Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share 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.

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