As the political clock ticks relentlessly, there is little time for substance over optics in parliament

Mark Dreyfus didn’t hide his lawyerly disdain when a Sky News reporter asked whether the government owed an apology to people that had been subjected to ‘misdeeds’ by those freed from detention. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

On the second last sitting day for 2023, parliamentarians filed into the House of Representatives to remember the late member for Dunkley, Peta Murphy. Many wore black. Many dabbed moist eyes. A beautiful floral arrangement marked the spot where only a few days ago the Labor backbencher had sat, ravaged by the cancer that claimed her life on Monday at the age of 50.

Politics is a savage business. Murphy was unapologetically human, and she didn’t mind who knew it. Self-deprecating and smart, Murphy was also visible through her suffering and struggles. She was dying, but rather than being defined by a disease, she wanted to model living well. Murphy’s defiance, the determination to contribute no matter what, with head, heart and without any fakery, endeared her to close colleagues and her political opponents.