Anthony Albanese announces human rights award to honour Kimberley Kitching
Labor leader Anthony Albanese will permanently honour the late senator Kimberley Kitching with an unprecedented award, to be handed out in her name every year.
NSW
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Anthony Albanese has pledged to review the Labor Party’s internal complaints handling process and will permanently honour Kimberley Kitching with an unprecedented award to be handed out at every National Conference in her name.
The move follows an outpouring of grief at Kitching’s funeral on Monday in which her husband Andrew Landeryou voiced his anger at the “cantankerous cabal” in the party that targeted her.
However it is understood he has given his blessing to Mr Albanese’s gesture.
The Labor Leader will write to the ALP National Secretary Paul Erickson asking the National Executive to institute a “Kimberley Kitching Human Rights Award”. It will be the only award bestowed by Labor’s supreme body.
The move is incredibly significant because one of Kitching’s key grievances with the party was that she campaigned fiercely for a so-called “Magnitsky Act” allowing Australia to sanction foreign individuals for corruption or human rights abuses only to be reportedly blocked by Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong.
Senator Wong later backflipped and announced the move in Kitching’s absence. Rubbing salt into the wound, Kitching was also denied party funding to travel to London to accept her own Sergei Magnitsky Human Rights Award for her efforts.
By giving Kitching her own human rights award, Mr Albanese is attempting to redress this injustice as well as signalling that Labor will continue to abide by the values that Kitching brought to the party.
“This is a practical way to honour Kimberley Kitching’s legacy and commitment to international human rights,” Mr Albanese told The Daily Telegraph.
The Labor leader also said he was reviewing the ALP’s complaints process and would take on any constructive criticism.
“We will continue to examine all our internal processes and we will continue to listen to any constructive suggestions on how we can improve our processes,” he said.
“We have a constant review of our internal processes and are always looking to improve them.”
However Mr Albanese stopped short of announcing a full inquiry into the specific allegations made by Kitching in the weeks and months before her sudden death.
It is understood that the Opposition Leader took heart from the words of his predecessor, Kitching’s close friend and ally Bill Shorten, who used his eulogy to call for the party to unite and focus on the upcoming election campaign.
However Mr Albanese openly called upon people to identify problems with Labor’s complaints handling processes immediately after the funeral concluded, saying he would take it on board.
“We will continue to be open to any improvement at any time, including during the next term,” he said.
The Labor leader has been under intense pressure to pursue Kitching’s claims of bullying and ostracisation by senior senators Penny Wong, Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher. Kitching was also under preselection pressure because of a schism in the Victorian Labor Right however it is understood Mr Albanese never believed she was under serious threat.
The only other honour bestowed by Labor’s National Executive is lifetime membership.
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Originally published as Anthony Albanese announces human rights award to honour Kimberley Kitching
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