Peta Jan Murphy (born 1 November 1973) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

since the 2019 federal election. She is a member of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

(ALP) and represents the

Division of Dunkley The Division of Dunkley is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division is located south-east of Melbourne in the Mornington Peninsula. It covers an area of approximately from in the north to in the south and Lan ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. She is a member of the House of Representatives Social and Legal Affairs Committee, the House of Representative Economics Committee and the House of Representatives Select Selection Committee.

Early career

Prior to entering parliament, Murphy worked variously as a solicitor, barrister, Senior Public Defender at Victoria Legal Aid, Team Leader at the Victorian Law Reform Commission and as Chief of Staff to Labor Shadow Minister Brendan O'Connor MP.

Politics

Murphy first stood for Dunkley at the 2016 election on the retirement of

Bruce Billson Bruce Frederick Billson (born 26 January 1966) is a former politician who was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Dunkley in Victoria from 1996 to 2016.Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate

Chris Crewther Christopher John Crewther (born 6 August 1983) is an Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives from 2016 to 2019 before being elected to the Victorian State Parliament, represen ...

. Murphy ran again in the 2019 election and with the benefit of an electoral redistribution that turned Dunkley from a marginal Liberal seat into a marginal Labor seat, along with a further 1.7% swing, was successful, becoming the first ALP member for Dunkley since 1996 and the first woman to ever represent the seat. Murphy is an advocate for breast screening and early diagnosis of cancer and in her maiden speech spoke of her commitment to healthcare and creating employment opportunities in Melbourne's outer suburbs. Since her maiden speech, Murphy has worked with the Breast Cancer Network of Australia to promote better treatment and understanding of cancer. Along with Lucy Wicks, former Liberal Member for

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Places ...

, Murphy established the Parliamentary Friends of Women's Health in 2021 to provide a bi-partisan platform. Murphy was re-elected with an increased margin at the

2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth conse ...

Personal life

Murphy was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 at the age of 37. She received a new breast cancer diagnosis a few days after being sworn in to parliament in July 2019. Murphy has played softball in the National League and represented NSW, ACT, Victoria and the Mornington Peninsula at the junior and senior level for squash. She is a past winner of the Australian 35+y Masters Squash, the US 35+y Masters Squash and the gold medal winner at the World Masters Games for 35+ years squash. She is a previous President of Squash Victoria, Vice President of Squash Australia and member of the World Squash Federation Governance and Audit Committee. Murphy has also served on the board of local Community Legal Centres, Peninsula Health and the Peninsula Waves. Murphy is the current Patron of the Frankston City Bowls Club and the Frankston Vietnam Veterans Association. She lives in Frankston.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Peta 1973 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Left politicians Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Dunkley Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Australian barristers University of Melbourne alumni University of Melbourne women Australian National University alumni 21st-century Australian women politicians 21st-century Australian politicians