Kimberley Kitching’s family, friends and parliamentary colleagues from across the political spectrum will bid farewell to the late Labor senator on Monday.
Senator Kitching died suddenly on March 10 after suffering a suspected heart attack. She was 52.
Her funeral service will be held at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne from 2.30pm on Monday, which journalists have also been invited to attend.
Senior Labor MPs and Morrison government frontbenchers are expected to be there to mourn Senator Kitching, who has been remembered as a talented politician who was respected on both sides of politics.
The former lawyer and trade unionist was sworn in as a senator in 2016 after a career that included stints with the Victorian branch of the Labor Party and the Health Services Union.
State and federal Labor and Liberal MPs are expected to attend her funeral service, along with key figures in the Victorian union movement and politicians from minor parties.
Among those in attendance will be her political mentor Bill Shorten, who sat with her husband Andrew Landeryou on the night of her death as they waited an undertaker to arrive.
The former Labor leader set off an extraordinary chain of events the morning after his close friend and Labor Right ally died.
In an emotional interview with the ABC’s Radio National, Mr Shorten said he thought the political stress Senator Kitching had been under in her last weeks may have contributed to her death.
The ensuing media storm over the circumstances leading up to Senator Kitching’s death has included reports that the first-term senator’s preselection was under threat amid a factional brawl and that she had felt bullied and ostracised by senior colleagues.
Anthony Albanese has stared down calls for an inquiry into the bullying claims, which namely involved Labor’s Senate leadership team — Penny Wong, Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher.
The trio responded to the “hurtful statements” on Friday, saying the allegations of bullying were untrue and other assertions which had bxjmtzyween made were “similarly inaccurate”.
“This has been a difficult time for the Labor family. Senator Kitching’s tragic death has been a shock to us all. People are grieving and hurting,” the senators said in a statement.
“Our priority at this time has been Senator Kitching’s husband, Andrew, her family and her loved ones. Their grief is profound, their loss immeasurable.”
Labor frontbencher Mark Butler said the day of Senator Kitching’s funeral was not the time to address claims of bullying within the party and should instead be about celebrating her life.
“Today of all days is not the day to go into a number of the claims being made and things being said over recent days,” he told the ABC.
“Today is a day for the people who knew Kimberley to get around each other, hug each other and as I said celebrate an extraordinary life that was ended far too early.”
