Former federal Liberal MP Katie Allen has died aged 59, her family has announced.
Allen served as the member for the former seat of Higgins in Victoria from 2019 to 2022. Tributes to the popular MP poured in from across the political spectrum, led by prime minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Sussan Ley, and former colleagues Peter Dutton, Josh Frydenberg and Scott Morrison.
Allen, who worked as a paediatric allergist and gastroenterologist at the Royal Melbourne hospital before her career in politics, revealed earlier this year that she had a rare form of cancer known as cholangiocarcinoma.
In a statement posted to Allen’s Facebook account yesterday, her family announced the passing of “our beloved Katie (Mum)”.
“She spent her life caring for others as a mother, doctor, professor, MP and friend. She is deeply loved,” the statement said.
“She passed in peace surrounded by family and lived a full, beautiful life, all the way to the end.
“We love you so much.”
Allen is survived by her four children, one grandchild, and her husband, Malcolm.
She was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, an aggressive cancer of the bile ducts, in November 2023 but did not announce it beyond her close family circle until after the federal election in May, in which she ran unsuccessfully for the seat of Chisholm.
She told The Age in November that her husband encouraged her to push ahead with her political ambitions, and she kept the diagnosis private to avoid the sympathy vote.
“Now and then, if someone would do something really mean, I would think ‘If only you knew I had cancer’,” she said.
In a message on social media, Albanese said Allen had “dedicated her life, her talents and her courage to making our nation a better place”.
“Katie believed deeply in serving her community, her nation and her fellow Australians,” he said.
Ley described her as a “trailblazer”, paying tribute to her “exceptional intellect, courage and warmth”.
“You only had to be in a room with her to feel her passion. Passion for women, for medicine, for education, for the Liberal Party, and above all for people who needed a helping hand,” she said in a statement.
“She was the smartest of colleagues, the kindest of friends, and an extraordinary wife and mother. Her beautiful family were the humanity that shone through everything she did.”
Morrison, who was prime minister during Allen’s term in parliament, praised her “extraordinary talents, passion and love”.
“Her focus was always on the people she was trying to help and support, whom she kept firmly in her gaze. Thank you for all your dedicated service Katie. She will be greatly missed,” he said on social media.
Dutton called her an “amazing mother and wife, gifted doctor and passionate community advocate”. Frydenberg said she was “brave, bright and beautiful …special, a cut above the rest”.
Tributes also came from defence minister Richard Marles, shadow ministers Andrew Bragg and Tim Wilson, former health minister Greg Hunt, and independent MP Allegra Spender.
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson said Allen was “a woman of extraordinary intellect and achievement” and “a warrior for the people she represented”.
Liberal senator James McGrath paid tribute to his former colleague, telling Radio National on Wednesday that “to know Katie was to love Katie and to love life”.
“She was one of those people who just brought in a spirit of deep thought and a spirit of just the joy of life,” he said.
“But to underestimate Katie, you did so at your own risk. She had a very strong – she had an iron fist hidden by a velvet glove, and Australia is poorer with her loss… she’ll be missed and we all loved her.”
