Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Fine words, Member for Gellibrand, fine words. To those who have previously contributed to this motion, I also commend them for their frankness and their raw emotion. Kimberley Kitching was a very, very special person. I can well recall not that long ago, when I was the Deputy Prime Minister, coming back from doing the morning media and Kimberley went to pass me in the corridor, stopped, propped, lent forward, gave me a peck on the cheek and went in one of the media studios and rubbished the government. Then, later on, we bumped into one another at Aussies and she said, 'Did you see what I said about your government?' I said, 'Yes, Kimberley.' She said, 'No personal offence.' I said, 'None taken.' That was the sort of person she was. I don't think any other Labor member has ever caught me in the corridor and given me a peck on the cheek. That's the sort of vivacious person she was. She was a beautiful person.

When I saw on social media that night about her death, I remarked to my wife, Catherine, 'Kimberley Kitching has passed away.' My wife said: 'She was always smiling. She was always happy.' We messaged our daughter, Georgina, who is a schoolteacher in Melbourne. Georgina and Kimberley had some good moments together at various events in Melbourne, not least the Melbourne Cup. Georgina was very moved. If you go down the streets of any country town or, indeed, urban area in Australia and ask people the names of three upper house members of parliament, they'd be, quite frankly—and I mean this with all due respect—hard pressed to name three upper house members unless they are ministers or prominent members of parliament. But a lot of people knew Kimberley Kitching. They knew her for her human rights advocacy. They knew her, as the member for Gellibrand has just very accurately summed up and articulately said, for her passion as a political warrior for the right causes.

I went to a function in Wagga Wagga recently to celebrate the Tibetans of our town, and Kimberley's name came up. That was something which really struck me. She had so much of an effect—and a good effect—on so many people. She was taken at the age of 52. Only the good die young. With all due respect, Deputy Speaker Dick, you and I will be around for quite a while yet. I don't mean to reflect on the chair. I don't! But 52 is way too young. Today we have the state memorial for Shane Warne. This is just so heartbreaking. Our nation has lost two of its finest.

Kimberley Kitching came into the parliament, chosen by Victoria to represent her state, in October 2016. At the requiem funeral mass held in St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne on 21 March, just over a week ago, Chloe Shorten, a good friend of hers and a good friend of many of ours and the wife of the former Leader of the Opposition and current member for Maribyrnong, read from the Book of Proverbs. She said:

Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.

The reading went on:

She opens her mouth with wisdom and on her tongue is the law of kindness.

That is a very appropriate passage of the farewell for Kimberley Kitching, because Kimberley's humour, her personality, her demeanour, her work ethic and her attitude all spoke of the value of this woman to so many.

It's rare that somebody has touched so many across the aisle. I get on, I'd like to think, with most Labor members. You don't realise what good people they are until you go on a committee with them, go on a journey with them, as part of the parliamentary process. Kimberley was that next level of special. She truly was. I can well remember going on a delegation on the USS Ronald Reagan. It was a special trip. It was July 2019, and MPs and senators across the political divide went on that vessel. On the delegation we were joined by Christian Porter, the member for Pearce; Senator Scott Ryan; Mark Dreyfus, the member for Isaacs; Senator Kristina Keneally; and Senator James Paterson. Kimberley was there, and when I looked at the photo the other day, she was front and centre—as she always was. She was there. She was joining the dots between the various political machinations and factions, and she was there with that big beaming smile that she always had.

I was quite touched by the fact that her husband, Andrew, reached out to me after her passing to say that he and Kimberly's staff were contacting those people who were in her diaries—those who she had a special affinity with. I was on that list. That really touched me. I don't often get too emotional, but that brought a tear to me eye. To think that I was in that celebrated company who she thought were quite special really meant a lot to me.

One only needs to read through or listen to the many tributes offered to Kimberley following her death, from so many people and so many walks of life, to know what a special person we've lost. She entered parliament and commenced her campaign for the Magnitsky act so that Australia could join its allies in imposing sanctions on human rights violators. What an amazing legacy she leaves.

All too often in parliament, when you have the passing of someone you stand for a moment's silence, perhaps speeches are given by the Prime Minister and opposition leader and it's referred to the Federation Chamber. I appreciate that they do the same in the Senate. That MP is remembered by their family and friends going forward, but the parliament moves on. Our busy work for and on behalf of the Australian public moves on. Maybe the politician served a long time, maybe not. Maybe they had a huge impact. Maybe they just served for a short time. The parliament moves on. But Kimberley Kitching's legacy will filter through this place for as long as this place is here. She will be remembered as somebody very, very special. She will not be forgotten. Others have come through this place, spent their time and moved on. They'll be remembered, yes, by their communities and by their loved ones. Yes, Kimberley Kitching will be remembered by her community, her state and her loved ones, but also by this parliament for the work she achieved and for the downtrodden she fought for. I think that that is very, very special.

My thoughts, prayers and sympathies go to her family, her extended family and to the Labor family. I know you've lost a lot with Senator Alex Gallagher and Kimberley, and my heart goes out to you. It's a dreadful thing when colleagues pass away—certainly when they pass away before their time and before their work is done. May she rest in peace.

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