Labor MP Jodie Belyea has given her first speech in Parliament, paying tribute to her predecessor Peta Murphy by calling for further restrictions on gambling ads. The new Dunkley representative also revealed her experience of domestic and family violence.
“Thank you to the people of Dunkley for the immense privilege and honour of representing you in parliament,” Belyea said on Wednesday night.
“I will seek to honour the community’s trust every day I’m here.”
Belyea won the Dunkley electorate by election, held on March 2, that was triggered by the passing of former Labor MP Peta Murphy, who lost her battle to breast cancer last year.
It was Murphy who recruited Belyea to the Labor party, and Belyea paid tribute to her friend and colleague during the speech.
Recalling her journey overcoming the trauma of family violence and sexual assault, Belyea shared how this had first led her to meet Murphy. Belyea says Murphy invited her to walk in the 2021 March 4 Justice movement, with this experience being what pushed her towards politics.
“I knew in that moment that I was going to need to be brave, in order to make a bigger difference. So here I am,” Belyea said.
Murphy was a staunch advocate for gambling reforms as well, and Belyea said in her speech that she would see Murphy’s work through.
“It falls on us to meet her political courage with a little bit of our own,” Beleya said, calling for gambling ad restrictions.
“Australians lose $25bn to gambling each year, the highest amount per capita in the world. Families in communities like Dunkley feel the brunt of gambling, magnifying cost-of-living pressures and exacerbating disadvantage,” said Belyea, noting that she’ll advocate for the recommendations of Murphy’s ‘You win some, you lose more’ report.”
That 2023 report called for the government to “implement a comprehensive ban on all forms of advertising for online gambling”, among numerous other safety measures around gambling.
“Peta drove this report’s common sense recommendations with great empathy and care,” said Belyea.