Kimberley Kitching ‘stressed by factional rivals’

The sudden death of the 52-year-old, who was found in her car, has triggered accusations from friends and colleagues that she was treated poorly by the ALP.

Senator Kitching had been under added pressure over her position on the Victorian Senate ticket. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Former Labor leader Bill Shorten has linked the shock death of close friend and Labor senator Kimberley Kitching to the “great stress” she was under in trying to save her job from factional rivals.

The sudden death of the 52-year-old, who was found by husband Andrew Landeryou in her car in the Melbourne suburb of Strathmore on Thursday, triggered accusations from friends and colleagues that she was treated poorly by the party in the months before suffering a suspected fatal heart attack.

Senator Kitching had been under added pressure over her position on the Victorian Senate ticket after a Wednesday meeting of the ALP’s Victorian Right faction, headed by deputy Labor leader Richard Marles.

Two of Mr Shorten’s Victorian party supporters, Plumbers Union secretary Earl Setches and Health Services Union secretary Diana Asmar sought a “guarantee” from the Right’s leadership that Senator Kitching would be given a winnable position on Labor Senate ticket. But the Right leadership told them no formal guarantee could be given.

Senator Kitching’s position was vulnerable over her association with former state minister Adem Somyurek, who sparked a federal takeover of the Victorian branch following allegations of industrial-scale branch stacking, and internal party opponents seeking to further weaken Mr Shorten’s political base after he lost control of the Victorian faction following the 2019 election.

Mr Shorten on Friday said Senator Kitching was “under great stress” as she battled to save her political career. The Weekend Australian understands she had recently been suffering from a thyroid health issue that could have contributed to any heart problem.

“At 52, she’s been taken far too young, and I have no doubt that the stress of politics, the machinations behind the scenes, some of the attacks that you get even, you know, from within the ranks of politics, has contributed to her early passing,” Mr Shorten said.

“She was greatly stressed. It wasn’t clear what was going to happen to her ongoing role in politics, and that’s stressful.”

The Weekend Australian understands Senator Kitching had raised concerns about bullying and was heavily criticised by senior colleagues after she asked ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess in Senate estimates if Labor-linked Chinese-Australian billionaire Chau Chak Wing was involved in an alleged foreign interference plot. Senior Labor sources said she had been ostracised and frozen out of tactics meetings.

With the Victorian Senate ticket to be finalised by the Left-dominated ALP national executive within weeks, senior Labor sources said Senator Kitching was likely to have been endorsed, while veteran Labor senator Kim Carr, a long-time rival of Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, was expected to be dumped.

Garth Head, a factional associate and friend of Senator Kitching, said she had been “under enormous pressure” from within her own party.

“Kimberley represented a very important part of the Labor tradition, and she was under threat from forces of the inner-suburban Left associated with Daniel Andrews and Anthony Albanese, as well as some of the opportunistic Right splinter groups,” he said.

Mr Albanese said politics was a difficult business, which involved “stress each and every day”. Asked if he had backed Senator Kitching’s preselection, Mr Albanese said “it wasn’t a matter for me”.

“There are pressures on people in politics. And that is part of what we do. But I certainly think that this was totally unexpected. No one could have anticipated this. Kimberley looked fit. She had got fitter in recent times. And there was no history of heart condition,” he said.

Amid criticism of Mr Albanese for adopting a small-target agenda ahead of the May election, Mr Shorten said Australians were frustrated because they feel “politicians aren’t saying what they think”. “The Labor Party needs people who are not just yes people, not just hacks, they need people who will fight for things. I think what people want out of politicians is a sense of who is this person? What hill would they die on? What’s the issue, which for them is a red line and they won’t compromise,” he said.

In response to his former leadership rival, Mr Albanese said he backed his “fantastic team who fight for things they believe in each and every day”, including Mr Shorten and Senator Kitching.

Mr Shorten, who drove to Strathmore with wife Chloe after receiving a distressed call from Mr Landeryou, said: “You can never dial forward and predict back what’s going to happen … but you do wonder if she would have been better off never going near politics.”

Additional reporting Rachel Baxendale