Senator Sarah Henderson claims Penny Wong’s lawyers sent ‘bullying’ letter bid

A Coalition senator claims she was hit with a “threatening” letter sent by lawyers working for Penny Wong after she tweeted a clip of retiring MP Nicolle Flint.

A female Coalition senator was hit with a “threatening” letter she believes was intended to “bully and intimidate” sent by lawyers working for Penny Wong after she name-checked the Labor senator in a tweet calling out the poor treatment of women in politics.

On March 16 of last year, Victorian senator Sarah Henderson tweeted a clip of retiring Liberal South Australian MP Nicolle Flint describing the vicious abuse, including stalking, vandalism, and harassment, she endured during the 2019 election campaign.

“Please watch this brave, powerful speech by Nicolle Flint,” Ms Henderson tweeted.

“No woman should endure the systematic abuse, harassment & misogynistic attacks to which she was subjected by Labor, with @SenatorWong in charge, GetUp & the unions.”

Senator Penny Wong. Picture: NCA Newswire/ Gaye Gerard

Senator Sarah Henderson. Picture: Alan Barber

The following day, Ms Henderson received a “concerns notice” from Adelaide solicitors acting for Ms Wong, demanding the tweet be taken down as it “gives rise to the defamatory imputations that Senator Wong is misogynistic … encouraged systematic abuse … approved systematic abuse … (and) condoned systematic abuse.”

The letter, sighted by The Daily Telegraph, stated that Ms Wong “reserves all of her rights … in the event that you make any further defamatory publications of and concerning our client”.

Ms Henderson said she was surprised to get the letter as she had not heard anything from Ms Wong after the tweet.

“I was shocked to receive such a threatening letter,” Ms Henderson said.

“All I was doing was standing up and supporting my good friend Nicolle Flint who had been subjected to the worst possible treatment by her political opponents. Given an applicant has 12 months to commence defamation proceedings, it is clear that Senator Wong was only ever trying to bully and intimidate me.”

An upset Nicolle Flint spoke of ongoing abuse when she read emails she had received while speaking at Parliament House in 2020. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

In recent days, Ms Wong has been under scrutiny over her behaviour in relation to ­deceased Victorian Labor senator Kimberley Kitching.

Ms Wong has denied the allegations, but admitted to making an insensitive comment about Ms Kitching’s childlessness.

Prominent female politicians have also slammed the culture within the Labor Party amid the so-called “mean girls” claims, with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson calling for an investigation.

The claims follow the death of Senator Kimberley Kitching last week from a suspected heart attack.

Ms Kitching’s friends, including former Labor leader Bill Shorten, say the 52-year-old felt she was under significant stress prior to her heart attack, including because of internal disputes within the party.

She was sidelined from the party’s senate tactics committee and rarely given a question to ask in parliament.

Beyond that, Labor women have largely closed ranks and avoided questions about the party’s track record on bully in the wake of allegations Kimberley Kitching was isolated by senate leadership.

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.

There was 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.

In her speech last year, Ms Flint accused Anthony Albanese of tolerating bad behaviour and the mistreatment of women.

Echoing Julia Gillard’s famous misogyny speech she said: “I say to the Leader of the Opposition, I will not be lectured by you, I will not be lectured by your side of politics about the treatment of women in this place.

“I ask the Leader of the Opposition, where was he and where was his predecessor and where were the senior Labor women when GetUp, Labor and the union supporters chased, harassed and screamed at me everywhere I went in the lead-up to the 2019 election?”

Ms Wong’s spokesman said: “The assertions in (Ms) Henderson’s tweet are not true.”

Originally published as Senator Sarah Henderson claims Penny Wong’s lawyers sent ‘bullying’ letter bid