Labor senator Kimberley Kitching dies aged 52 of a heart attack

Labor senator Kimberley Kitching, 52, has been remembered as a ‘true patriot’ after she suffered a suspected fatal heart attack in Melbourne.

Labor senator Kimberley Kitching has been remembered as a “true patriot” with “serene intellect and vivacity” after she suffered a suspected fatal heart attack in Melbourne.

The 52-year-old, who entered the Senate in 2016, is understood to have been found in her car by husband Andrew Landeryou in Strathmore on Thursday night.

It is understood she had been feeling unwell between meetings and pulled over while driving to call her husband. An ambulance was called but she could not be resuscitated and died near where her car was parked.

Former Labor leader Bill 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 waited for the undertaker’s car to take her away.

Speaking on Friday morning, an emotional 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”.

Mr Shorten, a Right faction colleague, confirmed Senator Kitching’s death shortly before 8.30pm on Thursday night.

“With a desolate heart I share the news that Kimberley Kitching has passed away. Kimberley suffered a heart problem Thursday evening in Melbourne and passed soon after,” Mr Shorten said.

Kimberley Kitching and her partner Andrew Landeryou at the Midwinter Ball in 2017. Picture Ray Strange

Victorian Senator Kimberley Kitching delivers her first speech in the Senate Chamber in 2016.

“Her passing is an immense loss to Labor and the nation. As well as her innumerable accolades, she has been a wonderful friend to myself, my wife Chloe and our family.

“To know Kimberley was to be touched not just by her serene intellect but her incredible warmth and vivacity. As a Labor senator she was relentlessly energetic and conscientious, recently resulting in international recognition for her human rights work.”

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

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, who had flown to Ballina on Thursday to inspect flood damage in northern NSW, said “we have lost one of our own, far too young”.

“Kimberley gave so much. 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,” he said.

“She was determined to make an ongoing contribution in the Australian national interest. Kimberley had such a larger-than-life personality that it is tragic that her bright light has gone out far too early.”

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

Labor sources said Senator Kitching had been under extreme pressure in recent months over a preselection fight for a winnable spot on the ALP Victorian Senate ticket. Senator Kitching, who replaced Stephen Conroy in the Senate three months after the 2016 federal election, was born in Brisbane in 1970 and studied law at the University of Queensland.

She joined the ALP in 1993 and quickly rose through the ranks. Between 2001 and 2004 she served as a City of Melbourne councillor before working as a senior adviser in the Victorian government. She was a founding member of the informal parliamentary cross-party grouping of China hawks known as the “Wolverines”, established in 2017.

Shocked and saddened by the tragic news of the passing of my Senate colleague, Kimberley Kitching.

My thoughts are with her family and many friends.

— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) March 10, 2022

Scott Morrison said the death of Senator Kitching “at just 52 is a deep and terrible shock”, and that she was “deeply respected by the Coalition”.

“Senator Kitching was a serious parliamentarian who had a deep interest in Australia’s national security. She had a passion about Australia’s national interest and argued for it,” the Prime Minister said, adding that her “passion for her country was always greater than any partisan view”.

“Senator Kitching was a practising Catholic and we witnessed her authentic faith in the life of the parliament. She followed her conscience and was fearless and I admired that,” he said.

Deeply saddened at the news Victorian Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching passed away suddenly today, aged just 52. Our deepest condolences go to her family, friends and colleagues.

— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) March 10, 2022

OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, the former government Senate leader, told The Australian: “I am in complete shock. Kimberley was a great parliamentary colleague and a good friend. She was a real force of nature, a conviction politician with a great intellect combined with a genuine warmth in her engagement with people from all walks of life I am deeply shocked and saddened by her sudden and unexpected passing.”

In complete shock and deeply saddened by the terrible news of the sudden passing of Senator Kimberley Kitching.

Kimberley was an incredibly committed, passionate and effective parliamentarian.

My sincere condolences to her family and friends.

Rest In Peace Kimberley.

— Mathias Cormann (@MathiasCormann) March 10, 2022

Victorian Liberal senator James Paterson, co-founder of the Wolverines group, said he was “deeply saddened”.

“She 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. A huge loss to the parliament, the ALP and her family,” Senator Paterson said.

Deeply shocked & saddened at the tragic & untimely death of my friend Kimberley Kitching. She was a warrior for her cause, a friend of freedom & a true patriot who had an enormous impact in her short time in the Senate. A huge loss to the parliament, the ALP & her family.

— James Paterson (@SenPaterson) March 10, 2022

US-born British financier Bill Browder, the architect of the Magnitsky Act, said Senator Kitching was a “true advocate of the victims of human rights abuse and one of the nicest people I’ve ever met”.

Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles said “nothing can describe the shock and sadness of this news”. The Victorian MP, who had “known Kimberley as a friend for over 30 years” said “words cannot express the sadness of this moment”. “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.”

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

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