Labor Party bullies wrecked Kimberley

The woman who held Kimberley Kitching’s hand as the Labor senator died has revealed the extent of the political bullying her best friend endured.

Every Australian is entitled to a safe workplace. Every Australian is entitled to return home safely at the end of each day.

Someone who stood with me in the fight against workplace bullying, is the late senator Kimberley Kitching.

Her most recent workplace, of course, was Parliament House. It is a workplace all too often populated by the entitled and unaccountable, seeking to not play by the rules of those they seek to govern.

Kimberley is much more than a senator or HWU member. She is also my best friend. She is the sister I never had. I say “is” because I’m still in the first phase of grief. I don’t want to accept she’s gone.

Health Workers Union boss Diana Asmar with her late friend Kimberley Kitching.

She was the subject of horrendous workplace bullying at the hands of people that may go on to lead our nation. I know this because she routinely shared specific details about it. Her loyalty to our movement meant that she tried to handle the burden of this consistent, systematic bullying in a manner that didn’t detract from Labor’s electoral prospects, only raising it internally and with senior figures – to no avail.

She confided in someone she had known for decades, Labor’s deputy leader Richard Marles. He told the ABC a year ago this week, regarding allegations of poor treatment of women in the ALP by men: “To all of those women who are having the courage to tell their story: I believe them.”

It seems, however, that when a brilliant female senator brings allegations to the deputy leader of the ALP, all she gets is that of Sergeant Schultz: he knows nothing.

Kimberley tried to resolve the issue a number of ways. People in authority, no less than the deputy leader of the party – the head of her faction – neither believed her as Marles said he would, nor thought her courageous as Marles said he would, nor acted as Marles said he would.

Kitching flanked by Senators Don Farrell and Penny Wong as she is sworn in. Picture: Ray Strange.

Health deteriorated

Having spent much of the last 48 hours of her life with her and holding her hand in the middle of a suburban Strathmore street as her soul left her, I have no doubt that the workplace bullying Kimberley endured by her Labor colleagues, inflicted on her over many years, significantly worsened her health. Specifically, she was under severe stress caused by workplace bullying at the hands of Labor’s senior leadership group.

In the months and weeks leading up to her death, she had broken out in rashes visible around her neck. Her hands started shaking uncontrollably in meetings, and her upper lip would quiver at the mention of Anthony Albanese or Penny Wong. Once a fit, health-conscious yoga enthusiast who loved to swim in the sea, she was now a physical wreck. Her body was failing her.

A refusal to even engage in discussion on the merits of her preselection, driven by a cabal of individuals concerned more with control than core beliefs, was the final straw.

Preselection trouble

The day before her death, a 9am Zoom meeting was scheduled, which would determine Kimberley’s political fate. Present were myself, Earl Setches from the Plumbers’ Union, Michael Donovan from the SDA, John Berger from the TWU and Samuel Ray (representing the Conroy/Marles group).

The broad group meeting of the Right was called by Michael Donovan. A motion was moved by Earl Setches and seconded by myself in relation to preselecting Kimberley Kitching for the Right’s Senate spot.

Michael Donovan, Sam Rae and John Berger stated their position. One by one, they said: “I have no position.”

Kimberley Kitching during a hearing at Parliament House, Canberra. Picture: Gary Ramage

This meeting demonstrated to me how utterly spineless the party has become. All Kimberley’s hard work, her sensible policy positions, her ability, her talent, her brains, the future of the party … all of it meant nothing. The fix was in. Kimberley was in trouble.

The following day I gave her a blow-by-blow account of the 75-minute Zoom meeting. I had to give it to her straight. National Executive were going to install someone else.

Kimberley was a mess. That afternoon, she drove home. Armed with the knowledge that it was highly probable her career was about to come to a brutal end. What was going through her mind? Did she panic? Was the workplace bullying she endured over so long all too much? On that drive home, her beautiful heart simply gave out.

Isolated and muted

Workplace bullying can take many forms. It needn’t be physical. It can be subtle – snippy, mean or degrading comments, perhaps. It’s repetitive and unreasonable and creates a risk to health and safety.

The people perpetrating the bullying usually always deny or water down events when confronted about their behaviour. They often get away with it.

The cold denial this week by Labor’s leadership of Kimberley’s bullying was expected. She’s now being gaslighted even after she’s gone.

Kimberley was smart, capable, articulate, responsible and highly effective. She was old-school, middle-of-the-road Labor.

Senators Katy Gallagher, Kristina Keneally and Penny Wong were labelled ‘mean girls’. Picture: Sam Mooy

Politics is the battle of hearts and minds. She had the intellect and knowledge to win an argument. She could have galvanised a divided, meek and vacuous Right of the federal parliamentary party. Her politics and principles, coupled with her abilities, made her dangerous to ambitious people not tethered in values and beliefs. That’s why she was the subject of a deliberate bullying campaign. She needed to be isolated. Stopped. Muted.

Kimberley confided in me, and a number of other friends, numerous stories about the nature of the bullying inflicted on her by her Labor colleagues.

She told me this much:

• Being removed from Labor’s tactics committee over unsubstantiated accusations of treachery and being denied any due process devastated her. She was told this would be reviewed in due course. It wasn’t. Complaints to deputy leader Richard Marles to intervene fell on deaf ears.

• The beatified Penny Wong told Kimberley that she couldn’t participate in a debate on a Senate motion about schoolchildren rallying on climate change “because you’re childless, you simply wouldn’t understand”. Kimberley’s love and affection for the kids in her life – such as mine – was boundless. She’d sing mine to sleep with So Long Farewell from The Sound of Music.

• The failure of Anthony Albanese to acknowledge or even call her to congratulate her for winning a prestigious International Award for her work on the Magnitsky Act, an Act which Penny Wong said would be “passed over her dead body”, only for Wong to renege and for Kimberley to find out about the reversal of Wong’s position in media reports. The Act is now allowing Australia to sanction Russian oligarchs profiteering from heinous war crimes.

Anthony Albanese’s office tried to freeze Kitching out of media appearances. Picture: Sarah Marshall

• Anthony Albanese’s office refused to provide Kimberley or her staff the daily talking points for media appearances for some time, in the hope that she would limit her media presence.

• Isolation at Labor caucus meetings where her colleagues refused to greet or even acknowledge her was an ongoing issue. I witnessed this bizarre behaviour personally in February last year, when Kimberley attended a union-organised event at Parliament House with dozens of her Labor colleagues present.

• Despite being the fourth most senior Labor figure in the Senate as deputy leader of opposition business, the three more senior “mean girls” had limited discussion and interaction with her on any opposition business whatsoever. She was locked out of discussions, despite being the most prolific interrogator of the government through thousands of Questions on Notice.

• Her demotion as shadow spokesman for government accountability by Mr Albanese occurred without the decency of a phone call. She found out by press release. Kimberley had starred in that role, having pursued with gusto corporate excess. Her level of output and questioning of the government is unmatched by her successor to date.

Pursuit of power

There is a clear pattern. She was, by definition, bullied. It was sustained. It was ongoing.

Of course, none of her bullies expected her to die. None of her bullies understood the consequences of their actions on Kimberley’s health. The pursuit of power can alter human behaviour.

Politics is a jungle. In this business, you are either a lion or a wildebeest, and perception is everything.

But standard operating procedure doesn’t justify the behaviour of Labor’s leadership group. It’s not any less excusable.

Kitching found out she had been demoted as shadow spokesman for government accountability by Mr Albanese via a press release. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

I’m sickened by the sheer hypocrisy of these same Labor politicians wrapping their arms around Brittany Higgins – when they themselves perpetrated bullying against one of their own in their own workplace.

The Jenkins review of workplace behaviour at Parliament House sought to address bullying issues.

Kimberley did not write a formal submission to the Jenkins review. She didn’t want to inflict damage on her party.

Thankfully, she did have another opportunity to finally air the systemic bullying she faced. Kimberley told me that, as part of the training for senators and staff emanating from recommendations of the review, she told the PwC workplace consultant about the workplace bullying she had endured at the hands of Penny Wong.

While not expecting this discussion to go anywhere or see any investigation as a result, she said the process was “incredibly liberating” for her. I could see the weight lift from her shoulders when she told me.

The ALP national code of conduct is very clear on bullying and harassment. It constitutes serious misconduct. I’m writing to the national executive outlining my concerns about what happened to Kimberley at the hands of Labor’s leadership group. No doubt I’ll get a response the Monday after the next federal election.

In hindsight, I wish the discussion she had with the PwC consultant had produced a result. I wish Penny Wong and Anthony Albanese had simply apologised and put an end to the bullying and marginalisation of Kimberley.

Then she might still be here.

Originally published as Labor Party bullies wrecked Kimberley