Labor senator Kimberley Kitching told a parliament-employed workplace trainer she was being bullied by Senate Labor colleagues, according to multiple ALP sources.
Several of Senator Kitching's colleagues have told the ABC that the 52-year-old, who died from a suspected heart attack a week ago, cited the alleged bullying when she was undergoing workplace education on November 5 last year.
The hour-long "safe and respectful workplace training", which was part of the government's response to Brittany Higgins's rape allegation, was conducted by a facilitator over Zoom as part of a Department of Finance program.
Senator Kitching told several colleagues that she had said to the trainer, towards the end of an hour's instruction on sexual harassment, bullying and respect at work: "What are you going to do about the fact that I am being bullied?"
This version of events has been relayed to the ABC by multiple Labor sources in whom Senator Kitching confided — men and women — who claim the Victorian senator was being bullied, ostracised and isolated by the ALP's Senate leadership, which comprises senators Penny Wong, Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher.
The Australian newspaper reported that Senator Kitching called the three women "the mean girls", a term Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said was "extraordinarily disrespectful".
"To describe strong, articulate, principled women like Penny Wong, Katy Gallagher and Kristina Keneally — I find it astonishing and a throwback. Decades, decades," Mr Albanese said.
But a Labor colleague of Senator Kitching said the description was apt.
"There is a culture of exclusion and bullying in the party and this is from people who are holier than thou," said the senator, who spoke to the ABC on condition of anonymity.
It is not known whether Senator Kitching made any formal steps towards making an official complaint, although one of her female Labor caucus colleagues told the ABC Senator Kitching would have feared retribution, and shared her concern that the complaints structure in Parliament was "overly litigious and would not deliver the outcomes".
Her parliamentary friends said she raised concerns about her treatment with deputy Labor leader Richard Marles.
Mr Marles would not directly answer questions about when or how many times Senator Kitching had raised with him allegations of bullying.
"I don't accept the assertions that have been in the media, but I am not about to get into that debate now," he told reporters in Hobart.
"Senator Kitching died a week ago today, somebody I knew for 30 years. The whole Labor movement is in a state of grief and shock.
"Right now, I am focused on providing support to Andrew [Landeryou], her husband, and family, whose grief is unspeakable."
"Kimberley was a person of really clear vision. She had an understanding of right and wrong. She was a fierce advocate for what she believed in but much more than that, she was somebody who was warm, who was fun to be with."
Colleagues variously describe Senator Kitching being left out of meetings, dumped from the Labor tactics committee, given late-night shifts in the Senate and otherwise being "disengaged" from parliamentary Labor Party business.
Her detractors in Labor believed Senator Kitching showed disloyalty to her partyroom colleagues.
They accused her of leaking to Liberal opponents and were angry at Senator Kitching for being such a vocal member of the "Wolverines" – a group of mainly Liberal MPs that seeks to highlight Beijing's authoritarianism.
Last month, Senator Kitching used parliamentary privilege to suggest a prominent Chinese-Australian political donor is the mysterious "puppeteer" behind a thwarted foreign interference plot to back political candidates in the next election. That donor denies the allegation.
Her close friendship with former Labor leader Bill Shorten also put her out of favour with powerful figures inside the parliamentary Labor party.
Senator Kitching's complaints about her treatment by some senior colleagues date back years.
Senior Labor figures were debating whether to back a Greens Senate motion expressing support for school children engaging in "civil disobedience" at climate protests.
Senator Kitching was adamant the party should not support the motion, arguing it would be an exercise in futile "virtue signalling", observing that some parents might want their kids to be at school.
A senior member of the Left shot back at her: "Well, if you had children, you might understand why there is a climate emergency."
Journalist Sam Maiden identified this person as Penny Wong in her 2020 book, Party Animals.
This is correct.
The ABC did not identify Senator Wong in the 2019 article, at the request of Senator Kitching. She wanted it known what had been said to her — witnessed by several other senior Labor figures — but did not want to start "World War III".
She had revealed the exchange to the ABC in the hope it would encourage greater respect.
One Labor senator, who declined to be named, said the treatment of Senator Kitching by some of her colleagues was "disgusting" and had added to the stress of her preselection endorsement being long delayed.
"Kimberley was no shrinking violet of course, and you don't get to the Senate if you can't take the rough and tumble, but it does not matter how tough you are, there is only so much you can take," the senator said.
"This sort of behaviour can't continue. We have to talk about this in parliament but we have to sort ourselves out first."
Another ally of Senator Kitching said it was "disingenuous" for Mr Albanese and other members of the Labor front bench to cite Senator Kitching's funeral on Monday to parry questions about bullying inside Labor ranks.
"I'm speaking up in respect of Kimberley, not out of disrespect," the senator said.
Senator Kitching's preselection was being held up by factional squabbling in the Victorian division of the party.
When approached by the ABC, Senator Wong said she was not aware of any claim of bullying made by Senator Kitching to the workplace trainer contracted by parliament.
Earlier, Senator Wong told reporters that Senator Kitching's death was "tragic and shocking" and that many in Labor were grieving.
"So I'm simply not going to engage in commentary about some of the allegations which have been raised, even if I and others disagree with them," she said.
Asked by a reporter if she believed Senator Kitching had been bullied, she said: "Somebody has died. She was somebody loved by her family, somebody who was close to many people in the Labor Party.
"And as the leader said today, out of respect for that, I'm not going to engage in political commentary, even in relation to assertions with which I disagree and which are hurtful."
Senator Gallagher, when asked on ABC radio if Senator Kitching had been treated with respect and professional courtesy, said: "I just don't think it's respectful for us to enter into commentary or disagreement about particular aspects of it at this point in time, I don't think it's right. I think that people are still grieving."
