Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share 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.

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