Background
Murphy was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and received his VCE from Parade College in Bundoora.
Murphy was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and received his VCE from Parade College in Bundoora.
On 9 March 2010, he was appointed to the Victorian Legislative Council as a Labor member for Northern Metropolitan Region to replace Theo Theophanous, who retired. He later qualified for a Bachelor of Arts at Louisiana Trobe University. In 2004 he became a state organiser with the Victorian Labor Party, and in 2007 moved to the Plumbing Trades Employees Union as a community organiser, a position he held until his appointment to the Legislative Council in 2010.
Murphy was involved in the controversial round of ALP preselections in 2006 in Victoria, where he challenged sitting member and future Speaker of the House Harry Jenkins for the safe Labor Division of Scullin.
In the lead up to the 2010 Victorian Election, Murphy held a $500 a head fundraiser at a Melbourne apartment. The event gained media attention when the apartment was subsequently found decrepit and soiled.
Murphy lost his Legislative Council position at the election.
In 2000 he was National Welfare Officer for the National Union of Students as a member of the Australian Labor Students, and in 2001 became an electorate officer for federal Labor Member of Parliament Lindsay Tanner, transferring to Senator Gavin Marshall in 2002.