‘He’s a pig’: Latham under fire for allegedly photographing women MPs

Senior Labor women say rogue MP Mark Latham is a “pig” who would be sacked in any other workplace, after allegations he took photos of female colleagues while in the upper house and claims his office was used to film “sordid” sexual trysts.

Latham is accused by his former partner Nathalie Matthews of a “sustained pattern” of emotional, physical and financial abuse and pressuring her into “degrading sexual acts”, which she is pursuing through a private apprehended violence order. Police have not laid any charges against Latham, who has strongly denied the claims.

Mark Latham has denied claims of abuse by his former partner.Credit: Marija Ercegovac

One of Labor’s most senior women in the upper house, Housing Minister Rose Jackson, said that in any other workplace, Latham would have been sacked for his conduct and treatment of his female colleagues.

“He’s a pig,” she said. “Obviously, it’s extremely confronting for me to think that in a workplace, there’s someone who thinks it’s acceptable to take photos of you to share them with derogatory comments. In any other workplace, you’d be shown the door immediately, and rightfully so.

“I don’t like working in a workplace with someone like that who thinks that kind of behaviour is acceptable. It’s clearly not acceptable.”

Latham allegedly took photos of women without their knowledge, made disparaging comments about their appearances, and in texts between him and Matthews, claimed to have pinched one MP on the bottom, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Housing Minister Rose Jackson on Thursday morning.Credit: Steven Siewert

On social media platform X, Latham said the messages were missing context, and that Matthews enjoyed joking about women in the house.

“NSW Parliament House has strict complaints procedures about inappropriate contact with women. In six years as an MP I have never been contacted to respond to any complaint,” he said.

Latham has since called Liberal MP Susan Carter, whom he allegedly took photos of and sent to Matthews, to apologise for his behaviour.

Despite the allegations against Latham, acting Liberal leader Damien Tudehope refused to rule out working with him in the future, and would not commit to referring Latham to the privileges committee or dropping him from proposed amendments to the workers’ compensation legislation, which the pair drafted together.

Mark Latham with his former partner Nathalie Matthews in 2024.Credit: Instagram

Tudehope said Latham’s actions were inappropriate and called on him to show decency, but when asked about the workers’ compensation reform said “I am happy to work with him to get his support for what we think is in fact a decent outcome for seriously injured people”.

Latham did not deny claims in The Sydney Morning Herald that his NSW parliament office was used as the scene of sexual acts taped on video, which sources with knowledge of the matter but not authorised to speak publicly said were not believed to be illegal but rather inappropriate given the location.

“You’re asking me to dispute something I haven’t seen,” Latham said in a text to the Herald. “Is this really today’s journalism? Grow up. You’re obviously a clown.”

Labor’s most senior member in the upper house, Penny Sharpe, and Premier Chris Minns both suggested Latham may have breached parliamentary rules by taking photos of women in parliament.

Sharpe said the photos not only breached rules against taking photographs in the chamber, but also basic workplace standards.

“Everyone should know better,” Sharpe told the ABC’s Hamish McDonald.

Asked if women felt safe working with Latham in parliament, Sharpe said he was a “difficult person to work with”.

“He uses personal ridicule, he is very happy to use parliamentary privilege to attack people individually, for example, people like Alex Greenwich. And he’s also attacked people outside parliament, [including] public servants.”

Latham has also dismissed revelations he sent explicit messages to Matthews while sitting in the parliamentary chamber, saying he wasn’t the only person in Australia who had “engaged in a bit of playful sex talk” while at work, and suggesting similar messages could be found on the phones of other MPs.

“I don’t think he is right on this,” Sharpe said. “When we’re sitting in the parliament, we’re supposed to be actually deliberating and working on behalf of the people of NSW.”

Matthews, a Liberal Party member, businesswoman and former OnlyFans creator, will have her AVO application heard in a local court hearing on July 30. In court documents, Matthews claims Latham demanded she call him “master” and that he repeatedly said “my only value to him was for sex to demean and control me”.

This masthead does not suggest the claims against Latham are true, only that they have been made.

In response to the claims, Latham told radio 2SM: “I had a sex life that I’ve got to say was fantastic.”

“Sitting there listening to Penny Sharpe droning on, and then a woman who looks like Nathalie Matthews sends you a message. Which one would you pay attention to?” Latham said.

Latham told 2SM that his record as an MP “matches up against anyone in the upper house”.

When parliament resumes in August, Sharpe will move to refer Latham to the powerful privileges committee for censure over his actions last month, when he used parliamentary privilege to share the private psychologist’s report of his political nemesis, MP Alex Greenwich.

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