Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Hansard source

My remarks reflecting on this tragedy will be brief only because reflections on a friendship of nearly 20 years with the late Senator Kimberley Kitching are always poor cousins to those with family or partisan relationships. The many times we spent abroad could draw comment, but Instagram captures the sharing of pomegranate juice, the visiting of refugee camps to ensure children are getting an education or the finding of a ceramic bowl from Jerusalem's Armenian Quarter better than I could articulate.

As a friend for so long, it remains an oddity that some of the least time that Kimberley and I spent together was when we were in this place, merely separated by corridors and a reflective pool. Like many who serve in the federal parliament, we park our relationships for our work, and it's also a reminder to all of us that sometimes we need to pause and remember that there may not be a tomorrow. I won't remark on the many allegations of the behaviour of others preceding her passing beyond observing that, sadly, many of them rang true from our conversations.

Kimberley was an extraordinary person and somebody I had the enormous privilege to know for a very long period of time. There were many times when her bright eyes and intoxicating conversation could constitute its own champagne, exactly as was remarked by previous members. This was only to be followed, as her eyes narrowed, with a sudden directness in her lips and questions that demanded a sober and substantive response. That was the wonderful yin and yang of Kimberley's personality. She had the depth of her substance coupled with the breakthrough effervescence of her laughter. It was balanced with a beaming glamour that she always brought to the room, with the piercing directness of her blue eyes that could bring you to heel. The truth is I never wanted to be her enemy, and thankfully never was. But to those who always stood by her and were her friend, she gave the most incredible loyalty, and I respect that immensely.

In his eulogy, the member for Maribyrnong ensured Labor laid claim to Kimberley's legacy, lest some on the Left, perhaps, may not choose to do so. And there are some, on both sides, who probably feel sometimes that Kimberley could have found her home in our party room. Just for clarity, I don't agree with that—even though she once handed out a how-to-vote card that argued in favour of voting for myself!

With reluctance, I do disagree with the proposition she was anything other than Labor. She stood out because she was the best of Labor. As her husband, Andrew, said in his eulogy:

She exemplified the courage and creativity that we all say we want from candidates for public office but on all sides we too often shun both, favouring useful idiots, obedient nudniks and bland time-servers.

I would add that Kimberley's courage and conviction didn't exist except for the fact that she had core belief. And this, of course, is the Kimberley that I knew in all her complexity.

It's standard in the Venn diagram of the political landscape that the overlap is the centre between ideological extremes; whereas Kimberley was at the centre of a different plain, where the overlap was those who understood public service meant putting Australia first. It's fitting that the Prime Minister announced the first Magnitsky sanctions. The House, in tribute to her legacy, is a reflection of her contribution to these important laws, but it's also a reminder that her legacy lives and will continue to endure.

So to her parents, Leigh and Bill, her devoted husband, Andrew, and her loyal dog, Nancy-Jane, who will wait by the door for many days yet: our hearts and our love goes to you. When a house loses a parliamentarian, we salve the loss through soothing speeches. When a party loses a warrior, that torch of liberty or light on the hill can perhaps flicker a little less bright. But when a nation loses a rare patriot, the loss is to our collective moral courage. And that is the loss we share with Kimberley's passing. May she rest in peace.

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