Ms Murphy sent a pointed message to all sides of politics to heed the messages from health professionals.

"Commit to the reform and funding that our health system needs,and do whatever is required to ensure that Australia trains,retains and invests in the health care professionals and researchers who make our system great,"she said.

Striking a similar tone to Liberal senatorArthur Sinodinos,who returned to Canberra earlier this year following an 18-month fight with lymphoma,Ms Murphy told the House:"Let's be frank though,cancer sucks."

"The treatments can make you sick. Sometimes you are scared,sometimes you are angry,"she said.

"In my experience,often you are both at the same time.

"You worry about how your friends and family are coping. You value their support but resent the fact that you need it."

She said it was her first fight with breast cancer,as a 37-year-old,which was a reminder that"life can be fragile and we had better make the most of it."

Ms Murphy said she was"humbled"by the confidence her community had shown in her and would work for them every day at home and in Canberra.

She spoke of the influence of former prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating on her political education and said she wanted to be part of a new generation of MPs to restore the public's trust in politics.

"When less than half of all Australians are satisfied with the way democracy works and only one in five say they trust politicians,surely the alarm bells are ringing?"she said.

Touching on her road ahead,she invoked the popular children's tale of Pippi Longstocking,who when told she couldn't beat the strong man at the show responded:"But I am the strongest girl in the world,remember that."