Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share 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.

See this speech in context