Labor under fire for promotional Facebook post featuring late Senator Kimberley Kitching

A distasteful ALP promotional election social media post featuring the late Senator Kimberley Kitching has been slammed.

A promotional election Facebook post by the ALP featuring Senator Kimberley Kitching who suddenly died in March has been labelled as “disgusting”.

The social media post, which was posted by ALP’s verified Facebook page Victorian Labor on Friday evening, features an election photo of Anthony Albanese with Senator Kitching, Kristina Keneally and other MPs, with the caption “Here’s how you can help beat Morrison”.

Several commenters were quick to point out the tasteless nature of the post, questioning the integrity of the post.

“Disgusting Labor filth.” one user wrote.

“Why post a photo containing poor Kimberley Kitching? You low life’s have no morals,” another commenter said

“This photo is not the current ALP,” another stated.

The promotional election Facebook post.

Ms Kitching’s friends, led by former Labor leader Bill Shorten, have said the 52-year-old was under significant stress prior to suffering a heart attack.

It had also emerged that Senator Kitching privately dubbed senators Keneally, Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher as “mean girls” prior to her sudden death.

They argued the allegations of bullying made against them are “untrue” and “hurtful”.

Friends and colleagues of Senator Kitching are pushing for an inquiry into her treatment, with senior government Minister Peter Dutton suggesting that the parliament could initiate its own probe if the Labor Party did not act.

Federal Labor senator Kimberley Kitching died from a heart attack in Melbourne.

Her best friend Diana Asmar, a union leader, previously told the Herald Sun, the Labor Party bullying of Senator Kitching made her a “physical wreck’’ and how after being told she would not be endorsed by Labor “her beautiful heart simply gave out”.

Ms Asmar said: “She was the subject of horrendous workplace bullying at the hands of people that may go on to lead our nation.

She also detailed several instances of bullying, how senator Kitching’s complaints to deputy Labor leader Mr Marles “fell on deaf ears’’, and the final meeting where Right faction bosses refused to back her preselection.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese, Jacinta Allan, and Premier Daniel Andrews at Kimberley Kitching’s funeral. Picture: David Caird

In a powerful eulogy before hundreds of mourners at Senator Kitching’s funeral in March, Andrew Landeryou said she was “living her best life” as senator.

But he said she endured “internal hostility” to fight for her beliefs in Canberra, including standing up for human rights and challenging the Chinese Communist Party’s power, and her staff and friends were “angry about how she was treated”.

The ALP Victorian branch has been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Labor under fire for promotional Facebook post featuring late Senator Kimberley Kitching