Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to take a few minutes to talk about a remarkable young man, Conor Murphy, who sadly passed away on Monday morning. Conor was a member of my staff and he was my friend. He had worked in my Fremantle electorate office since early 2012 and he came across to work in my Parliament House office on a couple of occasions, too, including to speak at a Rare Voices event. Conor was remarkable for his strength of character, his political commitment and his drive to tackle injustice and promote social inclusion but also for his offbeat sense of humour, for his fearsome independence and, from time to time, for what can only be described as a magnificent ginger beard.

Conor was born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and as a result his strength and mobility at the time he came to work for me were limited to his forearms and hands. That did not stop Conor from driving his wheelchair with panache and sometimes even with a bit of reckless speed, something he might have picked up from playing wheelchair rugby and soccer. His limited mobility did not stop him from producing work at a pace and standard that is rare to see from any 22-year-old, as he was when he started in my office, or from getting involved in all aspects of political work, from policy analysis to working in a booth on polling day.

A storm swept over Fremantle in the very early hours of Monday morning and caused widespread blackouts. Unfortunately, the power cuts jeopardised the operation of the respirator that Conor relied upon when he slept and, for some reason, the backup generator and alarm also failed. Tragically, both Conor and his friend and housemate Kyle Scolari lost their lives as a result.

In this place we all know that despite the political battlelines and the fact that we too often fall into an adversarial way of relating to one another, both between and within political parties, we are nevertheless a community, politicians and staff alike, who broadly share a common purpose and commitment and who share work and workplaces here and in electorate offices around the country. Conor was one of us; he was a member of this community. That was a matter of pride for Conor, and rightly so. There are speeches I have given built on Conor's research and drafting skills. There are letters of mine that have argued successfully in support of grant funding, in favour of community projects, or on behalf of a constituent who needed help, and that succeeded only because Conor lent his skill and his heart to their composition. Conor Murphy was a lovely young man and a talented political staffer. He was also a person who showed what is possible if we open our eyes to the capability and potential of people with disability.

My staff and I are obviously very sad to have lost our friend and our colleague. At the same time we are incredibly grateful to have had the gift of his company, his spirit and his joy in life. We send our thoughts and our love to Conor's mum and dad, Lesley and Maurice, who have given so much to make sure that Conor could live his life to the full, and to all his family and his many friends, including his carers, Jeremy and Tracy. We also send our deepest condolences to Kyle Scolari's loved ones. These two fine young men have given us all something to live up to.

Brett Whiteley (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I just say to the Member for Fremantle: I am sure we all feel as she does. You rightly reflected that we are a community, and sometimes we, as members of parliament, lose sight of the fact that we are members of a community, across the divide, and I would just like to say—I am sure, on behalf of those members of parliament in the House of Representatives that I can speak for; I hope I am speaking for them—that we share in your words of condolence on Conor and the tragedy that has ended his life. It is tragic, and you need to know that we will be feeling for you and your staff. It is very much part of all our lives. Without our staff we are nothing.