Peta Murphy's Unfinished Legacy

Few communities can claim to have helped shape two of Australia's most significant social reform movements. Frankston can.

Within just a few years, the city has become synonymous with two campaigns that have reached the national stage – Wayne Holdsworth's advocacy for an under-16 social media ban following the tragic loss of his son Mac, and the push to reduce gambling harm through the landmark parliamentary inquiry chaired by the late Federal Member for Dunkley, Peta Murphy.

Those two stories converged at Sages Cottage last week when Rev Tim Costello AO and Wayne Holdsworth addressed a Committee for Frankston and Mornington Peninsula forum, reflecting on the progress made in protecting young Australians and the work that still lies ahead.

As Committee Chief Executive Josh Sinclair, told RPP FM, the session was about more than public policy.

Josh Sinclair says it’s about recognising Frankston's unique place in two reform movements born from the determination of local people to confront difficult social issues.

At the centre of that story stands the remarkable legacy of Peta Murphy.

During the final year of her life, while undergoing treatment for terminal cancer, Peta Murphy continued to chair the landmark bipartisan parliamentary inquiry into online gambling. Rather than stepping away from public life, she devoted her remaining time in Parliament to producing what many regard as one of the most comprehensive roadmaps ever developed to reduce gambling harm in Australia.

It was an extraordinary act of courage, determination and public service. Peta Murphy understood she was racing against time yet remained committed to building bipartisan consensus in the hope that future governments would act on the inquiry's 31 recommendations.

For many who attended last week's forum, that report remains unfinished business.

Sinclair said it was disappointing that more than 1,000 days had passed before the Federal Government responded to Murphy's report.

"It's really shameful in many ways that the government took over 1,000 days to respond to Peta's report and the 31 recommendations that her report listed," he said.

He says the committee believes Frankston has a responsibility to continue giving voice to the concerns of local families, educators, community leaders and businesses who continue to support stronger gambling reform.

But Sinclair says the debate has grown beyond gambling policy and become a measure of political leadership.

"This is really a question about leadership," he said. "We've seen some fantastic leadership... particularly social media reform.”

However, he contrasted the Federal Government's willingness to confront social media companies with what he described as a reluctance to take on Australia's powerful gambling interests, arguing that Peta Murphy's bipartisan report deserved a far stronger response.

Josh Sinclair says the committee became involved because it was responding directly to concerns raised by its members, while recognising that both the social media reforms and the gambling debate have deep roots in Frankston and neighbouring Dunkley.

"Frankston has such an important role to play in this story. Both of these issues, I would argue, have originated from Frankston," Sinclair said.

Wayne Holdsworth's campaign has already demonstrated that determined local advocacy can change national policy, with Australia's under-16 social media laws now influencing governments around the world. Tim Costello continues to press for stronger action on gambling harm, arguing the issue deserves the same national resolve.

For Frankston, however, the story is also about honouring one of its own.

Peta Murphy's report may not yet have delivered all the reforms she envisioned, but those who gathered at Sages Cottage believe her work should not simply gather dust on a parliamentary shelf.

As Sinclair put it:

"Peta Murphy showed the leadership that we expect the Prime Minister to show... If we just implement three of these 31 recommendations and put this report on the shelf, then we're doing a disservice to both Peta and the community down here."

Her report remains unfinished business.

Peta Murphy’s greatest legacy is the courage she demonstrated in completing it — reminding Australians that real leadership is measured not simply by the power a government holds, but by its willingness to act when the evidence is clear.

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Photo Courtesy of Federal Parliamentary Website

Photos at Sages cottage are courtesy of the Committee for Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula