Mark Latham set to be shamed with damning caption to official ALP portrait

The Advertiser

21-07-2025

The Australian Labor Party will not remove an official portrait of former leader Mark Latham from its caucus room but it will add a damning caption.
On July 21, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said members had decided to add the following words under the ex-ALP leader's portrait in the caucus room in Canberra:
"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 wrote on X in response to the decision: "Can't the Labor caucus go the full Stalin and white me with a trace around my head? Or replace that boring headshot with what the AFR says is my harem? Much more scenic."
Labor Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon, who is the chair of the Federal Labor Caucus and Labor's Status of Women Committee and also chaired the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards, updated the Labor caucus on discussions among those concerned about the Latham portrait, all of whom agreed that it should remain with an accompanying note or plaque.
It comes after allegations of domestic violence by his ex-lover and claims that he took photographs of female colleagues without their consent and made derogatory remarks in private messages leaked to the media.
Some Labor MPs wanted his portrait removed from the federal caucus room, including social services minister Tanya Plibersek.
Ms Gallagher told the ABC that while caucus members had "considered" removing the portrait, ultimately it would remain.
READ MORE: 'He is a pig': Female MPs react to allegations Latham photographed them
"I think there is a recognition on balance that, you know, you can't erase history," she said.
"He was a leader, he was our leader for two years, and, you know, sitting there on the wall is an indication of where we have been, and perhaps for all of us, somewhere we don't want to return to."
Mr Latham served as the leader of the Labor Party and leader of the opposition from December 2003 to January 2005, famously losing the 2004 election to John Howard.
He left the ALP in 2017 and was expelled by the party. He joined Pauline Hanson's One Nation party in 2018, gaining a seat in the NSW upper house at the 2019 election.
Mr Latham became an independent in 2023 after being fired by Ms Hanson.
ACM has reached out to Mark Latham's office.
The Australian Labor Party will not remove an official portrait of former leader Mark Latham from its caucus room but it will add a damning caption.
On July 21, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said members had decided to add the following words under the ex-ALP leader's portrait in the caucus room in Canberra:
"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 wrote on X in response to the decision: "Can't the Labor caucus go the full Stalin and white me with a trace around my head? Or replace that boring headshot with what the AFR says is my harem? Much more scenic."
Labor Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon, who is the chair of the Federal Labor Caucus and Labor's Status of Women Committee and also chaired the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards, updated the Labor caucus on discussions among those concerned about the Latham portrait, all of whom agreed that it should remain with an accompanying note or plaque.
It comes after allegations of domestic violence by his ex-lover and claims that he took photographs of female colleagues without their consent and made derogatory remarks in private messages leaked to the media.
Some Labor MPs wanted his portrait removed from the federal caucus room, including social services minister Tanya Plibersek.
Ms Gallagher told the ABC that while caucus members had "considered" removing the portrait, ultimately it would remain.
READ MORE: 'He is a pig': Female MPs react to allegations Latham photographed them
"I think there is a recognition on balance that, you know, you can't erase history," she said.
"He was a leader, he was our leader for two years, and, you know, sitting there on the wall is an indication of where we have been, and perhaps for all of us, somewhere we don't want to return to."
Mr Latham served as the leader of the Labor Party and leader of the opposition from December 2003 to January 2005, famously losing the 2004 election to John Howard.
He left the ALP in 2017 and was expelled by the party. He joined Pauline Hanson's One Nation party in 2018, gaining a seat in the NSW upper house at the 2019 election.
Mr Latham became an independent in 2023 after being fired by Ms Hanson.
ACM has reached out to Mark Latham's office.
The Australian Labor Party will not remove an official portrait of former leader Mark Latham from its caucus room but it will add a damning caption.
On July 21, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said members had decided to add the following words under the ex-ALP leader's portrait in the caucus room in Canberra:
"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 wrote on X in response to the decision: "Can't the Labor caucus go the full Stalin and white me with a trace around my head? Or replace that boring headshot with what the AFR says is my harem? Much more scenic."
Labor Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon, who is the chair of the Federal Labor Caucus and Labor's Status of Women Committee and also chaired the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards, updated the Labor caucus on discussions among those concerned about the Latham portrait, all of whom agreed that it should remain with an accompanying note or plaque.
It comes after allegations of domestic violence by his ex-lover and claims that he took photographs of female colleagues without their consent and made derogatory remarks in private messages leaked to the media.
Some Labor MPs wanted his portrait removed from the federal caucus room, including social services minister Tanya Plibersek.
Ms Gallagher told the ABC that while caucus members had "considered" removing the portrait, ultimately it would remain.
READ MORE: 'He is a pig': Female MPs react to allegations Latham photographed them
"I think there is a recognition on balance that, you know, you can't erase history," she said.
"He was a leader, he was our leader for two years, and, you know, sitting there on the wall is an indication of where we have been, and perhaps for all of us, somewhere we don't want to return to."
Mr Latham served as the leader of the Labor Party and leader of the opposition from December 2003 to January 2005, famously losing the 2004 election to John Howard.
He left the ALP in 2017 and was expelled by the party. He joined Pauline Hanson's One Nation party in 2018, gaining a seat in the NSW upper house at the 2019 election.
Mr Latham became an independent in 2023 after being fired by Ms Hanson.
ACM has reached out to Mark Latham's office.
The Australian Labor Party will not remove an official portrait of former leader Mark Latham from its caucus room but it will add a damning caption.
On July 21, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said members had decided to add the following words under the ex-ALP leader's portrait in the caucus room in Canberra:
"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 wrote on X in response to the decision: "Can't the Labor caucus go the full Stalin and white me with a trace around my head? Or replace that boring headshot with what the AFR says is my harem? Much more scenic."
Labor Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon, who is the chair of the Federal Labor Caucus and Labor's Status of Women Committee and also chaired the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards, updated the Labor caucus on discussions among those concerned about the Latham portrait, all of whom agreed that it should remain with an accompanying note or plaque.
It comes after allegations of domestic violence by his ex-lover and claims that he took photographs of female colleagues without their consent and made derogatory remarks in private messages leaked to the media.
Some Labor MPs wanted his portrait removed from the federal caucus room, including social services minister Tanya Plibersek.
Ms Gallagher told the ABC that while caucus members had "considered" removing the portrait, ultimately it would remain.
READ MORE: 'He is a pig': Female MPs react to allegations Latham photographed them
"I think there is a recognition on balance that, you know, you can't erase history," she said.
"He was a leader, he was our leader for two years, and, you know, sitting there on the wall is an indication of where we have been, and perhaps for all of us, somewhere we don't want to return to."
Mr Latham served as the leader of the Labor Party and leader of the opposition from December 2003 to January 2005, famously losing the 2004 election to John Howard.
He left the ALP in 2017 and was expelled by the party. He joined Pauline Hanson's One Nation party in 2018, gaining a seat in the NSW upper house at the 2019 election.
Mr Latham became an independent in 2023 after being fired by Ms Hanson.
ACM has reached out to Mark Latham's office.