Bill Shorten says no to Kimberley Kitching bullying ­inquiry

Former opposition leader Bill Shorten won’t push for an ­inquiry into the death of his close friend Kimberley Kitching ­despite allegations of bullying.

Opposition NDIS spokesman Bill Shorten won’t push for an inquiry into the death of his close friend Kimberley Kitching. Picture: David Geraghty

Former opposition leader Bill Shorten won’t push for an ­inquiry into the death of his close friend Kimberley Kitching ­despite allegations of bullying, saying he accepts the “decision of the Labor leadership”.

The sudden death of the 52-year-old of a suspected heart ­attack on March 10 has sparked calls for an investigation into the claims of Labor bullying and broader misconduct revolving around the death of the Victorian senator.

As he described the Victorian Labor senator’s funeral as an “extraordinary event”, Mr Shorten said he would try to put the shocking incident behind him, saying he had “pretty much said all I’m going to say on her” and would begin trying to come to terms with her death.

“I have at no point advocated for an inquiry. We had the ­funeral on Monday. It was quite an extraordinary event. Sometimes you learn more about a person in death than in life,” Mr Shorten told Nine’s Today on Friday. “I mean she was eclectic, but I accept the decision of the Labor leadership on this.”

Kitching’s friends have publicly detailed the late senator’s claims of bullying from Labor’s Senate leadership team, including opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong, home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally and finance spokeswoman Katy Gallagher. The senators have all denied the allegations.

Mr Shorten’s comments came just days after Anthony ­Albanese dismissed calls for an inquiry. The Opposition Leader said Kitching had never raised her concerns with him personally or through the party’s complaints process.

Former Labor MP Michael Danby, one of Kitching’s friends, said he believed she had made the complaints to deputy Labor leader Richard Marles last June.

But, on Friday, Mr Marles once again reiterated that ­Kitching had never complained to him.

Mr Albanese continued to pour cold water on suggestions an inquiry was necessary, as he accused Scott Morrison of ­attempting to “play politics” with the “tragic circumstances” surrounding Kitching’s death.

“And my office door is open … At no stage did Kimberley Kitching make any complaint to me or through any other formal processes,” he told Tasmania Talks radio station.

“Whether someone is on a committee or not is a part of the product of politics. People go on to committees, on to shadow ministries. There are always more people who want positions than there are positions ­available. It’s a competitive business, politics. And the idea that the Prime Minister has attempted to play politics over this issue, this is a tragic circumstance whereby Kimberley Kitching lost her life due to a health issue, which was obviously there, at age 52, is very sad.”