Latham portrait stays on the hook in Labor party room
Mr Latham is accused by his former partner Nathalie Matthews of a "sustained pattern" of abuse.
Her allegations include he pressured her to take part in "degrading" sex acts.
Mr Latham strongly denies the untested claims made in a civil court apprehended violence order application by Ms Matthews, saying he has "broken no laws".
Calls have grown since the allegations were raised for his official portrait in Labor's federal party room to be removed.
But a Labor caucus meeting on Monday was told a "unanimous consensus position" had been reached where the photo would remain, but with a caption providing context.
The words will read: "In 2017 Mark Latham was expelled from the Australian Labor Party and banned for life. His actions do not accord with Labor values and fail to meet the standards we expect and demand."
Mr Latham sits as an independent in the NSW upper house and faces calls to resign over sexually explicit messages allegedly sent to his former partner while sitting in the chamber of parliament.
The decision to add context to Mr Latham's portrait was the right one, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said.
"It's finding the balance, you can't erase history, we can't pretend he wasn't our leader, he was and so there he sits in the leaders' timeline," she told reporters in Canberra."But it's a recognition ... his behaviour and attitudes don't reflect the modern Australian Labor Party."
Senator Gallagher said the wording allowed people to feel something had been done.
"It will exist there forever on our leaders wall," she said.
"It's a pretty strong statement."
Mr Latham lost his bid for the nation's top job at the 2004 federal election to former Liberal prime minister John Howard.
The campaign was marked by his aggressive handshake with Mr Howard outside the ABC's radio studios on election-eve.
The infamous episode was largely blamed for his election defeat and delivered the Howard government a fourth term.
The Federal Court in 2024 ordered Mr Latham pay independent NSW politician Alex Greenwich $140,000 in damages over a homophobic social media post.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Student debt cuts: Government talks as Opposition steps up attack on super tax plans
Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers have avoided ruling out ever taxing unrealised capital gains beyond existing plans for multimillion-dollar superannuation accounts, fuelling accusations Labor has secret plans to go after family homes and trusts. Legislation for the reduced tax breaks for superannuation balances above $3 million is yet to be re-introduced to Parliament but it was the key lines of attack from an Opposition regrouping after its election loss. The first question time of the 48th Parliament got off to a slow start as Mr Albanese and new Opposition Leader Sussan Ley took each other's measure. Coalition strategists had planned to focus on Treasury advice that flagged a need for higher taxes or spending cuts to tackle deficits but ultimately canvassed the superannuation tax plan that has been in Parliament for almost two years. Ms Ley misfired with a question that failed to mention the word 'superannuation.' 'The name of the tax would be helpful for future questions,' Speaker Milton Dick advised. It was Nationals leader David Littleproud – under fire internally from would-be rivals – who asked new Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulin a specific question about how the changes would affect farmers in a failed season. The Prime Minister and Treasurer continued their reluctance to bind themselves to 'never ever' positions ahead of next month's economic roundtable discussions. 'The time to run a scare campaign is just before an election, not after one,' Mr Albanese said when shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien asked if Labor was considering going after capital gains on family trusts and family homes next. 'It's a bit early, on day one … to start the rule-in-rule-out game that they themselves said on Sunday said was juvenile and absurd.' Mr O'Brien claimed a win, suggesting the Government should be embarrassed about its performance. 'Both the Prime Minister and the Treasurer refused to rule out expanding Labor's tax on unrealised capital gains to include family homes and family trusts. This should send a chill down the spine of every Australian family,' he said. The super tax was a key revenue measure from the previous term, slated to raise $2.3 billion in its first year in effect from about 80,000 people but it was stalled in the Senate. Dr Chalmers is hopeful of winning support from the Greens. The minor party wants the threshold lowered to $2 million and indexed, paving the way for a possible compromise. 'This is not his Tinder profile, this is his dream ticket. He's not looking to swipe right, he's looking to swipe out (Mr Littleproud),' Mr Bowen said. The Government used the political theatre to highlight its almost-fulfilled promise to cut student debts by 20 per cent. Education Minister Jason Clare said it was 'a lot of help for a lot of people just out of uni, just getting started, help them to buy a home, thinking about starting a family'. He also put forward measures to strengthen childcare safety regulation in the wake of the allegations that a Melbourne childcare worker committed dozens of instances of child abuse. Under the bill, care providers could have childcare subsidies – which make up the bulk of their funding – blocked over a single breach of quality standards. Regulators would also have the power to conduct snap inspections of centres and there would be more transparency around breaches and sanctions. 'This is not about leaving parents stranded without care for their children because of fixable or minor shortcomings at their service. But this legislation is also not an idle threat to services,' Mr Clare said, adding the ultimate aim was to lift standards. The Coalition had signalled broad support for improving safety at childcare centres but raised concerns about whether the measures went far enough, while the Greens want the Government to bolster its plan by creating a national watchdog. 'I can't think of many issues in my time in this Parliament that have made me feel as physically sick as this one has,' Ms Ley said. 'This is an issue well and truly above politics. We will all work incredibly hard to get this right.' Late night sittings are already planned for next week to get the vital legislation through swiftly as Parliament gets down to business.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Australia pays US second $800m for AUKUS amid review
Australia has paid the United States $A800 million in the second instalment under the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, despite an ongoing formal review of the agreement by US President Donald Trump's administration. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the latest instalment on Wednesday, following an initial $A500 million paid in February. In 2023, the United States, Australia and Britain unveiled details of a plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the early 2030s to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. Australia committed to spend $A368 billion over three decades in its biggest-ever defence deal. Canberra is due to pay the US $A3 billion by the end of the year to support the expansion of American submarine shipyards, Reuters reported in April. "There's a schedule of payments to be made. We have an agreement with the United States as well as with the United Kingdom, it is about increasing their capacity, their industrial capacity," Albanese told national broadcaster ABC. "As part of that as well, we have Australians on the ground, learning those skills." Trump launched a formal review of AUKUS in June to examine whether the pact met his "American First" criteria. It will be led by Elbridge Colby, who in the past has expressed scepticism about AUKUS. Australia, which sees the submarines as critical to its own defence as tensions grow over China's military build-up, has maintained it is confident the pact will proceed. "We support AUKUS," Albanese said. "We have an agreement to a treaty level, with our partners, signed, of course in San Diego with the United States and United Kingdom." Washington will sell several Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, while Britain and Australia will later build a new AUKUS-class submarine.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Immense frustration': Labor base demands sanctions against Israel
Anger is rising among Labor's base over the war in Gaza, with nearly 80 local branches passing motions over recent weeks calling for Australia to impose sanctions on the Netanyahu government and sever military ties with Israel. Australia joined 27 nations to demand an immediate end to the war and condemn Israel's 'drip feeding' of aid to Gaza on Tuesday, but pro-Palestine campaigners within Labor are calling for the government to go further and take concrete actions against the Israeli government. Seventy-eight Labor branches have passed motions calling for far-reaching sanctions against Israeli entities and individuals involved in the war and a two-way arms embargo on Israel, including the supply of military parts and components. The branches include one in Foreign Minister Penny Wong's home city of Adelaide and three in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Sydney electorate of Grayndler. 'Strong words are not enough,' the conveners of the Labor Friends of Palestine group said in a letter sent to Wong on Wednesday and seen by this masthead. 'Expressions of concern and repeated calls for restraint have achieved little in the last 21 months; indeed Israel's violence and clear disdain for international humanitarian law have only intensified.' Local branch meetings are the primary way for members to influence party policy, outside its national conference that is held every three years, but they have no formal power to change how MPs or ministers act. Noting that the 28-nation statement said the countries were 'prepared to take 'further action' to support a ceasefire', the campaigners said: 'We urge Australia to take the lead by proposing comprehensive sanctions and an arms embargo as practical measures towards ending the violence in Gaza and the West Bank.
