Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The last time I saw Kimberley Kitching, she was in full flight. We were at the John Curtin Research Centre Gala Dinner. Curtin was a figure who made sense to Kimberley: principled, visionary, strong on defence, and Labor to the core—all qualities that Kimberley Kitching embodied. But that's not what I remember about that night. I remember Kimberley working the room in a sparkling number. She was absolutely in her element. In a crowded room, filled with comrades, sipping on a glass of wine and talking about matters of state, Kimberley was smiling and animated in every conversation, cheekily grinning, as she always did, charming those surrounding her with in-depth analysis on Ukraine, China, the economy, the federal election—on any topic, really. Only a week later, I received a call that shook me to my core. Kimberley was my friend, and I'll miss her. But, to be honest, Kimberley was more than that. She was someone I deeply admired, and that's something I didn't tell her enough.

Kimberley Kitching was probably the toughest person in this parliament. She was a force. Unafraid of being outnumbered, Kimberley did what she thought was right—always. She was a democrat: deeply passionate about the cause of democracy in Australia and around the world. She was never afraid to stray beyond our borders to take up causes of forgotten or voiceless people. She would take on dictators in authoritarian regimes and not blink an eye. Kimberley was not afraid. She was an activist in the truest of Labor traditions.

People have spoken of her skilled pursuit of the Magnitsky laws in Australia. I remember getting a call from Kimberley inviting me to a Zoom she'd organised with the great Bill Browder to talk about the proposed laws. In true Kitching style, it was a bipartisan group when I arrived on the Zoom, because Kimberley knew that this wasn't going to pass with Labor alone. After the meeting, Kimberley organised signed copies of Bill's book for the members and senators. She knew that creating a real connection with the cause was essential. It was skilful; it was graceful; it was smart politics; and it worked. Magnitsky is now being used, just as Kimberley imagined. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is an affront to everything Kimberley stood for: freedom, sovereignty and democracy, and I'm sure she would be quietly satisfied with Australia's strength and powers, knowing that she was the one who helped create them.

Kimberley played politics hard, but she always navigated through the day-to-day with the good fun, humour and charm that made her fantastic company. When she first came into this place she had a lot of doubters and detractors, especially on the government's side of the House. But so many of those detractors were at her funeral last week, mourning her loss genuinely and sincerely.

Closer to home, Kimberley cared about Macnamara, or, as it was previously known, Melbourne Ports—an electorate in which she'd lived and been a local Labor Party delegate and a Caulfield Branch executive member. She loved the Caulfield Branch. She would come back and be a guest speaker at least once a year, and she'd tell anyone who listened what a special and diverse branch it was. In fact, I remember when she told me she'd suggested to News Corp columnist Chris Kenny that he should join her at one of the Caulfield Branch meetings one day. Apparently, it was because Chris Kenny had said that he imagined all Labor Party meetings would be filled with communists and socialists, so she'd said she'd prove him wrong by introducing him to one in suburban inner-south Melbourne, filled with Holocaust survivors and their descendants and those who fled Soviet-era Russia, rather than those radical socialists that Chris Kenny had imagined. I have to admit, I was a little relieved when Mr Kenny decided not to come to the branch. But it did show that Kimberley was keen to show off our little corner of the world to anyone who would listen. Kimberley saw the beauty in Macnamara, or Melbourne Ports, and especially in some of the hidden nooks where some of Melbourne's most disadvantaged people live.

When I became the Labor candidate, Kimberley did everything she could to help me win. She stood on pre-poll booths, came for door-knocks and steered the 'Bill bus' into town. After my election, she continued to serve on Macnamara's campaign machine with ongoing advice and assistance to help keep Macnamara out of the hands of the Liberals and the Greens. She loved every corner of our special part of Melbourne, from Port Melbourne and Albert Park to St Kilda and Elwood, and across to my home in Caulfield, where she too once lived.

She was unflinchingly passionate about the Jewish community. Kimberley deplored anti-Semitism and loved the State of Israel, in the mould of Labor luminaries like Doc Evatt, Bob Hawke and Julia Gillard. One day she called me and suggested that we run a join advertisement in the Jewish News and that she was happy to pay for it, and I said, 'Sure.' Only after agreeing did I learn that she hadn't booked one ad; she'd booked a full-page ad for a whole month to run in every edition. And that was Kimberley.

She stood her ground and made her points emphatically. She loved politics. She loved the cause of Labor. She loved the Senate, and she believed in the great Australian Labor Party.

She can't be with us on election day or the government benches, but we can win this election in the fighting spirit that she embodied. Kimberley would want us to stand our ground, to remain strong and principled and to remain true to the Labor traditions of democracy, solidarity and representation for Australia's working people.

Finally, I want to conclude by wishing my deepest condolences to her family: her parents, Bill and Leigh; her brother, Ben; and most of all, her soulmate, Andrew. If she was formidable enough solo, the two of them were truly meant to be in politics together. Andrew was unflinchingly dedicated to his wife, and Kimberley to him, a true partnership of love and loyalty. Kimberley was loved, and she loved in return.

On behalf of the people of Macnamara, with special mention of her dear friends in her community, including my dear friend Dr Adam Carr, the Pinskier clan, Henry, Marcia, Abby, Rebecca and Jake, Dr Nick Dyrenfurth, Michael Borowick, Dean Sherr, Sylvia Freeman and, of course, my predecessor Michael Danby and Amanda and many, many more, we send our love to Andrew, her family, her loyal staff, and with a heavy heart we say rest in peace to our dear friend, Kimba.

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