ALP leader Anthony Albanese defers to party process amid call for probe into party bullying

The ALP leader has denied claims Kimberley Kitching was scared of him, and won’t allow an inquiry into claims she was bullied by her own party.

Friends of the late Senator Kimberley Kitching claim she was the victim of ‘mean girl’ bullying. Picture: Supplied

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has rejected calls for an inquiry into the treatment of Labor senator Kimberley Kitching in the lead up to her death, instead backing the women accused of bullying her.

Mr Albanese on Saturday knocked back the suggestion of an independent inquiry into the allegations, saying “the Labor Party has processes in place … that people can participate in”.

He also threw his support behind Senators Penny Wong, Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher, who Senator Kitching dubbed “the mean girls” for their alleged treatment of her.

Mr Albanese was responding to explosive revelations in the Herald Sun on Saturday by Senator Kitching’s best friend, Diana Asmar who held her hand as she died of a heart attack on the side of a road and revealed the terrible bullying she received at the hands of her Labor colleagues.

Writing exclusively for the Herald Sun Ms Asmar, national secretary of the Health Workers Union said Senator Kitching was a physical wreck from the bullying, how her heart “simply gave out’’ and “she was the subject of horrendous workplace bullying at the hands of people that may go on to lead our nation.’’

On Saturday Mr Albanese said that “politics can be a robust business” but was “better for the participation of valued colleagues in leadership positions, including Penny, Katy, and Kristina” who he said “are all making an outstanding contribution.”

Twice Mr Albanese was asked if he would order an inquiry and twice he said there was a process currently in place to manage the issue. The blunt refusal by Mr Albanese to engage with the allegations about bullying or order an inquiry has angered Ms Kitching’s friends in the Labor Party

“They’re hoping this is going to go away – well it isn’t,” a friend of Senator Kitching told the Sunday Herald Sun last night.

HWU Secretary Diana Asmar with Kimberley Kitching. Picture: Supplied

Ms Asmar also revealed in the Herald Sun that Senator Kitching had complained about the bullying to Deputy Labor Leader Richard Marles but they did not believe her

Asked if Mr Marles has ever raised the treatment of Senator Kitching with him, Mr Albanese declined to answer yesterday, saying: “You go through who said what to whom.

“I have indicated very clearly that if people want to talk to me about issues, they walk through the door.”

On Saturday Ms Asmar wrote in the Herald Sun she had “no doubt that the workplace bullying Kimberley endured by her Labor colleagues, inflicted on her over many years, significantly worsened her health” adding that “she was under severe stress caused by workplace bullying at the hands of Labor’s senior leadership group”.

The Health Workers Union boss also accused senators Wong, Kenally and Gallagher “the three more senior ‘mean girls’” of locking her out of discussions on any opposition business.

Senator Kitching died of a suspected heart attack a day after a meeting of Right faction bosses had refused to back her preselection at the top of Labor’s Senate ticket in Victoria.

She had been suffering from a thyroid condition in recent months but her friends, including Ms Asmar, say they believe her treatment in Canberra and the uncertainty over her political future contributed to the stress she was under.

The three senators have said they plan to attend her funeral on Monday at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne along with Mr Albanese. Former Labor MP Michael Danby backed calls for an internal inquiry saying Mr Albanese and his deputy Mr Marles should “square their shoulders and follow Labor’s own procedures on bullying either that or admit that wrong was done and apologise to the family”.

Mr Danby said it was impossible to trace Senator Kitching’s stress over her treatment and political future to her death but “all her friends and everyone in politics knew that in recent months she had been under terrible strain”.

There will be no probe into claims of Labor bullying, of Kimberley Kitching.

Mr Danby’s intervention came as a leading Uighur advocate in Australia revealed that Senator Kitching had told her of her isolation in April 2021.

Vicky Xu tweeted that at a hearing on Uyghur forced labour “Senator Kitching complained to me in the corridors of the parliament about being isolated from her colleagues in the party who refused to work with her on China/human rights issues” and that “Those colleagues did not attend the hearing”.

Under the ALP National Policy For Bullying And Harassment Prevention, referred to by Mr Albanese, Labor members are encouraged to take part in “active bystander intervention” to “prevent or stop bullying or harassment from occurring”.

The steps involved include noticing the situation – paying attention to what is going on nearby … deciding whether someone might need help, accepting responsibility to take action and making a plan to step in.

It also states that a member “who alleges bullying or harassment by a member of the ALP, and any person who alleges that bullying or harassment took place at an ALP gathering or event, is entitled to a respectful response from the ALP”.

It also says the Party should ensure “that a complainant has been adequately supported”.

Mr Marles was unavailable for comment on Saturday.