Joe Hildebrand: Labor’s ‘mean girls’ controversy won’t just go away

Labor leader Anthony Albanese and his party colleagues hoped the “mean girls” controversy would quickly go away, but it has now become even more divisive, writes Joe Hildebrand.

It is now almost three weeks since the awful death of Kimberley Kitching and more than a week since her body was laid to rest.

But it is clear now that rest is the wrong word.

Even on the eve of the most important federal budget of the Coalition’s political life, the events leading up to Kitching’s death still dominate the Australian political landscape.

In deciding not to hold an inquiry into the claims made by Kitching that she was bullied by whom she called “mean girls” in the Labor Party, leader Anthony Albanese clearly believed the matter would soon blow over.

It was a rare miscalculation.

Senator Kimberley Kitching claims she was bullied by people she called “mean girls”.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese at senator Kimberley Kitching's funeral. Picture: David Caird

At the core of the mistake was a belief among some within the party that they knew the facts of the matter and the facts simply did not support the assertion Kitching was “bullied” in any legally problematic definition of the word.

Rather they saw a cynical attempt by Bill Shorten and other elements within the Right to use Kitching’s death to punish the Left and perhaps – two Labor strategists separately suggested to me – even sabotage Albanese’s electoral chances so as to pave the way for a Shorten comeback.

Were this ever a scheme in play, it has since been buried alongside Kitching. Shorten even used his eulogy at her funeral to appeal for the party to end the infighting and unite for an election victory.

Illustration: Terry Pontikos

This was seen by senior Labor figures as a vital move for Shorten if he was to avoid becoming a party pariah.

A more charitable view would be Shorten – like many of Kitching’s friends – was angry about her treatment and lashed out in the aftermath of her shock death but did not want to see the party laid to waste by it.

Either way, it is no coincidence that those resisting an inquiry have repeatedly pointed to Shorten’s comments as evidence of why there is no need for one.

Gosh, it’s almost like the whole thing was orchestrated thus.

For wizened political minds this should have been the end of the matter — even Kitching’s staunchest avenger was now calling for both sides to lay down their arms. The problem had been – to use that magnificent political term – fixed.

But as is so often the case in politics, trying to be too smart by half is often only half smart.

The problem had long jumped the tracks of being an internal Labor matter and was now a perfectly honed political weapon in the hands of its enemies – not to mention a perplexing case of double standards for the few people in politics and the media who still care about such things.

Senator Katy Gallagher, Senator Kristina Keneally and Senator Penny Wong. Picture: AAP Image/Sam Mooy

No matter how Labor has tried to spin the issue, its own ghosts – and more especially those of the more rabid left – have come back to haunt the party.

Kitching died without making a formal complaint? That didn’t stop them coming after Christian Porter.

It’s all part of the rough and tumble of politics? That didn’t stop them pursuing the Coalition over the alleged treatment of Julia Banks.

Frankly these matters should have been foreseen not just as soon as the Kitching claims came to light but during the Porter and Banks matters months and years ago.

There was a time when anything as serious as a death or alleged sexual assault would have been instinctively deemed beyond politicisation, by anyone with a shred of human decency.

Instead such matters would be immediately left to the rigours of the justice system, perhaps accompanied by some bipartisan platitudes.

But the rise of social media and the angry feral voices which tend to dominate it seem to have emboldened some in politics to push the envelope further than it ever ought to go in the quest for Twitter accolades.

I was very interested to read the observation by The Australian’s editor-in-chief Chris Dore on Monday that some journalists also appear to court the approval of these voices.

And like all overreach it precipitated a fall, the quagmire we are now seeing Labor stuck in the lead-up to an election campaign that should be a laydown misere.

And even if the Kitching issue is more of an obsession of the media and political class than the average voter, it is still hurting Labor on several fronts.

For one thing, Albo can’t put his head up for serious broadcast interviews without being grilled on it. For another he can’t target the PM’s biggest achilles heal of shirking responsibility without being accused of it himself.

And just to round out the trifecta he can’t talk about Labor’s signature platform of women’s workforce participation without … well, you can finish the sentence.

And so even if the issue isn’t front of mind in undecided-voter-land per se, it is forcing Labor to campaign with one hand tied behind its back.

It is now almost impossible for Labor to announce an inquiry with any sort of credibility, nor to gain anything from it. And so it is probably pointless for those who care about Kitching’s memory to go on demanding one – although the right will continue to do so all the way up until polling day.

However if there is any good to be gained from this perhaps it is that in the future Labor will be more mature and circumspect before it attempts to exploit the personal for political ­purposes.

That is the domain of zealots.

It is also terrible tactics, because what the party is suffering now isn’t just personal or political. It’s payback.