Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

There are moments when it feels like time stands still, and other moments where it flashes by you in an instant. The member for Dunkley was here for question time just last week, but then there's today, where all sides of politics have come together to pay tribute to the fierce, brave and witty Peta Murphy.

It is rare that we put our political tools down and unite in our humanity. Let's face it: Peta was a rare human with a disease that unfortunately is not rare. Her death leaves us with an incredible legacy, and the tragedy of her loss leaves us with broken-hearted questions: How could she be gone? How could she have been in parliament only last week? But her defiant life leaves us with questions too: How inclusive is our vision for the future? How large is our national imagination and how deep is our dedication? Are we working hard enough? Are we striving high enough? Are we taking ourselves too seriously? Her example shines back at us and should inspire us every day. The ideals of Peta Murphy must echo through all that we do.

Peta was my parliamentary neighbour, and I can open my door and still see her name on the wall. When I was a brand new MP settling into my office, this place felt very foreign and very unfamiliar, but Peta went out of her way to make me feel at home. Parliament was not new to Peta. She knew these halls, she knew her way around and she knew how to make stuff happen, even in finding a microwave. Anyone who knows me knows that I love food, so I would sometimes go to Peta's office and borrow her microwave. Of course, being a practical woman of action, she found me a microwave of my own. Not being phased about the pecking order, she let me know that the Minister for the Skills and Training had a microwave without a home, so the member for Gorton's old microwave can be found in a new home in my office thanks to Peta going above and beyond in all things and turning something as mundane as a microwave into a treasure.

When thinking about Peta's first speech, her first speech is a true treasure. Her words seem to speak to us now, in this very moment, inspiring us and reaffirming our commitments, and she challenges all of us in this place to be a better version of ourselves. We have all rediscovered these words in the past few days like a sacred text. In her first speech she spoke about her legacy and spoke about the need to recover the public's faith in our democracy. What she wanted to see was a reharnessing of politics as a vehicle for enlarging opportunities and enlarging our national imagination. I just love her emphasis on imagination, the childlike wonder and curiosity that draws us into a world that gets us excited about solving problems—and there are a lot of problems that we need to solve in this place.

Like a prophecy, she warns us against the politics of hate, she counsels us to understand one another and she calls on us to do what she did in Dunkley, which is to build faith in democracy and to never lose touch and to be a great local member like her. Everyone in this place knows how hard Peta worked in her community. Her wonderful and dedicated staff put up a photo mural in her office of all the amazing work that Peta has done in her office. Her genuine commitment shines through, and this is the reason why community groups have all lined up to pay tribute—groups such as Frankston basketballers, the squash community, the Alliance for Gambling Reform and of course Breast Cancer Network Australia.

Peta became a fierce advocate for breast cancer. Despite getting a diagnosis two weeks before giving her first speech, rather than stepping back, she stepped up. She wrote an open letter to her past self, which is on the Breast Cancer Network Australia website. I'll read you an excerpt:

you will be angry, you will be distressed, you will rail that life is not fair (of course it's not!), you will blame yourself because you listened to GPs who told you the pain in your chest was nothing to worry about, you will wonder why you did everything right and followed every piece of medical advice you were given but still this happened to you. It will be almost unbearable to have to tell your family and friends. You will feel all of this, and you will feel it in waves. But, you will also use that strength, that acceptance of vulnerability that your previous diagnosis gave you. You will take a deep breath and you will choose to use this latest bump in your life journey to make a difference. Because, remember—you are fortunate, there is excellent treatment available and you have the privilege of serving in the federal parliament. Use that privilege to help other people living with cancer feel less alone; to push for better cancer treatment and services; and to show your community that it is possible to demonstrate strength and vulnerability, acceptance and determination, illness and wellbeing.

Using that privilege is exactly what Peta did. She used this unique platform to bring national awareness to breast cancer and, as she said in her first speech: 'Ladies, check your breasts! Men, stop ignoring what your body's telling you.'

I offer my sincere condolences to her husband, Rod; her parents, Bob and Jan; Peta's sisters, Jodi and Penni; her nieces, nephews and extended family; and to her tireless staff—Lauren, Madison, John, Kitty, Majella, Madeleine and Louis.

Peta cared for the battlers, for the damaged and the difficult. She fought for them as a solicitor, a barrister and a public defendant. She fought for them every day here in parliament. Many people have spoken today, and the common themes were clear: squash, women's rights, human rights, unionism, a great local member, a tireless advocate for women with breast cancer, a hero to us all. Peta was both serious and funny, strong and vulnerable, fierce and kind, and, while she has passed away, a little bit of Peta will live in all of us. Vale, Peta Murphy.

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