Kimberley Kitching inquiry calls leave ALP split

Former Labor MP Jennie George has joined calls for an independent inquiry into allegations the late Kimberley Kitching was bullied by the party’s Senate leadership team.

Former Labor MP Jennie George.

Former union leader and Labor MP Jennie George has joined calls for an independent inquiry into allegations the late Kimberley Kitching was bullied by the party’s Senate leadership team, with sitting MPs divided over whether a formal investigation should be held.

The debate comes as the party’s national executive is set to endorse a timeline resolving preselections in Victoria and the NSW seat of Parramatta, which would see candidates unveiled on budget day.

There is suspicion in Labor ranks that Anthony Albanese is using the national executive to “get square” with his factional ­enemies, with claims the ­announcement of candidates on budget day is designed to bury the airtime of any internal feuding.

Under the national executive process, Mr Albanese’s nemesis Kim Carr is likely to be replaced on Victoria’s Senate ticket, while the Ferguson Left faction in NSW – the bitter rival to Mr Albanese’s Hard Left faction – would be weakened through the parachuting in of economist Andrew Carlton as the candidate for Parramatta.

Ms George, the former president of the ACTU and MP from 2001 to 2010, said the allegations about Kitching’s treatment were “very serious, requiring thorough and independent investigation”.

“People should be permitted to speak freely and have their disagreements in party meetings,” Ms George wrote in a letter to The Australian. “More specifically, it must be recognised that in the absence of defined rules and procedures, MPs are left vulnerable to arbitrary treatment.

“As a minimum there must be procedural fairness and an ­appeals process. No self-respecting Labor person would put up with anything less than this in any other workplace. That’s why an independent inquiry is needed.”

Former Labor MP Michael Danby is calling for an inquiry. There is also support within the parliamentary party but MPs will not speak publicly for fear of ­retribution.

Some Labor MPs are furious Mr Albanese has limited his media presence and refused to call an inquiry into the alleged bullying, despite accusing Scott Morrison of not fronting up and showing leadership during difficult times. “He (Mr Albanese) is doing exactly what he accuses Morrison of doing,” one MP said.

Mr Morrison accused Mr ­Albanese of being “gutless” for ­refusing to hold a press conference since Saturday, despite Labor’s emphatic victory in the South Australian election.

The Prime Minister said Mr Albanese’s decision to create an annual award in Kitching’s honour “does not dismiss the fact that serious allegations have been made”. “He can’t just dismiss away hard issues. That’s not what prime ministers can do, and this is someone who wants to be prime minister,” Mr Morrison said.

“At the first sign of hard questions, and we’re not even into the campaign, he has gone into complete hiding. Frankly, I think it’s pretty gutless.”

One Labor MP claimed Mr ­Albanese had been quick to crack down only on figures in the ­labour movement who were his factional adversaries, including Victorian construction union boss John Setka and former Victorian powerbroker Adem Somyurek. “He holds a grudge pretty well,” the MP said.

Labor senators Penny Wong, Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher, who are accused of ostracising Kitching, are close supporters of Mr Albanese. Other MPs are angry Bill Shorten raised the treatment of Kitching the day after her death, believing it led to a cavalcade of unfair accusations levelled at Labor senators.