Young Labor figure who posed with Albanese for photo-op suspended from job after celebrating death of US activist Charlie Kirk

A senior Young Labor member who has posed for photos with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been suspended from his job after organising an event celebrating the death of US conservative activist Charlie Kirk. 

Turning Point USA co-founder Kirk, 31, was fatally shot in the neck while addressing thousands at Utah Valley University in Orem on September 10 last year.

Tyler Robinson, 23, has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including aggravated murder, over Kirk’s death. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. 

In a now-deleted social media post, left-wing parody account ‘Australian Child Labor’ published an invitation for ‘celebration drinks’ marking the anniversary of Kirk’s death. 

‘1st Kirkversary Celebration Drinks,’ the post read alongside a grinning image of the US activist with Anthony Albanese that appears to have been generated using AI. 

The date was set for the anniversary of Kirk’s death at Forest Lodge Hotel.

Former Sydney University Labor president William Yang owns the account, which has also published content mocking the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. 

On his personal social media accounts, Yang shared a photograph with Anthony Albanese in 2022 as well as images from a Labor event as recently as 2026. 

Yang is an employee at the Australian Transport Workers Union (TWU), according to his LinkedIn profile.

But the union told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that he has been suspended.

‘The TWU has been made aware that one of its employees promoted this event on social media,’ a spokesperson said.

‘The event is repugnant, it should be cancelled, the person in question will not be attending, and has been suspended from his employment.’ 

Yang is a prominent figure among young Labor activists. 

He attended the 50th Labor Federal Conference in Adelaide, where he published an account of his time, including discussions with elected Labor officials, in the University of Sydney student publication Honi Soit. 

The identification of Yang as the person behind the account comes a day after Communications Minister Anika Wells used Question Time to call for stronger protections for young Australians from harmful and extremist content on social media. 

‘We want to protect and improve the lives and wellbeing of young people, and the social media ban is just the starting point,’ she said on Monday.

‘It’s not a ban on our kids; it’s a ban on what is being done to them.’

It is not the first time Yang’s public comments have conflicted with positions adopted by the Labor Party. 

His video mocking the Tiananmen Square massacre, the historic tragedy when Chinese troops opened fire on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing in 1989, contrasts with the position of senior Labor figures including Foreign Minister Penny Wong. 

Wong has repeatedly condemned the event, which saw at least 200 people killed.

‘In Tiananmen Square, 35 years ago, the world witnessed the use of brutal force against student protesters in Beijing,’ she said when marking the 35th anniversary in June 2024.

‘Australia remains concerned about ongoing restrictions on freedom of association, expression and political participation in China.’

During her remarks, she called on Beijing to end what she described as the denial of basic freedoms.

‘We call on China to cease suppression of freedoms of expression, assembly, media and civil society and to release those detained for peacefully expressing their political views.’

A few months after Wong’s remarks, in November 2024, the Australian Child Labor account posted a video showing two figures, including Yang, dancing in the square and posing as though directing traffic. 

It was captioned: ‘Me when a tank is driving towards me.’

The Daily Mail Australia has contacted Albanese and Wells for comment.