‘I've broken no law': Latham denies domestic violence, parliamentary wrongdoing
In a lengthy and at times bizarre address to media in south-west Sydney on Saturday, Latham said there had been no formal complaints lodged in parliament against him, and called former girlfriend Natalie Matthews' allegations of domestic violence 'nonsense'.
'I have broken no law. The police did not involve themselves in [Matthews' apprehended violence order] matter,' he said.
'I have breached no standing orders of the Legislative Council, and the NSW parliament has stringent processes about inappropriate behaviour. And, in my six years there, I've never been notified of a complaint against me.'
Matthews, a Liberal Party member and former OnlyFans creator, is pursuing a private apprehended violence order accusing Latham of a 'sustained pattern' of emotional, physical and financial abuse, and pressuring her into 'degrading sexual acts'.
Loading
In submissions to the NSW Local Court, Matthews also claims Latham pressured her into depraved acts and drove his car at her, with his side mirror hitting her and 'causing a bruise'.
Police have not laid any charges against Latham, who has strongly denied the claims.
'What we had for over two years was a sexed-up, consensual, open arrangement between adults,' Latham said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
17 hours ago
- ABC News
WA Liberal Party State Council supports call to abandon net zero, reduce Welcome to Country ceremonies
The WA Liberal Party has supported a motion to abandon a target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, putting added pressure on Australian Opposition Leader Sussan Ley to abandon the policy for the federal party. Delegates at the WA Liberal State Council also approved a motion to get rid of the Indigenous and Torres Strait Islands flags behind the prime minister at press conferences and cut back on Welcome to Country ceremonies. It is understood both motions were carried with an overwhelming show of support when they were read out and without needing to go to a ballot. The behind-closed-doors meeting was held at a hotel in federal MP Andrew Hastie's electorate of Canning, one of only four seats the Liberals now hold in WA. Labor increased its dominance in the state after the May federal election, winning 11 seats, while independent Kate Chaney retained Curtin. As Ms Ley and the party weigh up how to claw back those and other seats around the country, she has ordered a review of the Liberals' energy and emissions reduction policy. The WA Liberal Party's move has thrown open the debate on net zero within the Coalition, with Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce proposing a private members bill to dump the policy. Grassroots Liberals have been making their views known to the parliamentary party, with the South Australian Liberal State Council already abandoning net zero and the Queensland Liberal National Party also due to decide on the matter. The motion at the WA State Council on Saturday was put forward by the Canning Division, in Mr Hastie's seat. It said the WA division of the Liberal Party called on the federal Liberal opposition to abandon the target of net zero by 2050 and to reform "the legislated net zero incentives, subsidies and penalties". It said it wanted the party to "affirm (a) commitment to clean energy, but not at the expense of Australia's economic and national security". Further, the motion called on the federal opposition to "harness Australia's natural abundance of coal, gas and uranium in the generation of stable, reliable and affordable power for all Australians". The motion said its positions should be adopted in light of the fact the three countries responsible for more than 50 per cent of the world's carbon emissions — China, the United States and India — "have no intention of meeting Net Zero by 2050". It also said "attempts to decarbonise Australia are destabilising our energy grid, forcing up power prices and damaging our national and economic security". The WA Liberal Party's Policy Committee put up the motion on the flags and Welcome to Country ceremonies. It called on the federal opposition to adopt a policy where the only other flags, apart from the Australian national flag, to receive Commonwealth recognition should be those of others states and territories or of government institutions, such as the military. The motion also called on the opposition to remove official status for Welcome to Country ceremonies. "While they may originally have been well-intentioned, they are now often divisive and tokenistic and do little to improve the lives of our most disadvantaged Australians," it said.
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
As Tasmania waits to find out who will form the next state government, here are the priorities of the new parliament's independents
Tasmania has elected another large crossbench that once again might equal or outnumber Labor Party members. Regardless of which major party forms government, they will need support from some or most of these politicians. The Liberal Party has the easier job when it comes to making up the numbers, but Labor has more in common with them. With negotiations underway, most of the independents are keeping tight-lipped on what they might be seeking, so what do we know about their priorities? Kristie Johnston was first elected as an independent in the 2021 election. This time around, she's had a massive swing towards her. Ms Johnston has been a fierce anti-stadium critic and has regularly raised concerns about the impact of pokies on her constituents. She even introduced a bill to the last parliament that would've forced gambling companies to repay money that had been stolen to put through poker machines. She's also used her time in parliament to raise awareness about the greyhound racing industry, and push for greater transparency and accountability around a range of issues including the budget and the stadium. Ms Johnston said the state has some very big decisions in front of it, and she wants to understand what the leaders are offering, particularly when it comes to budget repair. "What I want to see is someone after the election, after listening to what the people have said, is to come up with a clear plan," she said. "Treasury in their own PEFO report have indicated that we need to look at a number of factors to address the budget crisis. "The expenditure side, but also the revenue side, and they simply said looking at economic growth is not going to be enough to fix the issue. Speaking on election night, Ms Johnston said she wanted the major parties to do a better job at listening to and collaborating with the crossbench. "We need to see a respectful mature parliament that's respectful of everyone's voices." She has confirmed she would not want a ministry in a power-sharing government. Peter George is best known as an anti-salmon campaigner, having been the spokesperson for Neighbours of Fishfarming for years. While he leant into his anti-salmon reputation during the campaign, it certainly wasn't the only thing he spoke about. He was vocal in his opposition to the proposed Macquarie Point AFL stadium, and rolled out a variety of policies addressing concerns about health, housing and education. Like most of the independents and The Greens, Mr George wants to see a strengthened Integrity Commission with public hearings. He also wants to end native forest logging, crack down on short-stay accommodation, and address the state's soaring debt. "We have 5,000 people in this very small state … waiting to get decent roofs over their heads, we have a health system that's sort of tottering and teetering under the weight of demand, and we have an education system that's turning out functional illiteracy of somewhere close to 50 per cent. "Those are important things that we need to deal with. "I want to hear about that, and I want to see a parliament of 35 people roll up their sleeves and do some serious work across political lines." Mr George said he wants to hear what the parties' plans are for "rebuilding Tasmania's future" but so far his dealings with them have not won him over. "One area of concern is that Labor and Liberal seem to have drawn lines in the sand saying we won't talk about this, we're going to insist on that," he posted on a video on Facebook. "Well, that's not how minority government works, that's certainly not how collaboration works, so slight warning there, but we'll deal with this down the track." North West coaster Craig Garland received a massive jump in his primary vote this election. The fisherman was perhaps best known for his views on salmon farming before he was elected to parliament in 2024 — and he has certainly peppered the government with a lot of questions about the industry. But he has also spoken out on integrity and was so concerned about the budget, he was prepared to vote against it. This time around, Mr Garland wants a seat at the table. He wants to be included in budget repair and the development of policy. Speaking on election night, Mr Garland said "the focus has to flip". "The domestic violence in the North West Coast. We have four beds to deal with women fleeing domestic violence. One hundred and fifty women turned away, 147 children, and we're talking about building the biggest stadium." Mr Garland has spoken to both leaders but has yet to discuss any sort of policies or requests. "There's a lot of talk, and then in the same breath I hear, 'We're not moving on salmon, we're not moving on native forest logging,'" he said. Mr Garland is opposed to Hobart's waterfront stadium, which likely helped his vote in the seat of Braddon, and he is no fan of the proposed undersea electricity and data interconnector between Tasmania and Victoria, known as Marinus Link. A Labor Party veteran turned independent, David O'Byrne managed to make it work during the last parliament with Liberal leader Jeremy Rockliff's minority government. He was one of the few crossbenchers who did not support the no-confidence motion in the premier. Speaking after the election about his dealings with the leaders, Mr O'Byrne said he is "not a transactional politician". He does not have "a shopping list of issues" and is instead focused on who could offer the most functional parliament. "My view is we need to get on with governing, we need to find someone who can not only get the numbers on the floor of parliament for the first vote, but can sustain those numbers for a long period of time," he said. In terms of his core issues, they are unsurprisingly Labor core issues — health, housing and the cost of living. In the last parliament, he spent a lot of time questioning the government about the ongoing staffing and reliability issues facing Metro Tasmania, various women's healthcare issues, and TasNetworks' wage negotiations. His bill to amend the Family Violence Act to include the abuse of animals passed parliament last year. He also tabled a bill to introduce Industrial Manslaughter laws, but it was superseded by Labor. Mr O'Byrne is the only crossbencher who supports the stadium. The Greens are the party neither the Liberals, nor Labor, wants to deal with — but having won five seats, they may not be easily ignored. Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff has made it clear that in a balance of power situation, she would do all she could to stop the stadium from being built. "We've been really strong. We're going to fight and do everything we can to pile on the pressure to stop this stadium. "We know that's what's needed. The budget's in a desperate situation. We will not support cuts to essential services." Other things on the Greens' agenda include a strengthened Integrity Commission, something Labor has voiced support for in the past, and they want to see a Treaty with Tasmania's First Nations, another policy Labor is on board with. They are also likely to try and seek some improvement for renters while clamping down on short stay accommodation. The party also wants to keep pushing the major parties to find new revenue for the budget. They would like to see salmon farming companies pay some royalties for the use of Tasmania's waterways, and increased mining royalties to bring Tasmania into line with other jurisdictions. The Greens will not hold the balance of power if the Liberals form a minority government as there will be at least four other crossbenchers they could rely on to get votes through. Labor will likely have to deal with the Greens, if it wants to govern with just 10 of its own MPs, but it will need some form of confidence and supply guarantee from the minor party. That does not mean there will necessarily be any trade on policy or concessions from Labor, but the two parties did combine forces several times in the last parliament to pass their own legislation, including introducing Industrial Manslaughter laws and lowering the political disclosure threshold to $1,000. As counting continues in the state election, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers candidate Carlo Di Falco does not even know if he has been elected in the seat of Lyons, but that hasn't stopped him from getting calls from the two major party leaders. He describes himself as a "former blue collar worker" and "not much of a public speaker". Mr DI Falco said that, like the name suggests, he will be fighting for the rights of rural Tasmanians. "The phone coverage of a lot of the Tasmanians that are missing out. Even where I live in Forcett, not that far from Sorell, I've got really patchy coverage where I am," he said. "We need to improve that." Mr Di Falco said there were also a lot of issues with "social cohesion". "That's why I'm pushing for more funding for Neighbourhood Houses because sometimes when people's lives go to custard, probably the best place to go is somewhere where you can talk to somebody in the community." Mr Di Falco is pro development but he is not too keen on the proposed AFL stadium on Hobart's waterfront. "I'd be taking that money and increasing Hydro storage. If you want to increase wealth, that comes off the back of cheap, reliable energy."
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
NSW MP Gareth Ward likely to be removed from parliament after conviction for sex crimes
A sitting member of the NSW parliament has been convicted of serious sexual offences — so what happens next? The independent member for Kiama, Gareth Ward, was found guilty of four offences relating to the sexual abuse of two young men after a nine-week trial in the NSW District Court. Following the verdict, the NSW government swiftly called for the 44-year-old to resign from parliament — claiming his position was "no longer tenable". Even the Liberal Party — the previous party of Ward — said the politician had breached public trust and his crimes were an "abuse of power". The conviction of a sitting politician for serious crimes is a rare event. Ward was previously barred from parliament when the allegations first surfaced, but his shock re-election saw him return. Now that he has been found guilty by a jury, will he be removed from office? The NSW Constitution contains provisions for expelling sitting members convicted of an "infamous crime" — that is an offence that carries a maximum sentence of more than five years. All four of Gareth Ward's offences meet that criterion, with the most serious offence — sexual intercourse without consent — carrying a maximum prison term of 14 years. However, the politician's seat will not be vacated just yet. Ward has 28 days to lodge an appeal in the NSW District Court, and his seat in parliament will not be declared vacant until the challenge is resolved. However, these provisions do not interfere with the powers of the House to expel members. Election analyst Ben Raue is a close observer of Australian politics. He said the NSW parliament has powers to remove politicians. "I can't imagine they would have issues passing a motion of suspension, I think that would be the bare minimum to be honest," he said. Mr Raue said NSW parliament is in unchartered waters with this case. "It is very unusual," he said. After the verdict, Ward was granted bail release to return home ahead of a hearing on Wednesday where the Crown will seek to have the politician taken into custody ahead of his sentence. The verdict was handed down more than three years after Ward was first charged. The then-Liberal politician was stood down from his portfolio as the NSW Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services after it emerged that he was the subject of a police investigation. In 2022 he was suspended from parliament after he refused to resign over the allegations. "That is one of the things that is so odd about this case is normally when people are facing serious criminal charges like this, they resign from their public office," said Mr Raue. Despite the case hanging over his head and his inability to represent his community in the parliament — constituents in Kiama re-elected him in 2023, allowing him to return to parliament. "I think it is a sign of how popular he had been that he managed to get re-elected," said Mr Raue. "I think there was a recognition that the voters had their say and until he is convicted, he is a member of parliament." Mr Raue said the conviction means voters in Kiama are likely to be returning to the polls. "I think it is likely now we will see a by-election at some point — either he resigns, or he is expelled," he said.
