Anthony Albanese and his Mean Girls
Labor’s “mean girls” subculture is under examination following the death of shunned Labor senator Kimberley Kitching – but Anthony Albanese finds the phrase “mean girls” to itself be mean.
Please mansplain it to us, Albo:
Anthony Albanese has lashed out at the use of the term “mean girls” to describe the conduct of Labor Senate leader Penny Wong and others in the wake of Senator Kimberley Kitching’s death.
Senator Kitching’s sudden death from a suspected heart attack last week has opened a Pandora’s Box of allegations that she was stressed and ostracised by colleagues before her death.
Mr Albanese was grilled about reports of a culture problem within ALP during a heated interview on the Today show with Ally Langdon, and then again at a press conference in Brisbane.
“I find it astonishing that in 2022, I get a question using the term ‘mean girls’,” Albanese said.
“I find that extraordinarily disrespectful to describe strong, articulate, principled women like Penny Wong, Katy Gallagher and Kristina Keneally. I find it astonishing and a throwback. Decades. Decades.”
Fine. We’ll call them Heathers instead. Speaking of disrespectful:
News.com.au understands before her death Senator Kitching complained directly to Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles that she was being treated poorly in the Senate, but the ALP now says “out of respect” to her death they won’t investigate the claims.
How thoughtful of them. Further from Sky News:
UPDATE. James Morrow:
Honestly, if a steaming load of faux outrage over the term “mean girls” is the best Labor can do after reports of alleged bullying suffered by Kimberley Kitching, they may as well have their ears painted on.
We know that Ms Kitching, who tragically died last week of a heart attack (possibly brought on by stress) at age 52 last week was treated absolutely terribly by her party.
Because she didn’t have the correct politics or play the right factional games she was frozen out in all sorts of ways that would not be acceptable in any corporate workplace.
She was all but silenced in the Senate, barely allowed to ask a question in the chamber’s question time.
Her pre-selection was threatened.
Please read on.
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