Susan McDonald (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I address these comments to Kimberley Kitching's colleagues; to her staff, Jordan and Maree; her family; her husband, Andrew; Professor and Mrs Kitching—the tragedy of losing a child is so shocking—but particularly Kimberley's brother, Ben. Having been through the tragedy of losing a sibling, my heart goes out to you for the loss of somebody who is flesh of your flesh, who has the shared memories of the good and bad Christmas holidays and the family relationships. I particularly am thinking of you at this time.

Senator Kitching and I shared some beginnings: we were born at the Mater Hospital just over a week apart, we went to the same university, the University of Queensland, and we both joined our respective parties at that time as well. Senator Watt, I didn't realise how closely our paths might have crossed at that time. We shared a faith, and we shared a love and a connection to regional Queensland. When I heard news of Kimberley's passing I was in Charleville, under the incredibly bright stars of the western sky. We had fireworks that night. It seemed incredibly appropriate that I would be thinking of Kimberley under the western stars, but with fireworks. That's because that is the extent of the relationship or the comparison that I can make with Kimberley, because she was an extraordinary person, a senator that exemplified all the very best, particularly of this place, of the human spirit.

In the early days of the parliament, as others have raised before, I had the opportunity to get to know Kimberley in some of the movings about the chamber, and she shone so brightly—her smile, her personality and her warmth. I saw some strange comparison to a Disney senator, because if anybody was going to sing the birds out of the trees it would have been Kimberley. She was just an extraordinary person.

But, of course, I don't want to let you think that I didn't understand the true capacity of her intelligence. It was not long into my term that we shared a Senate inquiry into the performance of the submarines. Kimberley arrived, and I smiled because she was someone I knew, someone I liked. She greeted the French contractors in French and chatted to them in French. I thought, 'Goodness, the Senate is going to be a much higher standard than I was really expecting.' But then she carried out an interrogation of the issue with insight, with great research, which left me and everyone in no doubt that she wasn't just a charming, intelligent woman; she was a woman of incredible intellectual capacity. Not for her the folders of preprepared questions by someone else. She went with purpose; she knew what she was doing.

When I reflect on Kimberley, I think of what Senator Birmingham said this morning about how we have choices; we choose the path that we have before us. I talked about the brightness of Kimberley and I also reflect on noticing that she was a little dimmed this year. I didn't ask her how she was or what was going on. I suspect, knowing the little I did of her, that she would never have shared anything that was happening across the way. But it is my take-away that we can all do better as people, as senators, as members of this place. I just think she was an extraordinary person of a calibre that I will certainly use my time and the rest of my term to ensure I live up to—the legacy of being a genuinely decent, intelligent, warm person who also has the intelligence to carry out the job that Australians have sent us here to do.

My heart goes out to all of the friends, colleagues and family of Kimberley. It's such a difficult time, but I hope you take some condolence from the fact of how well loved she was, how well regarded she was and how she leaves her legacy.