Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share 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.

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