Federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese responded to the call for an inquiry into the alleged bullying of Kimberley Kitching, insisting that the late Labor senator did not officially complain about the matter.
Key points:
- The late Senator Kimberley Kitching has been bullied by some of her Labor Senate colleagues
- Labor leader Anthony Albanese says proper trials have been followed in relation to the charges
- Mr Albanese has been criticized for not calling for an inquiry into the claims
Senator Kitching died suddenly of a suspected heart attack earlier this month, after it emerged she had complained about bullying by the Labor Senate Leadership Team.
The leadership team – led by Senators Penny Wong, Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher – have denied the allegations and all three attended Senator Kitching’s funeral on Monday in Melbourne.
The Prime Minister yesterday called the Labor leader “gutless” for not answering any questions on the subject.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Albanese said the due process had been followed and ruled out an investigation into the allegations.
“No complaint has been made by Kimberley,” he said.
“My office is open to every member of the Caucus [and] I have had a number of one-on-one meetings with Kimberley since I was leader.
Mr Albanese said Senator Kitching had complained to the Labor MP leader that he had been removed from the party’s tactics committee, but that they had been removed and returned to the committee is not uncommon.
“I myself was in this position during this term,” he said.
“I did not go any further after the 2013 election, even though I was President for a long time.
“We have made some changes to the committee. They happen all the time and unfortunately there are more and more people who want positions rather than positions. [that] are there. “
Labor has repeatedly accused Mr Morrison of missing out when the nation needed him in natural emergencies or preparing the nation to respond to COVID-19.
Mr Morrison returned the allegations to Mr Albanese, accusing him of being missing since the allegations of harassment in Labor arose.
“What we got from Anthony Albanese, at the first sign of difficult questions – and we are not in the campaign yet – he is completely hidden,” he said yesterday.
“Honestly, I think that’s pretty gutless.”
Mr Morrison also accused Mr Albanese of being a hypocrite and not keeping himself and his party to the same standard as he, and it, set for others.
“He is very quick to throw stones at these issues, but when it comes to meeting the very standard he is trying to apply to others, he falls on the first hurdle,” he said.
Mr Albanese is facing further pressure to call for an inquiry into Senator Kitching’s treatment, but he has denied there is a cultural issue in the Labor Party.
“Was there some tension within the Labor Party? Clearly, clearly, it was between individuals,” Mr Albanese said.
“Are there sometimes tensions between individuals and the Labor Party from time to time? Yes, there are. What we need to do is make ourselves aware of this.”
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