Victorian Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching has died suddenly aged 52

Victorian Labor senator Kimberley Kitching died by the side of the road after stopping her car to call her husband just moments before a fatal heart attack.

Bill Shorten has broken down as he paid tribute to his “fierce and warm friend” Kimberley Kitching, adding the stress of political “backroom machinations” took its toll on the Victorian Labor senator.

Senator Kitching died from a suspected heart attack in Melbourne on Thursday night.

It’s understood she had been feeling unwell between meetings and pulled over while driving to call her husband Andrew Landeryou.

An ambulance was called but she could not be resuscitated and died near where her car was parked.

Former Labor leader Mr Shorten and his wife, who were “great friends” with Senator Kitching and her husband and had known her for decades were among the first to be told of her death.

They sat by the side of the road with Mr Landeryou and some other close friends as they for the undertaker’s car to take her away.

Colleagues are mourning Kitching’s death as “absolute tragedy”. Picture: AAP Image

Looking visibly upset and choking back tears, Mr Shorten told the Nine Network how he had received the “dreadful call” from Mr Landeryou.

“We raced over to the street in Strathmore where she pulled up in the car where she experienced a heart attack, and we waited with her husband until the undertaker’s car came, which was terrible,” Mr Shorten said.

“She was a fierce and warm person. She wasn’t necessarily on the fast track to a big promotion in the Labor Party because she would speak her own mind with real honesty.”

Mr Shorten told ABC Radio through tears that Senator Kitching had been under “immense stress”, which he believes contributed to her death.

“I encouraged her interest in politics, and you can never dive forward and predict back what’s going to happen,” he told RN host Patricia Karvelas.

“But you do wonder if she would have been better off never going near politics.”

Mr Shorten said Senator Kitching had borne the brunt of “backroom machinations” and stress about her future in politics.

“She’s a very strong person, she could give as good as she could get, but you take it all home with you,” he said.

“That’s not just as a politician. It doesn’t matter what line of work, you carry stress.

“It’s got to be having its impact and she was greatly stressed”.

Terrible news tonight about Senator Kimberley Kitching. My thoughts are with her family at this very sad time. https://t.co/i7p5x8UfCv

— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) March 10, 2022

Last year, Senator Kitching received the prestigious Magnitsky Human Rights Award for her work in setting up a human rights sanctions regime in Australia.

Scott Morrison praised Senator Kitching as “a parliamentarian in the truest sense” who was “deeply respected by the Coalition”.

“Senator Kitching was a serious parliamentarian who had a deep interest in Australia’s national security,” the Prime Minister said.

“She had a passion about Australia’s national interest and argued for it. She demonstrated that her passion for her country was always greater than any partisan view. She clearly loved her country and it genuinely showed.”

So sad to lose Kimberley Kitching. She was a true patriot and had so much to give.

— Tony Abbott (@HonTonyAbbott) March 10, 2022

I am deeply, genuinely and so terribly upset to hear the tragic news about a dear person and dear friend, Senator Kimberley Kitching. She was a beautiful woman and this is a tragic loss. I know she is with our Lord, and I offer my sincerest and deepest condolences to her family.

— Barnaby Joyce (@Barnaby_Joyce) March 10, 2022

Labor leader Anthony Albanese said she had “so very much ahead of her”.

“Kimberley was passionate about the cause of Labor and had focused her Senate contribution on international affairs and national security. She was determined to make an ongoing contribution in the Australian national interest,” he said.

“Kimberley had a such a larger-than-life personality that it is tragic that her bright light has gone out far too early.”

A member of the Labor Party since 1993, Senator Kitching served as a City of Melbourne councillor from 2001 to 2004.

She went to Canberra in 2016 and was appointed as the shadow assistant minister for government accountability in 2019, before becoming the shadow assistant minister for government services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme last year.

Kitching with close friend Bill Shorten.

Kitching’s first step into politics was a Melbourne City Councillor.

Senator Kitching was held in high regard for her work on parliamentary committees, particularly on defence, foreign affairs and national security.

Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles, who had known her for over 30 years, said Australia had lost “a unique power”.

“Kimberly knew what she stood for and she brought a clarity of thought to her role in the Senate that was rare. She was a fierce advocate for all that she believed in,” he said.

The Labor family is in shock tonight at the tragic news that our friend and colleague Senator Kimberley Kitching has died suddenly in Melbourne. My sincere condolences to her family. Kimberley will be missed by us all.

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) March 10, 2022

To know Kimberley was to be touched not just by her serene intellect but her incredible warmth and vivacity.

Her passing is an immense loss to Labor and the nation.

In the words of Shakespeare -
Your cause of sorrow
Must not be measured by (her) worth, for then
It hath no end. pic.twitter.com/lAv7e9J4ec

— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) March 10, 2022

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said: “I am deeply, genuinely and so terribly upset to hear the tragic news about a dear person and dear friend.”

Labor frontbencher Clare O’Neil said she was “powerful, clever, caring, and a hell of a lot of (often mischievous) fun”.

Liberal senator James Paterson, the chair of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security, said Senator Kitching was “a warrior for her cause, a friend of freedom and a true patriot who had an enormous impact in her short time in the Senate”.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott also described her as a “true patriot” and said she had “so much to give”.

At the time of her death, Senator Kitching was waiting on the Labor Party to decide whether she would be preselected again for the federal election in May.

Originally published as Victorian Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching has died suddenly aged 52