Murphy is the son of former Attorney-General and High Court Justice, Lionel Murphy and Ingrid Gee. Murphy has two siblings, a half sister Lorel and a brother Blake. Murphy was educated at Macquarie University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws. He is married to Agatha and has two children, a son Finbar and a daughter Ariadne.
Career
Murphy was an intern under the Australian Council of Trade Unions 'Organising Works' program in its inaugural year, 1994, where he trained in recruitment and organising of workers. He was placed as an Organiser with the Forestry Division of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and upon graduation he continued to work there from 1994-1997 becoming an Industrial Officer in 1996-1997. President, NSW Council for Civil Liberties, 1999-2013. Statutory Board Member, Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW, 2003-2009. Member, Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal of New South Wales, 2003-2008. Trustee, Lionel Murphy Foundation, 2004–present. Operations Manager, International Underwriting Services Pty Ltd, 2008-2011. Director of Employee Benefits, Coverforce Pty Ltd, 2011-2014. Member, Australian Labor PartyNational Policy Forum, 2012–Present. Board Member, Light on the Hill Society, 2015–Present. Barrister at Denman Chambers 2016–Present. Murphy practices in Employment/Industrial, Administrative and Human Rights Law.
Political career
In 2012, Murphy stood as a candidate in the NSW Labor Party's trial community preselection for the Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney. He was unsuccessful, with Linda Scott winning the community preselection. In 2012, he stood as a candidate in the rank and file ballot for the ALP National Policy Forum on a human rights platform and he was elected as one of only six rank and file representatives from NSW. In 2016, he was re-elected for a second three-year term with the second-highest vote tally of the five NSW candidates elected. In 2014, Murphy was preselected as the Labor candidate for the state electorate of East Hills, defeating Nicole Campbell in a rank and file preselection by 103 votes to 61. He was narrowly defeated by the sitting Liberal Party member at the 2015 New South Wales state election In February 2017, he was preselected once again, unopposed, as the Labor candidate for East Hills at the 2019 New South Wales state election.
Awards
In 2013, Murphy was a finalist for the Australian Human Rights Commission Human Rights Awards 2013 in the "Community Award - Tony Fitzgerald Memorial Award" category. In 2013, Murphy was made an Honorary Life Member of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties. In 2014, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his significant service to the community through a range of human rights and civil liberty organisations.
