Two Border MPs have lauded the character of fellow politician Peta Murphy who died of breast cancer at the age of 50 this week.
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Sussan Ley and Helen Haines were among those to give condolence speeches to Parliament to mourn the passing of Ms Murphy, who had held the Melbourne seat of Dunkley for the Labor Party since 2019.
Deputy Liberal leader Ms Ley spoke of admiring Ms Murphy's courage in attending Parliament in recent times.
"Women, especially in public life, are judged by how they look, the clothes they wear, their make up and of course their hair," Ms Ley said.
"That is why I was so moved when I saw Peta stride into this place, outwardly unfazed in her hair loss.
"It inspired me Mr Speaker.
"Because what you could see was a woman with passion in her eyes and a resolution to claim back her identity, an identity which cancer had tried to snatch from her.
"In that moment I recognised that among the many things she was, she was without doubt a beautiful woman and a beautiful person."
Ms Ley said Ms Murphy had "served the Labor Party, her constituents and the Australian people with grace and distinction", noting her advocacy for women's reproductive healthcare and safe workplaces for nurses.
"And she advocated for the people with metastatic breast cancer to be consistently counted on cancer registries in order to better plan for health and support services," Ms Ley said.
"She did this so we could one day see the routine collection of cancer stage and recurrence data so that, as a nation, we can have better insights for future government policy and funding priorities, as well as great visibility to identify areas for further research and advocacy."
Dr Haines described Ms Murphy as a much admired colleague and great mate, who she shared a bond with as they were both first elected in 2019.
"Despite the pain that she suffered day in and day out, she was funny, she was empathetic, she was generous and she was real," Dr Haines said.
"She was an incredible person to learn from, and from Peta Murphy I've learnt many lessons in politics and in life."
Dr Haines noted Ms Murphy had displayed vulnerability, a trait rarely displayed by politicians, and has also, as a barrister, prior to entering the House of Representatives, "sought justice for those least able to find it".
"She literally contributed to the public good until her final breath," Dr Haines said.
"Such tenacity, generosity, courage and conviction, and the likes of we who were witness to it can only conclude that we have seen a truly great parliamentarian in Peta Murphy."
