Ex-MP Emma Husar slams Labor Party and leader Anthony Albanese

Ex-Labor MP Emma Husar has slammed her former party, saying it is ‘toxic and manipulative’ — and its leader Anthony Albanese is behaving like a ‘gaslighting narcissist’.

Former Labor MP Emma Husar has accused Anthony Albanese of behaving like a “gaslighting narcissist” in the wake of the death of Senator Kimberley Kitching — and revealed the stress of being bullied by ALP powerbrokers during her time in parliament caused her to develop a heart condition that required the care of a cardiologist.

Ms Husar, who once represented the Western Sydney seat of Lindsay but left parliament in 2019 after Labor mounted an investigation into ultimately unproven charges of sexual harassment against her, said she herself had been the victim of the ALP’s “incredibly toxic” culture of misogynist bullying.

On Friday, senior Labor frontbenchers Penny Wong, Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher issued a statement saying that despite the claims “not being true” they would not respond to them at the moment out of respect for Ms Kitching’s husband and family and the grief they were going through.

Former ALP MP Emma Husar has unloaded on her ex-party’s ‘toxic’ culture.

On Thursday, Ms Husar said it was “disgraceful” that the ALP was not investigating the circumstances of Ms Kitching’s death from an apparent heart attack, potentially brought on by the stress of her treatment by the party.

Since Ms Kitching’s death, numerous reports have emerged that the Victorian senator had been “iced out” of power and had her preselection put under threat because of factional disputes.

Reports have also emerged that Ms Kitching said she was ostracised by a group of prominent fellow female Labor senators she called “the mean girls”, and that one of them told her “if you had children, you might understand why there is a climate emergency” during a discussion of school climate strikes.

Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching is believed to have died from a heart attack. Picture: AAP Image

It has also emerged that Ms Kitching had complained to a workplace trainer employed by parliament about being bullied by colleagues.

Despite this, the ALP has ruled out an investigation into reports that Ms Kitching had been bullied or ostracised.

Earlier this week, Mr Albanese also lashed out at a reporter who asked about Ms Kitching’s experience, calling the use of the term “mean girls” “disrespectful”.

“I find it astonishing that in 2022, I get a question using the term ‘mean girls’. I find that extraordinarily disrespectful to describe strong, articulate, principled women like Penny Wong, Katy Gallagher and Kristina Keneally,” Mr Albanese told the Today show’s Alison Langdon, referring to three of the senators Ms Kitching had complained about.

But Ms Husar said Mr Albanese’s faux outrage over the term was merely “gaslighting’’.

Ms Husar reserved some of her strongest criticism for Labor leader Anthony Albanese. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

“A woman lost her life and there were circumstances that point to the Labor Party, but what Albo is doing here (by turning the phrase around) is absolute gaslighting,” Ms Husar said.

“This is the phrase Kimberley Kitching used to describe her (alleged) bullies. If this was on a different sort of work site where would the ALP, which says it is the party of workers, be then?”

“I developed a leaky mitral valve condition in my heart and had to see a cardiologist.

“We both had a right to be safe in our workplaces and we were not. It’s disgraceful.”

Ms Husar, who also launched, and ultimately settled, a defamation case against Buzzfeed over an article she said portrayed her as a “slut” and dishonest, said she had been horribly treated by Mr Albanese during her time in parliament.

“Albo was perfectly happy to pump up my tyres to get at (then leader) Bill Shorten”, she said. “But he never called to check on me.”

Emma Husar at Parliament House in Canberra in late 2018. Picture: AAP Image

The Opposition Leader, she claimed, told her in a meeting that she deserved “nothing short of an apology”, but he later would not comment on the discussion except to describe it as a “private conversation.

Ms Husar, who was ultimately cleared of allegations of sexual harassment, was also deeply critical of the way the Labor Party held itself out as the champion of women while treating female parliamentarians so poorly.

“Labor gets away with this because the left-leaning sections of the media believe in progressive politics and think that just because it’s the ALP and they have more women in parliament they are better. But it is only because the poor treatment of women in the Coalition is so much more overt that we don’t see the coercive control that goes on in the ALP,” she said.

“Labor is far more toxic and far more manipulative than the Liberal Party.

“We need a progressive government and to move on from bungling Covid and ‘I don’t hold a hose’, but Labor isn’t credible at all because they deny they have any trouble on their side.”

Mr Albanese repeatedly denied there is a toxic culture for women within Labor.

“I’m very proud of the fact that I lead a team that has 50 per cent female and male contribution in my shadow cabinet.

“I’m proud of all of the people in the leadership team of the Labor Party,” he said earlier this week.

“We have an extraordinary group of talented women. They are all making a contribution.”