Victorian Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching dies ages 52

Parliament has been rocked by the sudden death of Victorian ALP Senator Kimberley Kitching who suffered a suspected heart attack on Thursday evening.

Senator Kitching was just 52 — the same age as Victorian cricketing legend Shane Warne, whose death last week has been also been attributed to a heart attack. It is believed she fell ill while driving between meetings.

Elected to the Senate in 2016, she had reportedly been under pressure recently in a preselection battle to retain a winnable spot on Labor’s ticket ahead of the Federal election.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese tweeted that Labor was “in shock”.

“The Labor family is in shock tonight at the tragic news that our friend and colleague Senator Kimberley Kitching has died suddenly in Melbourne. My sincere condolences to her family. Kimberley will be missed by us all,” Mr Albanese posted.

A “desolate” former Labor leader Bill Shorten, a close friend of Senator Kitching and from her same Victorian Right faction, put out a more comprehensive statement describing it as an “immense loss to Labor and the nation”.

“As well as her innumerable accolades she has been a wonderful friend to myself, my wife Chloe and our family. To know Kimberley was to be touched not just by her serene intellect but her incredible warmth and vivacity,” he said.

“As a Labor senator she was relentlessly energetic and conscientious recently resulting in international recognition for her human rights work. Our hearts go out to her husband Andrew, her family and loved ones.”

Senator Kitching was outspoken on foreign interference and recently named under parliamentary privilege billionaire Chau Chak Wing as “puppeteer” in a foreign interference plot.

She was a part of the “Wolverine” group in Parliament, a group of parliamentarians focused on national security and wary of China. She chaired the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Senator Kitching “was a serious parliamentarian who had a deep interest in Australia’s national security”.

“She had a passion about Australia’s national interest and argued for it,” he said.

“She demonstrated that her passion for her country was always greater than any partisan view. She clearly loved her country and it genuinely showed.”