Kimberley Kitching tensions remain after Penny Wong leads tributes
Penny Wong says ‘misplaced anger and blame’ has clouded the death of Kimberley Kitching.
Penny Wong says there is “misplaced anger and blame” over the death of Kimberley Kitching but she will not “return anger with anger” as she continues to come under pressure from bullying allegations.
Tensions over the late Labor senator’s treatment remained high during speeches honouring her, with NSW senator Deborah O’Neill alluding to a lack of support her friend had received, saying Kitching had put her “health and possibly career at risk”.
Senator Wong – dubbed one of the “mean girls” by Kitching – was the first to address the Senate in a day dedicated solely to condolence motions for the Victorian MP, who died earlier this month at the age of 52 at the side of a Melbourne road from a suspected heart-attack.
Honouring Kitching for her leadership in securing an Australian Magnitsky Sanctions Act and referring to her as a “patriot” and a “woman determined to serve her country”, Senator Wong said she would not retaliate against those who had accused her of being a bully. The Australian revealed earlier this month that Kitching felt bullied during her time in parliament by a group of ALP women she had dubbed “the mean girls” – a trio that included Senator Wong, Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher – and was stressed because she believed her preselection was under threat.
Anthony Albanese has rejected calls for an inquiry into Kitching’s treatment and said she never made a formal complaint about poor treatment.
“Many are hurting and many are grieving,” Senator Wong told parliament on Monday.
“I understand that grief and loss can be so profound that it can provoke anger and blame. I have made my views very clear outside this place about some of that misplaced anger and blame.
“I will not return anger with anger, or blame with blame.”
Roses were laid and tears shed in the Senate on Monday as politicians remembered Kitching, with some Labor senators calling for a more harmonious parliamentary culture marked by a deeper sense of decency and kindness. Tasmanian Labor senator Helen Polley argued for parliament to become more welcoming: “Those who represent their communities deserve common respect. More decency (and) kindness afforded to each other must become the norm or who will we attract to this place?
“Kimberley was fierce … She wanted friendship in this place which was not always easy to forge with such blind ambition prevalent in these corridors.”
Senator O’Neil said politicians from all parties needed to be better supported by colleagues.
“We should be supported by our colleagues, by our leaders. Unfortunately this is often not the case and Kimberley continued anyway, putting her health and possibly career at risk,” she said.
“(As) we leave this chamber today, we need to commit to a kinder, more harmonious place to work and lead. We need to commit to agreement making seeking respectful disagreement rather than torrid, taunting brokenness.”
Senator Gallagher, who on Sunday said the phrase “mean girls” was an unfortunate term that diminished women, told the parliament she had “reflected deeply” on her interactions with Kitching and would “continue to do this”, while Senator Keneally took aim at those seeking to politicise her death.
“Those who use ... the grief caused by her death for purposes other than honouring her life and her work will find no friend in me,” she said. “Others have had a lot to say and write about this issue and some of what’s been suggested … Today, in this place, I will treat her life and legacy as I did prior to her tragic death – with deep respect for her deep intelligence and capacity.”
NSW Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells – placed in an unwinnable position on the party’s Senate ticket following a preselection vote on Saturday – also gave a heartfelt goodbye but said there were “mean girls” on both sides of politics.
“The concept of a mean girls is not confined to one political party,” she said. “Your death put much into context for me. It made me realise that all the stress associated with factional warfare is not worth the toll that it takes on health and family.”
“I empathised with Kimberley about the bitter internal factional fight within respective parties. We both had factional enemies who wanted to see us defeated and worked hard at it.”
Former Labor MP Michael Danby said the “honeyed words” of some Labor senators should have been expressed before Kitching’s death.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: GREG BROWN
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