Kimberley Kitching refuted Linda Reynolds claim about Brittany Higgins in letter before death


The late Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching refuted Liberal Minister Linda Reynolds’ claim of an orchestrated Labor plot to exploit Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation for political gain in a letter written before her death.

Senator Reynolds repeated claims over the weekend that her “friend” Senator Kitching approached her in Parliament in February 2021, before the story broke.

A Liberal staffer, Bruce Lehrmann, was later charged but never convicted over the matter and maintains his innocence. A sexual assault charge was formally dropped in December 2022.

In an interview published in The Weekend Australian, Senator Reynolds said Senator Kitching, who died of heart attack last year, told her Labor knew about a rape allegation and Penny Wong planned to exploit it prior to the allegations being made public.

In a letter to colleagues dated June 21, 2021, Senator Kitching denies Senator Reynolds’ claims of a political plot to embarrass her.

Senator Kitching was forced to explain herself to her Labor colleagues at the time over claims she had tipped off the Liberal minister about the looming political crisis.

“As I stated during our meeting, I can assure you this report of what is said to be Senator Reynolds’ claim is false,” Senator Kitching wrote.

The seven-page letter, obtained by news.com.au, was penned as Senator Kitching fought to clear her name amid claims of disloyalty. It was hand delivered to Senator Kristina Keneally and the deputy Labor leader Richard Marles was briefed on its contents.

During the trial, the ACT Supreme court was played an excerpt of a six-hour recording made in early 2021 involving staff at Channel 10’s The Project and Higgins’s partner, David Sharaz, during which Brittany Higgins was present.

During the discussion, held prior to the allegations being aired in public, Mr Sharaz is heard saying they wanted the story to break at the start of a sitting week and that he had a “friend” on the Labor side, the now finance minister Katy Gallagher, who would “probe and continue it going”.

Senator Linda Reynolds said that Senator Gallagher suggested that Mr Sharaz had told her “something big” was coming before publication in a private meeting.

After Senator Reynolds outlined the account of Senator Kitching’s disloyalty to three powerful female senators — Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher and Liberal frontbencher Anne Ruston in 2021 – Senator Kitching was kicked off the parliamentary tactics committee.

The letter was in part a plea by Senator Kitching to reverse that decision.

Senator Kitching said prior to the issue becoming public she never knew Brittany Higgins’ name and denied she had told Senator Reynolds that Labor planned to exploit the issue.

“Simply put, it is not possible to divulge information to anyone about a matter of which I had no knowledge,” she wrote.

“I had never heard of Ms Brittany Higgins or Senator Reynolds’ involvement in her story until it was first reported on 15 February 2021 on news.com.au.

“Moreover, it is not possible to divulge a secret plan which did not actually exist. It has not been Senator Wong’s practice to divulge her secret plans, if she ever has any, to me. I am not in the habit of confiding with Senator Wong either.”

Senator Kitching said in the letter she did not believe any Labor politician was aware of the involvement of Senator Reynolds’ office in the matter until it was first reported online by news.com.au.

The Senator says in the letter Senator Reynolds’ claim of a political conspiracy “was rightly repudiated after it was first aired by Senator Reynolds when Senators Wong and Gallagher at the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee on 4 June 2021”.

“There was no discussion of it at Senate Tactics or, to the best of my knowledge, by any Labor person. We just didn’t know,” she said.

After Senator Reynolds was dumped by Scott Morrison as Defence Minister and was appointed Minister for NDIS and Government Services she sent Senator Kitching a message on an encrypted app.

“In one of those messages, she claimed I warned her about ‘what Penny was about to unleash’. I didn’t and still don’t understand what on Earth she was talking about,” Senator Kitching said.

“Her attempt to slur Labor that way should be seen for what it is.”



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