The death of Senator Kimberley Kitching has triggered ructions within the Labor Party that run deep. While much of the recent coverage has focused on the bullying claims against Labor Senate leader Penny Wong; her deputy, Kristina Keneally; and Katy Gallagher, this is just the tip of a story that says much about the complex lives politicians can lead and brutal backroom factional politics that are played no harder than in Victoria.
Kimberley Kitching was remembered for her strong advocacy of human rights. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Senator Kitching’s back story reveals a woman of passion and intellect who made friends on all sides of politics. A Labor Party funeral that attracts the likes of Tony Abbott, Barnaby Joyce, Peter Dutton and Pauline Hanson is testament to that. But she also had a tendency to skirt the truth when confronted with allegations of wrongdoing and a willingness to engage in her share of factional power plays, the latter often in collusion with her husband, Andrew Landeryou, best known for his one-time scurrilous blog Vex News, and former Labor leader Bill Shorten, two men who share a long friendship.
While Senator Kitching was a member of Young Labor, her first taste of politics as an elected representative came with a seat on Melbourne City Council in 2001. Her penchant for taking a strong stand on global issues became evident when she championed the removal of a publicly funded anti-Israel mural in Melbourne’s CBD. “People went berserk when we took it down,” Senator Kitching told Age reporter Matthew Knott in a profile for Good Weekend.
During her time in the Senate, she became a leading advocate of a tougher stand against China. She is credited with orchestrating the passage through Parliament of the Magnitsky Act, which allows for the sanctioning of not just nations but individuals over human rights abuses, corruption and cyberattacks. It was a legacy that had many admirers.
Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the Australian academic detained in Iran for two years, said Senator Kitching’s human rights work set her apart from other politicians: “Unlike many politicians, Kitching made a very real contribution to something bigger than herself.”
But the senator’s past also has a more notorious side. In 2012, she was appointed general manager at the Health Services Union No.1 branch in Victoria after it was taken over by Diana Asmar, a friend of hers and key ally of Mr Shorten. During her time at the union, Senator Kitching came under close scrutiny over her alleged role in workplace permit forgery and for allegedly lying to the Fair Work Commission to cover it up.
In 2014, counsel assisting the royal commission into trade unions, Jeremy Stoljar, called for her to be considered for prosecution for “aiding and abetting” the alleged offences. The senator always denied the claims and no charges eventuated.
Her alliances at the Health Services Union, along with Mr Shorten, who was key to her becoming an MP, and the Plumbers Union were Senator Kitching’s power base in Victoria. This faction has been in crisis since it lost power after being loosely aligned with state Labor MP Adem Somyurek, who was dumped when his industrial-scale branch-stacking operations were revealed. (Mr Shorten was not implicated in the branch-stacking scandal). In a bid to regain power, the faction is in the throes of a High Court action challenging the legitimacy of the federal takeover of the Victorian ALP.
What is evident is that this factional warfare has spilled over into the public arena as a backdrop to the allegations of bullying in Canberra of Senator Kitching. While many believe she was being bullied and ostracised by Labor colleagues in Canberra for leaking to the opposition, it is also evident these accusations are being weaponised by her Victorian faction as another means of regaining power. It seems Senator Kitching’s supporters will do just about anything – including help defeat Labor at the looming election – in the name of chalking up factional victories that may help themselves but do nothing for citizens who deserve better than this.
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