three in spades. I remember Peta questioning the Governor of the Reserve Bank on a range of topics that it was clear hadn't been raised in detail with him by the committee before, such as the political balance of think tanks which the RBA engaged with, gender balance within the organisation and the organisation's modelling of longer-term environmental risks. Peta also raised these and similar issues with the big four bank CEOs and many other stakeholders in the realm that the committee dealt with.

The fact that Peta had raised these issues had an immediate impact on a range of aspects of the banks and other organisations' operations. Peta brought a fresh, intelligent and creative perspective that added greatly to our examination of economic policy and our examination of a range of important institutions. This just reflected Peta's contribution across so many aspects of parliament.

As Chair of the Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee, Peta made a significant and long-lasting contribution, a contribution that reflected a number of her longstanding policy interests. Peta had already made a huge contribution in broader area of health policy, both through the causes that she championed, such as a national register for those with metastatic cancer, and probably even more impactfully through the brave personal example that she set. She added to all of that the contributions she had already made in her role as chair, and, as so many in this debate have noted, the report her committee handed down in June of this year, You win some, you lose more, contains 31 very important recommendations related to the regulation of gambling. What is already clear is that Peta ensured that this committee, through these unanimously adopted recommendations, has already made a rigorous and forward-leaning contribution to an important debate on an extremely significant and complex social policy issue. She challenged the status quo through a report that typified her and her contribution to this place. This is just a part of the legacy that Peta leaves in this place, but it is emblematic, rigorous, thorough, brave and deals head-on with a vitally important issue involving disadvantage and vulnerability.

I pass on my heartfelt condolences to Peta's soulmate and husband, Rod, who has been a remarkable life partner for her and a source of unstinting support through her most difficult times, to her parents and sisters and her whole family, to the hardworking members of her office who loved her so much and to her many friends.

At the start of Peta's parliamentary career, she said that she would like to leave Australian politics and democracy in better shape than she found it. Through the determination she showed in her fight against cancer, through her unwavering commitment to her local community, through her tireless and impactful policy work and through the generous and inspiring role that she played in the lives of her family, her colleagues and her friends, she achieved this aspiration on a grand scale. May she rest in peace.

Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a tough day. It's been a sad, heartwarming and inspirational day, hearing from so many who knew Peta better and longer than I did. I first met her after I was elected to this place last year and was appointed to the Social Affairs and Legal Affairs Committee, which she chaired. My time with Peta, although short, was inspirational. When I was a new member of parliament, she was generous to me with her time, wisdom and understanding. She was also good company, easy-going and engaging. She was warm and welcoming, and she was a steady and knowledgeable hand as she guided the committee, replete with newbies, through our first inquiry.

The inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm was a complex piece of work bridging a number of jurisdictions. The evidence was extremely diverse, as were those giving evidence. They ranged from academics and gambling, media and sports industries through to support services, those directly affected by gambling harm and their families. Some of the evidence was harrowing and distressing both for those giving evidence and for those of us hearing it and seeing the obvious pain of the witnesses. Peta was compassionate, concerned and thoughtful with all. When I think of her, I think of her empathy and understanding—how she encouraged each witness to take their time, how she made sure each witness felt that they had been heard and how she made sure that each witness felt that they had had the opportunity to tell us everything that they wanted to tell us. She ensured that those with little or no power were heard as much as the powerful were, and this was a theme in her life: battling for the disadvantaged. She ensured that those unaccustomed to speaking to a parliamentary committee were encouraged and supported. Her kind nature, compassion, thoughtfulness and humour all ensured that these sometimes difficult conversations and experiences were as positive as they could be for those who generously shared their stories with us.

Peta also brought her considerable intellect to this task. Like so many wicked social problems, online gambling harm is also a complex problem that touches many jurisdictions, many industries and many ministerial portfolios. The final report is a credit to the hard work, focus and intellect she brought to the task, to understanding the issue, to understanding the diverse viewpoints we heard from and to finding a pathway forward that could be transformational for those affected by gambling harm and for future generations. This resulted in a unanimously supported report, You win some, you lose more, with 31 recommendations.

Her final speech was in the Federation Chamber, speaking to the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Credit and Other Measures) Bill. In that speech she spoke with great insight and empathy about the impact of gambling on one of her constituents. I am so pleased she got to see some of the recommendations from the report being put in place. It's a sad fact that we never know how long we have, and we never know how long we have with others around us. Peta was very open with her diagnosis and treatment, but she didn't let it slow her down at all. Last week, she was in parliament to launch a Breast Cancer Network Australia report entitled Time to count people with metastatic breast cancera way forward. Sadly, she was too unwell on the day to attend the event, but I'm sure she was pleased it was happening. This is another legacy, another demonstration, of the impact Peta Murphy had in this place and on our country.

Her unwavering commitment to her beloved electorate of Dunkley and her commitment to representing them and making a better Australia meant she didn't slow down. She was here in this place only last week asking a question in question time, and I think that's why her untimely death seems so sudden and unexpected as well. My thoughts are with her husband, Rod, the love of her life—she was taken too soon—her parents, Bob and Jan, as you never expect to bury your children; her sisters, Jodi and Penni; their partners and children; and all of her many friends. My thoughts are also with her staff, who have supported her so well in all that she has achieved; with her constituents of Dunkley, who she thought of every day; and of course with her beloved dogs, Bert and Ernie. Earlier today I was sent some photographs of myself with Peta and some of the assistance dogs that sometimes visit here, and her joy for dogs is so evident in the photographs.

When I think of Peta I think of her good humour, her wit, her empathy, her understanding, her fierce intellect, her energy and her commitment to making a difference for her electorate and for this country. She was an example to follow. Hers was a life too short but a life well lived, and her legacy will live on beyond her. Vale Peta. May she rest in peace.

Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I had the good fortune to share a corridor with Peta Murphy and so felt immediately her warmth and welcome for me as a first-time MP. I often experienced her sharp wit and her smile. Peta showed me how authenticity matters. In her first speech in 2019 Peta remarked that she wanted to leave our democracy in better shape than she found it in. She has achieved this in many ways, from being a fierce and effective local representative for the constituents of Dunkley to supporting milestone legislation such as the National Anti-Corruption Commission legislation and in her other work, often out of the public eye, such as the way she gently drilled down into evidence given in committees, such as that in pursuit of an Australian framework to protect human rights and holding government accountable to those rights. She was a champion of human rights and leaves us all with the ongoing challenge to do better.

Peta was the same in her approach to all matters, large or small. I remember in her duty to this place she would arrive for the start of parliament each morning and then, in her duty to her ideals, she would wait in the members' lounge in silent protest to remind herself and anyone else that we are a secular and multifaith society and that one prayer can no longer represent all Australians. And on the larger stage she represented us all at the United Nations General Assembly. She was someone who knew it was important to be able to be proud of who we are in the world and what we stand for as a country, and I am proud that she stood for us in that forum.

Peta was my age—only 50. She carried on the dance with cancer for over 10 years, but it hardly ever seemed to slow her down. Just last week here at APH Peta hosted the launch of the report by Breast Cancer Network Australia, calling for those with metastatic breast cancer to be counted on our registries in order to improve outcomes, because with better data comes better research and better treatment. I and I know others will bend ourselves to ensuring that this occurs.

Interviewed on RN Breakfast about this last week, Peta reminded us that while we acknowledge the courage of those who live with metastatic cancer it is also important to acknowledge the difficulty of their journey and to talk with them about it, to connect. And at the same time as she said she was having trouble breathing, Peta still described herself as lucky, with an amazing job and an amazing family, friends and health supports. Patricia Karvelas described her then as smart, kind and funny. There are plenty of smart people around here, but Peta was particularly kind and funny, and I will always remember her for that.

In this chamber Peta's votes were counted. She counted in this place. She counted for her constituents of Dunkley. She counted for those travelling the same journey she has now finished. My heart goes to Peta's family, to her friends and to her team. Peta's was a rich life that we wish had been longer.

David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was just a week ago that the member for Dunkley was here in this chamber, in these corridors, in this House—just a week. This is an unusual place. There are times when you can traverse these long corridors without meeting a soul—or, if you do, it seems like a surprise. It can be intensely quiet, and this week it seems just that little bit emptier and quieter.

Peta Murphy and I had a fair bit in common, which is more flattering to me than vice versa. We were both part of a generation energised by the way the Hawke and Keating governments reimagined and reinvigorated the social contract while boldly enlarging our vision of who we are and who we could be on the world stage. Labor governments matter.

We were both at the Australian National University in the faraway, slightly blurred years of the early nineties. In later years we realised we had crossed paths on the touch-footy field and had a number of mutual friends. Back then, as I was later, I was pretty much left in her wake. She was fitter, faster and more skilled. We both worked briefly in the ACT government, with Peta then going on to work for Duncan Kerr before going to work as a solicitor and barrister—including senior significant roles with both Legal Aid and the Victorian Law Reform Commission. They were experiences that deeply shaped her. As Peta put it memorably in a first speech that thrummed with social justice:

At every turn, I have seen the corrosive effect that intergenerational disadvantage can have on people, families and communities.

Peta also identified in that first speech the corrosive effect of a decline in standards in public life and trust in government, and our responsibility to do better. She noted that in the cauldron of Australia's national conversation we aren't just participants; we are its custodians. We owe it to those who put their trust in us to not reduce complex debates to cheap soundbites, to not put winning the news cycle before the public good. Public office requires purpose. Changes to practices, including the introduction of a code of conduct, are a consequence of both her example and her drive for a better way. We both had the experience of a loss as candidates in the 2016 election and then the bittersweet experience of individual success in 2019 but not the hopeful party success. Labor governments matter.

In the 46th Parliament the member for Dunkley was ready to go from day one, like a proverbial duck to water. She was on top of everything inside and outside the House. While the rest of us were on training wheels, she freed herself from notes early on. She spoke with passion and conviction, and with no fear. She was a whip's delight, able to speak on anything and everything with little notice and without complaint, from 90 seconds to 30 minutes and everything in between. While a champion for the idealism of our cause, she was never an idle idealist. She fought robustly for a better way, for a government that could marry purpose, pragmatism and social justice. She made significant contributions to a plethora of parliamentary committees in both the 46th and 47th parliaments, including as chair of the Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee, as well as making an active contribution to all caucus committees. In fact, she may have been the only member of caucus who seemed to be on all caucus committees! Somehow, she also made the time to chair a number of parliamentary friendship groups. She generously provided advice and support to the class of 2019 and beyond, and, as everyone in this chamber has heard from those who particularly knew her well, we all benefited from her wisdom. My constituents in Bean felt they had another champion for good government and for public service—dare I say, another Canberran—in Peta Murphy.

The member for Dunkley made it clear the greatest privilege of her life was the opportunity to serve—the opportunity to work for the community of Dunkley and for those across Australia who needed her advocacy. She did this extraordinarily, despite her ill health. But it isn't just the immense opportunity we all have to serve; it is also the opportunity to serve with people with the courage and integrity of the member for Dunkley. Remembering that privilege of serving with Peta Murphy will make traversing these long pale corridors just a little easier, if not today. My condolences to Rod, Bob and Jan, to all of Peta's family and friends, to her staff, and to the community she loved and represented so well.

Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Peta Murphy encapsulated what it meant to be a Labor parliamentarian. She was a selfless advocate, a defender, a mentor and a true public servant. Just last week, despite the battle that she had been fighting so hard for so long, Peta was still with us in this place. When many would focus solely on their health, Peta was here doing the job she loved and that she had been elected to do by her beloved community. I loved sitting near her, here in our little corner, hearing her witty interjections when frustrated at the hypocrisy of those opposite and seeing her smile at other witty interjections, usually by the member for McEwen. She knew what it meant to be in this place. She knew what it meant to her community around Frankston to have strong representation in this place. Peta was unapologetically determined to be a strong voice for people in the Dunkley electorate.

I did not know Peta as closely as some in this place were lucky enough to. The member for Jagajaga, in her beautiful speech about her friend, said:

It was clear to me from that very first speech that she was fierce and supersmart. She was actually a bit intimidating, but she was absolutely someone who I knew would be a valuable colleague.

She was fierce and supersmart, and her intellect and quick wit were a little bit intimidating. She was formidable.

Peta also worked as a staffer for the former member for Denison, Duncan Kerr, and was the chief of staff to my good friend the member for Gorton when I was working for previous members for Cunningham. Despite Peta's broad life experience, particularly in the field of justice—whether that was as an educator at the National Electoral Education Centre, as a team leader at the Victorian Law Reform Commission or as a public defender at Victoria Legal Aid—Peta chose to come and work in this place. I know that Peta saw the benefits that came with seeking to do what can only be described as an apprenticeship in this place. She knew that there was no manual, no training package, and that the only way to learn how to make change in this place would be to roll up her sleeves and give it a crack. Her apprenticeship started with Duncan Kerr in 1999 and then with the member for Gorton in 2017.

The approach of an apprenticeship is something that I know she sought to apply when she was elected to office. She wasn't afraid to take the risk in giving someone new and inexperienced a go as long as they had the right attitude, passion, principles and enthusiasm. Nor did she seek to monopolise their talents as they grew. I know that many of Peta's current and former staff and colleagues are listening today, many of whom have gone on to great things in part because of the support, counsel and teaching from Peta over the years.

Peta was an advocate for all of those who work in this place and wanted to make it a safe and respectful workplace. But, given her experience, she knew of the challenges and the barriers that we have to break through. In 2021 Peta and the member for Jagajaga jointly published an op-ed in the Canberra Times, outlining how we as parliamentarians have a role in setting the standard of this unique Australian workplace. It says:

Members of parliament also need to be prepared to unpick and overcome their own biases when it comes to hiring and supporting staff. Jobs in politics are necessarily personal—offices are small, hours are gruelling, and absolute trust between staff and boss is essential.

But all of this means that ministers and MPs tend to employ the people they feel most comfortable around—people who look like them, sound like them, and think like them.

In a parliament where we still have more men than women elected, and where men hold the absolute majority of senior positions within the Morrison government, that often translates into similar gender imbalances in ministerial and parliamentary offices.

Thanks to the work of people like Peta and the member for Jagajaga—and, in fact, Deputy Speaker Claydon as well—I'm so pleased to say that much of this has changed under the Albanese Labor government. But there is always more work to do.

Almost all of Peta's time in this place as a staff member and as a parliamentarian was in opposition. As I'm sure those opposite would agree, opposition isn't easy. It's a long, hard slog. One thing that makes that hard road a little more bearable is the team of people around you. This may embarrass the member for Gorton, but his extended team, including current and former staff, and all their partners and children, have always been an efficient, fun, tightknit and loyal team, and Peta was very much a part of that. They all loved her dearly. As a staff member and as a parliamentarian, you could always rely on Peta to listen and deliver—and to always do it with a good level of humour and flair.

Almost all of Peta's work and service was done in partnership with her husband and best friend, Rod. I am lucky enough to be able to call both Peta and Rod colleagues, having worked with Rod when he, too, was a staffer in this place. My heart and thoughts are with Rod and all of Peta's family at this time.

We can only hope that there will be more Australians like Peta who come through this place, with the drive and commitment to see Australia become a fairer, healthier and more prosperous society. Rest in peace, Peta.

Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When I was elected to this place in 2019 I had the absolute privilege of coming in with the class of 2019—a great bunch of people, all different in a variety of ways. I'm pleased to say that one of those MPs was Peta Murphy, the member for Dunkley. I hadn't met Peta before, but during our many 'class of 2019' orientation sessions Peta's personality, experience and what she stood for shone through. I quickly learned that Peta, from her work as the chief of staff to the shadow minister for workplace relations, had a wealth of knowledge. Peta knew processes and knew so many people. She was so confident, had the most amazing personality and whip-smart humour, and always took the time to listen and care. I also learned that Peta was absolutely squash mad—a point that, over the years, I would hear about over and over! I quickly learned that Peta could also be very, very loud and persistent, which are two more very special qualities that Peta had and used for the benefit of her constituents and our nation.

I think we all remember Peta's first speech in this place. The revelation and, I would say, shock to us all was that Peta's cancer had come back. But, true to Peta's personality, she just got on with things. Peta was here to serve her constituents, and that is what she did. Not a day went by in the parliament that Peta would not be flying the flag for her constituents. Peta was a true listener and a reformer. She would always speak on lots of legislation and was always there to speak when needed. Peta had some absolutely brilliant speeches, and her speech on her reaction to the Morrison government's plan for women fleeing domestic violence to use their retirement savings was an absolute corker; she nailed it.

Peta certainly knew what she was talking about. She was a lawyer, a researcher, a networker and completely dedicated to doing what is right for fairness for women and all people. Peta poured herself into reforming legislation particularly around women's health and superannuation, and had a special knack, I noticed, for talking on financial legislation—and, of course, she promoted breast cancer awareness and prevention, and women's health in general.

Even though Peta herself had cancer, she never let it define her. Peta, true to form and in that true Peta way, used her voice to help others. Even after the cancer returned and we knew that she was battling extreme illness, Peta was always here in parliament, supporting her colleagues and the parliament she loved, representing her constituents and fighting the good fight for better legislation and a better Australia. She simply never gave up. That same old dogged determination that I saw from day one was still there.

I am still in awe of Peta Murphy. I am pinching myself that it was just last Tuesday that I was sitting next to Peta. We were still chatting, and Peta was still doing what she did best—supporting her colleagues, the parliament and her community. And Peta asked a question in question time. I had no idea it would be the last time we would see Peta.

Our country is poorer for Peta's passing, but I reckon Peta would be telling us to just get on with it and pass legislation that will help fix people's lives for the better. My sincere condolences go to Peta's family: her husband, Rod; her mum and dad, Jan and Bob—Peta often talked about them; and her sisters, Jodi and Penni, and to all those many people in this place that loved Peta too. May everyone take some comfort in the legacy that Peta Murphy leaves behind.

Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It won't come as a surprise to anyone in this place that people differ hugely on the value and purpose of politicians in this country, for a whole host of reasons. We anticipate, expect and understand that politicians will be viewed not in the brightest but probably in the dimmest of ways for a whole host of reasons—sometimes self-inflicted. But if there is one thing that I do absolutely believe in, it's that there is an element of the Australian public who want to see good and who believe that people will be elected to this place driven by purpose, and that those people want to fulfil that on behalf of the Australian people they are very grateful to have the opportunity to represent. If they ever need an example of that, it is Peta Murphy.

Peta Murphy demonstrated in spades what she fundamentally believed in the fibre of her being: she was going to come here to this place, the House of Representatives, to do not only the things that were right for her community but also the things that were right for her country. Her first speech—the first words that she uttered in this place—reflected this philosophy and this deep belief. There are a range of different things in the first speech that she gave to this place which I reflected on and that my colleagues on both sides of the chamber have reflected on, but she did say:

Recently I was asked to imagine what, at the end of my parliamentary career, I would like to be able to look back on and say I was proud to have been a part of—what I would like to have achieved.

It's not often that those sentiments are expressed in the very first speech in this place, but it was clear this was a person who was driven by making a mark and who wanted to ensure that the time they had here was used well, properly and with impact. She went on to say:

But, above all else, I would like to be able to say that I left Australian politics—Australian democracy—in better shape than when I joined it …

Bearing that in mind that, in different parts of the world, it was a challenge to the nature and the look of democracy, I believe that Peta took very seriously her individual role and the contribution she could make to improve the quality of democracy. As she put it:

There is too often a machismo about politics which mistakes aggressiveness for advocacy, which demands certainty and rejects reflection as weakness, and which is quick to judge and slow to forgive.

In those words, there is a lot that speaks the mentality and the approach that she sought to apply in this role. I saw it firsthand when I would visit her community in the way that she would engage with people that she clearly felt strongly and passionately about. For all people—one and all—she wanted to make their lives better. No matter what people's politics were, she took seriously her job in making sure she gave voice to their aspirations.

To be frank with you, the biggest thing I respected about Peta is the fact that she took that very seriously. She didn't care about politics—though I understand from time to time she was quite willing to go toe-to-toe because she saw this place as one where ideas were tested—but she did want to do the right thing at all points in time. It was something I respected very deeply in her. I respected the fact that she was here during some of the toughest battles for her personally, still speaking up for the battles of people were facing in her community. She did that with good grace, and that is not a phrase that necessarily gets attached to people in this place, but it certainly did to Peta Murphy. She took on those personal battles that she had and still fronted.

As others have observed, most notably in the contribution before me by the member for Gilmore, it speaks to something that is very hard for us as people—putting aside our politics—to be able to comprehend the concept of death and the fact that someone that you loved, someone that you worked with, someone that you're friends with is suddenly gone.

It was hard for us to know that Peta was battling in that way, but it was even harder, having spent time with her, with the vitality that she exuded last week, when all of a sudden that just stopped. For so many of us that grapple with the permanence of death, that was particularly hard. I imagine it was hard for her family, and we absolutely grieve for Rod and all the others in her family. But, for us who had developed that deep fondness for her of which so many have spoken about in their contributions, this was one of the heavier stones to wear around the neck in terms of learning of her passing and the way that she went in a battle that has taken too many others as well that we love so dearly, in terms of the fight against breast cancer.

She connected with the Breast Cancer Network in 2011, when she was first diagnosed, and, as she remarked in her inaugural speech, she deliberately chose to talk about her metastatic breast cancer diagnosis, stating she was 'neither unique nor alone' in this disease, 'But I am someone who has a platform that can be used to benefit others and I intend to use it,' again reflecting the value of the person—that she would make a contribution in a way that would make it easier for the ones that followed. She deliberately and consciously decided she'd spend time in this place advocating for people that were suffering like her but make it easier for them and demonstrate that quality of tirelessness and being inspiring.

She was a strong supporter, as I said, of the Breast Cancer Network of Australia. In fact, as has been highlighted many times today, Peta was here just last week intending to support their work, launching a report calling for those to be counted on our registries in order to improve outcomes. And I want to call out the work of BCNA, who provide support to those diagnosed and to their supporters and friends and family, as well as the opportunity to connect with others going through a similar situation. I want to say thank you to them, particularly—and led by—Kirsten Pilatti, known by everyone as KP, for the work they do. It is completely invaluable, it is highly valued and it changes lives.

It's just hard, really. This place does not really give much room for emotion in the sense of kindness and in the sense of thinking of others. As Peta said, you think of others and you do that in a way that is not considered weakness. But it is hard to think of her going. Sure, there are some things we're happy to forget, not least of which is her fondness for this game called squash that many people have reflected on today! But there is a lot to remember and there is a lot to be inspired by and there is a lot for us to continue a legacy, and that legacy can be reflected in what we bring to this place, the way we conduct ourselves in this House and the way we champion those that we care about in the communities we are honoured to represent.

I wish Peta's family all the best. My condolences to them deeply, and particularly to Rod. But I also just want to remember a great Australian, a terrific human being, and I count my blessings that I have had the opportunity to know Peta Murphy.

Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The death on Monday of the member for Dunkley, Peta Murphy, came as a shock. Last Tuesday she stood up just there and asked a question of the Prime Minister—one 'PM' to another, as the member for Lilley observed earlier today. One week and one day later, she is not with us anymore, and suddenly this place has had subtracted from it a person whose energetic contribution, whose life force, was incandescent and who was absolutely a force for good. And, when Peta was in full flight, you couldn't look away.

The House transcript was published up to 20:00. The remainder of the transcript will be published progressively as it is completed.