Letter reveals Kitching's plea to stop ‘campaign of bullying’

Kimberley Kitching died earlier this month of a suspected heart attack. Twitter / @kimbakit

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• By Avi Yemini

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The Weekend Australian today published excerpts from a seven-page letter penned by the late Labor senator Kimberley Kitching who died of a suspected heart attack earlier this month.

The letter, written after Kitching was dropped from Labor’s tactics committee, outlines her will to make parliament a safer place, free of bullying.

In the letter, she said the Labor caucus should reflect on the difference ­between the “entirely normal contest of political rivals or rival ideas and what could reasonably be characterised as a campaign of bullying”.

“Standards in workplaces have changed and we should all think about the application of those standards to ensure a safe workplace for everyone here,” she wrote.

“That’s something I think all senators should reflect on, within our caucus and beyond it."

Kitching called for a “fair, transparent process” for dealing with internal party disputes like hers, saying it should be a matter tabled for discussion at Labor caucus meetings.

Labor leadership has come under intense scrutiny in the wake of Kitching's death, with friends revealing to the media that the 52-year-old senator had been under significant stress and had felt ostracised from her colleagues.

Senators Wong and Gallagher have strongly denied the claims made against them by Kitching that they were part of a 'Mean Girls' clique that had frozen her out.

Labor Leader Anthony Albanese has denied the party has a culture problem or that Kitching was subject to any bullying.