How Sydney sparky Michael Murphy became the NT’s top cop

Michael Murphy was just two days into his job as the Northern Territory’s new police chief, when his first crisis unfolded.

Michael Murphy at his desk in Darwin.

Michael Murphy was just two days into his job as the Northern Territory’s new police chief when his first crisis unfolded.

The 51-year-old was cycling through Casuarina Coastal ­Reserve, north of Darwin, when a marine rescue helicopter flew over him “really low and fast”.

“I thought ‘that’s pretty ­unusual’ and then the big red rescue helicopter and about three other helicopters went past,” he said. “And then obviously, the phones started ringing.”

A US defence aircraft had crashed on Melville Islands with 23 personnel on board during military Exercise Predators Run. Three US marines were killed.

Mr Murphy said he was proud of his emergency services’ “exceptional response” to the inter­national incident, which had been a “challenging mission”.

“A rescue mission down on the Tiwis was geographically quite challenging,” he said.

“It was really quite complex, having a marine US defence asset crash during an Australian military exercise on Aboriginal land, which created very complex layers of jurisdiction.”

Since then, the father of three has barely put his feet under his very clean desk. Since the Osprey crash, he has visited Alice Springs and the remote community of Peppimenarti, and attended the national emergency ministers meeting. Next week he heads to Canberra for the National Police Bravery Awards and then New Zealand for a meeting of commissioners and the International Women in Policing Conference.

During his first sit-down interview since commencing the top job, Mr Murphy said he was “deeply grateful” for the chance to restore trust with his members and stability across the three services he leads. He said his recent appointment marked a new chapter for the embattled force, which had been in turmoil and bleeding officers for almost four years.

In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Murphy shared his strategic vision, immediate priorities and his focus on ensuring his members feel “respected”.

Employee surveys in recent years have revealed record-low morale across the workforce.

“We need to examine what that means and actually walk the floor and talk to our people and see what they need and see what they want,” he said. “And change how we’re doing things to look after the workforce so it’s healthy, more efficient and members feel respected and valued. Because ultimately, the result is a better service to the community as well.”

Mr Murphy replaced Jamie Chalker, who took the reins from Reece Kershaw in November 2019, two days after former police officer Zachary Rolfe fatally shot Kumanjayi Walker at Yuendumu. Mr Murphy was deputy commissioner of operations at the time.

Michael Murphy graduating with Northern Territory Police Force Recruit Constable Squad 62 graduating in December 1997.

Mr Kershaw, now the AFP Commissioner, said: “What you see is what you get. He’s so genuine and upfront and honest. And he’s pretty relentless in his work ethic. You probably couldn’t get anyone more committed than him. He’ll be able to unite the force, I’m convinced of that, and he will be a breath of fresh air from that point of view.”

Mr Murphy joined the cops as a 26-year-old electrician from Sydney’s northern beaches.

His sister had joined the NT Police and went on to become an assistant commissioner in the WA Police Force. She urged her sun-bleached blond brother to apply.

The pair were following in the footsteps of their dad, who was a NSW policeman for 40 years.

After graduating from police college as a member of recruit squad 62 in December 1997, Mr Murphy was posted to Hermannsburg where he met his wife.

Posted to Alice Springs several times, Mr Murphy understands the town’s problems better than most. “In 2011, I got asked to go back to Alice Springs to basically fix it,” he said.

Mr Kershaw said Mr Murphy had sacrificed a lot for the job.

“I remember when he was in charge in Alice Springs (in 2011), there were some real challenges down there, and Murph would have been running seven days a week for six months and beyond at that time,” he said.

“I saw someone who was not only intelligent, but had that ­resilience and commitment and understood that sometimes your job is really difficult.”

NT Police Association president Nathan Finn said Mr Murphy was a “genuine guy with the genuine interest of our members at heart. He reaches out and contacts members who go through tough times. He’s definitely got his work cut out but we can’t get much lower than where we got to so we’re looking ­upwards and onwards.”