Premier Chris Minns, Housing Minister Rose Jackson take aim at Mark Latham over texts

NSW Opposition industrial relations spokesman Damien Tudehope said the Coalition would continue to support Mr Latham’s amendments to the government’s workers compensation reforms, tightening the definition of sexual harassment in the workplace.

Housing minister Rose Jackson took aim at Mark Latham’s treatment of parliamentary colleagues. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

Opposition industrial relations spokesman Damien Tudehope said the Coalition would continue to support Mr Latham’s amendments to the government’s workers compensation reforms, tightening the definition of sexual harassment in the workplace.

“I am happy to work with him to get his support for what we think is a decent outcome for seriously injured people,” Mr Tudehope said on Thursday.

Despite agreeing to still support the amendments, Mr Tudehope demanded Mr Latham apologise to the female MPs he disparaged.
“I ask this of Mark Latham, you should come out today and apologise to the women who have been portrayed by you in photographs taken in parliament, you should apologise to the people of NSW for those photographs and you should apologise for the comments you have made about them,” he said.

Damien Tudehope has called for Mark Latham to apologise. to female MPs he disparaged.

Despite refusing to withdraw Coalition support for Mr Latham’s amendments of sexual harassment definitions, Mr Tudehope conceded the association with the beleaguered MP was “a problem”.

“Clearly in the circumstances which have occurred in the last week, having Mark Latham’s name attached to anything relating to sexual activity is a problem,” he said.

“But don’t just dismiss the amendment because we formed a view about whether Mark Latham accepts it or not.”

Mr Tudehope did not commit to supporting a call from Premier Chris Minns to have Mr Latham referred to the privileges committee over the messages involving female colleagues.

“With respect I have not seen the motion to refer it to the privileges committee,” he said.

“It may well be something our party room considers.”

Upper house Liberal MP Susan Carter, who was subject to derogatory comments in Mr Latham’s private messages, speaking alongside Mr Tudehope, said that all women in the workplace should be afforded respect and said she “was not looking forward” to seeing Mr Latham next time they sit in the same parliamentary chamber.

“Am I comfortable working in the same building? I am not looking forward to see him if he has his camera in his hand next time I walk into parliament but I’m here to do a job and if that means that I work with people of all kinds, that’s the job and I think that’s more important than how I feel,” she said.

“No workplace should be that way, but we know that there are men and women everyday that go into workplaces like that.

“That’s one of the reasons we’re all here is to bring about some positive change.”

‘Out the door’: Minns hits out at Latham

Premier Chris Minns has labelled disparaging remarks made by Mark Latham regarding female MPs as “troubling”, saying he would be “sacked in any other workplace”.

Mr Minns said, however, parliament “is not a typical workplace”.

“In a typical workplace, he’d be out the door tomorrow but I’m not Mark Latham’s boss, I’m not responsible for him being in parliament,” he said.

Mr Minns urged the Parliamentary Privileges Committee to investigate Mr Latham’s behaviour, in which the embattled MP took secret photos of his parliamentary colleagues and made disparaging remarks about them in private messages.

It comes as Housing Minister Rose Jackson unleashed on Mark Latham, calling him “a pig”, in response to revelations.

Speaking to media on Thursday Ms Jackson, who sits in the upper house alongside Mr Latham gave a scathing assessment of his character.

“Mark Latham is a pig,” she said.

“This man has attacked Rosie Batty, telling her to grieve in private. This man is well known on the record, multiple times as a bigot – one of the biggest bigots in the state.”

Ms Jackson said she didn’t like working in a workplace with an individual who thought disparaging comments of female colleagues was “acceptable” and called on other MPs to “shun” Mr Latham.

“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 and to share them with derogatory comments,” she said

Nathalie May Matthews and Mark Latham exchanged texts while he was sitting in parliament Picture: Instagram

“In any other workplace, you’d be shown the door immediately and rightfully so.

“In NSW, this should be a bipartisan issue that working with someone who behaves in that way … should be shunned, should be rightfully called out for the bigot that he is, and people shouldn’t be endorsing or normalising that behaviour.”

Minns: I think he’s broken the rules

Premier Chris Minns said the government would take advice on whether to refer him to the parliamentary privileges committee, which investigates potential misconduct within the parliament.

“I certainly think he has broken the standing orders,” he said

“Privileges committee should be investigating these things. They should sanction him or make a decision about sanctioning him and then make a decision about his continued future in the upper house.”

In response to allegations that Mr Latham was involved in the filming of a sex tape within Parliament House, the Premier said such behaviour gave everybody in politics a “bad name”.

“This is a workplace … it’s completely inappropriate and it gives everyone in politics a black eye and a bad name,” he said.

“There are very clear rules in place about that kind of behaviour.”

Mr Minns said Mr Latham’s behaviour had “dramatically gotten worse” since he left the Labor Party, having previously been the federal party leader in the 2004 election against John Howard.

Mr Minns admitted he had once voted for Mr Latham.

“Whilst he was certainly eccentric during his period as Labor leader and it was far from the glory years of Federal Labor’s time in office, his behaviour has dramatically gotten worse since he’s left the party,” he said.

The latest development in which a number of pictures taken of his colleagues were shared with his then-partner accompanied with disparaging remarks.

It comes after the former leader of NSW One Nation and ex-federal Labor leader labelled his ex-partner, Nathalie Matthews a “woman scorned,” and rejected claims she levelled at him

of physical and sexual abuse, including forcing her into “degrading sexual acts”, some of which it is believed occurred in NSW Parliament House.

Ms Matthews accused the embattled independent MP of shocking abuse in explosive court documents seeking an apprehended violence order, alleging the MP “engaged in a sustained pattern of emotional, physical, sexual, psychological, and financial abuse” during their two-year relationship.

Mr Latham has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and has vigorously denied the claims of abuse.

Former One nation leader Mark Latham

Nathalie May Matthews has filed legal action against Mr Latham.

The allegations included Mr Latham engaging in “sexual abuse and coercion including defecating on me before sex and refusing to let me wash”.

It is understood some of the alleged sexual acts referred to by Ms Matthews occurred within the walls of Parliament House on Macquarie St.

SHARPE: THESE ARE SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS

On Thursday NSW Minister for Energy Penny Sharpe has criticised embattled MP Mark Latham for attempting to shift public attention from serious allegations of inappropriate behaviour by turning the spotlight onto his sex life.

Speaking on ABC Sydney radio Thursday morning, Sharpe argued that the focus should remain on more serious allegations such as coercive control and Latham’s conduct in the workplace.

Mr Latham has vigorously denied these claims, and has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

“What he does in his personal time is no matter for me, I couldn’t care less,” Sharpe said.

“But I do think that people should hope that everyone who’s sitting in the parliament, no matter when that is, that they’re actually paying attention to what’s going on and they’re taking their job seriously.

“I’m far more concerned about allegations of ridicule, domestic violence and coercive control than I am about the side show that Latham’s trying to make this about his sex life.”

When asked whether filming a sexual act in a parliamentary office would breach any rules, Sharpe acknowledged it was technically not against parliamentary regulations, but firmly stated it was unacceptable workplace behaviour by any standard.

“I don’t think there’s any workplace in Australia where people would think that’s acceptable,” she said.

“But I think Latham is trying to reframe this as a commentary on his sex life. These are serious allegations.”

Sharpe also raised concerns about Latham’s ongoing role in legislative processes, including his collaboration with the opposition on changes to sexual harassment definitions in workers’ compensation law.

“That should be a large concern for the way in which he is operating,” she said.

Pressed on whether Labor MPs warn others — particularly young women — about Latham’s behaviour, Sharpe said she had not issued explicit warnings but acknowledged he could be “very nasty and unpleasant” and that she had advised colleagues to be aware.

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Originally published as Premier Chris Minns, Housing Minister Rose Jackson take aim at Mark Latham over texts