Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share 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.

See this speech in context