But he refused to discuss the details of a conversation he had with Senator Kitching in June last year when she reportedly drafted a letter,which she never sent,outlining her concerns about a “campaign of bullying” that went beyond the normal contest of politics.
“At no point did Kimberley make a bullying complaint to me. At no point did she ask me to take action,” Mr Marles said on Wednesday in his first answers to questions about their one-on-one conversation.
“She was obviously unhappy about the Senate tactics committee. But since her death I have really not wanted to talk about that but,rather,reflect on her life because I don’t think this issue defines who Kimberley was.
“She never made a bullying complaint to me. She never sought for me to act and I can’t be clearer than that.”
Asked if she told him she was under pressure or being isolated by her colleagues,he said:“I’m not about to go into a running commentary about the very many conversations I had with Kimberley over the course of the last year but,indeed,the course of her time as a Senator. The critical point to make is the one that I’ve made.”
Senator Kitching’s close friend,union official Diana Asmar,gave her account of the conversation with Mr Marles in theHerald Sun on Saturday by writing about “horrendous bullying” and saying her friend “confided in” Mr Marles,who she had known for years.
In a separate account,The Australian last week reported a letter Senator Kitching had drafted around the time of the June meeting to express concern about the line being crossed between political debate and bullying. The newspaper quoted the draft but said the letter had not been sent.