Mark Latham denies abuse claims made by former partner Nathalie Matthews
The allegations, first reported by The Australian on Monday night, were made by Latham's former long-term partner and Liberal Party member Nathalie Matthews. Both The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald reported the complaints had been detailed in documents filed with the NSW Local Court.
Both mastheads reported Matthews as claiming Latham had engaged in a 'sustained pattern' of abuse, alleging he had pressured her into having sex with other people and driven his car at her.
Latham took to X on Monday night to deny the allegations, which he called 'false and ridiculous'.
'The Australian newspaper has published a story based on allegations from Nathalie Matthews which are comically false and ridiculous,' he wrote.
'I have scores of documents to show that and will rely upon them to defend myself. As the old saying goes, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
'The story says that Matthews went to the police and they did not do anything. They certainly haven't contacted me.
'In the current environment, that says a lot. She told me in April she had been to police seeking an AVO against another man and complained that they did nothing.'
Latham become leader of the Australian Labor Party in 2003, losing the following year's federal election to John Howard. He resigned from Labor in 2005 and after a number of controversial incidents he joined Pauline Hanson's One Nation party as its NSW state leader in 2018.
Less than a year ago he was forced to pay NSW MP Alex Greenwich $140,000 over a series of homophobic tweets.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Nova Peris can't be cancelled, despite anti-Islam posts
Members beware Barely recovered from their crushing federal election defeat, the NSW Liberals are already looking forward to their next date with the voters. Last week, the division opened, and then promptly closed, candidate nominations for the 2027 state election. Aspiring state MPs hoping to join Mark Speakman's (or his successor's) opposition had just a few days to get their paperwork in order. Given the party's recent history of having preselections delayed until the 11th hour by juvenile, arcane factional disputes, getting the nominations in early is probably wise. But the tight deadline caught a few in the party off-guard, given just how much of Sydney's posher locales are still enjoying Europe's summer. One person not caught by the quick turnaround for nominations was former federal MP Jenny Ware, who lost the once-safe southern Sydney seat of Hughes to Labor's David Moncrieff in the May election in a result few insiders saw coming. Nevertheless, Ware wants another crack at elected office, and we hear is challenging Miranda MP Eleni Petinos for preselection. Petinos has a bit of baggage of her own. She was dumped from the ministry by then-premier Dom Perrottet after allegations she bullied her staff. Not to mention the finest piece of Petinos lore – the time she chundered in the back of former deputy premier John Barilaro's ministerial chauffeur-driven car on the way back from State of Origin in 2017, an incident known as 'barf-gate'. Ware didn't exactly set the backbench alight during her one term in Canberra. But that means she comes with mercifully less baggage than Petinos, which might give the good preselectors of the Sutherland Shire reason to move on. Wedding bells in Woollahra It's a big CBD congratulations to Woollahra Mayor Sarah Swan, who tied the knot with her partner Andrew Dixson at All Saints' Woollahra on Saturday. Before succeeding former Liberal state director Richard Shields (who was booted from that job after failing to nominate candidates in last year's local government elections), Swan was better known to readers of this masthead as one of the lawyers for eastern suburbs hairdresser Anthony Koletti. Koletti, in turn, was better known to the general public as the husband of fraudster Melissa Caddick. He was back in the news last week after being charged with assaulting an elderly woman in Vaucluse. No word, however, on whether Koletti showed up. Or whether the hairdresser, rumoured to have given the occasional blow dry on the house, did Swan's hair. Balling out Netball's plan for world domination was on the agenda during a long lunch at Melbourne Park's Centrepiece on Saturday, before the Super Netball grand final at adjacent Rod Laver Arena. Among the 800 guests were Bridget McKenzi e, Nationals senator and demon netballer, and actor Leah Purcell, who once got physical on the court with Australian netball great Vicky Wilson and hasn't let anyone forget it. Purcell is working on a teen TV drama about a group of girls gunning for the state championships, strategically timed to coincide with the 2027 World Cup in Australia. Speaking of strategic, also in the room was the Brisbane 2032 executive Brendan Keane. Netball Australia chair Liz Ellis made no secret of the sport's Big Ambition, to get netty into the Olympics. 'We will push hard for Olympic inclusion,' Ellis said, urging everyone in the room to pledge their support for the cause. (McKenzie obliged.)
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Under-regulated childcare centres allow children to become easy prey
The charging of a worker accused of filming the abuse of 10 children at six Sydney centres is another alarm bell on the booming but under-regulated Australian childcare industry. David James' alleged paedophilia was reported to police and the regulator last year after he had been hired through recruitment agency Randstad and worked at 58 different outside school hours care (OSHC) services across Sydney. The 26-year-old was suspended after a colleague reported witnessing him inappropriately touching a child under 10 at a Primary OSHCare, a service owned by Junior Adventures Group. Incredibly, James remained on the agency's books and was employed by other providers on a casual basis. The Sydney case has thrust private equity firm Quadrant into the centre of another childcare scandal. The ABC has also reported in October a different man was arrested and charged in regional NSW with nine counts of intentionally sexually touching a child under 10 at a Quadrant-owned centre. A leading provider of after-school care in Australia, Quadrant has a majority stake in Junior Adventures Group, prompting industry heads to voice concerns about the OSHC sector, which is becoming increasingly privatised and reliant on an unqualified, young and casualised workforce. Nearly 600,000 children attend OSHC centres. The sector is growing, with an additional 426 services added in the past year, nationally topping 5000 services with large for-profit providers operating 40 per cent of all services. According to Department of Education data, OSHC centres employ 30,500 people. More than half had no qualifications in a relevant field and less than a quarter were studying towards any kind of qualification. Serious questions have loomed over the nation's childcare industry since the arrest of Joshua Dale Brown in Melbourne on allegations he abused eight children and the screening of 1200 preschool-aged children for STDs was made known last month. Loading Despite the risks, private equity and pension firms have piled into childcare, partly because the Albanese government's election platform promised high levels of government support. The result is a sector increasingly dominated by commercial interests in which concerns about quality are mounting. The recent spate of child abuse allegations highlights the serious flaws in childcare regulation. In NSW, some staff hold a Certificate III in Outside School Hours Care or Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care; however, NSW is the only jurisdiction in the country where qualifications to work in OSHC are not required.
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
Labor told 'implied carbon prices', fixing broken renewables approvals key to lowering emissions in Productivity Commission report
A new report from the Productivity Commission has called on Labor to introduce reforms which would produce a similar effect to an "enduring, national carbon price". The interim report, titled: "Investing in cheaper, cleaner energy and the net zero transformation", is part of a series requested by Treasurer Jim Chalmers ahead of the Albanese government's economic roundtable. In it, the Productivity Commission warns the government must move to address "the gaps and overlaps in emissions reduction incentives, speed up approvals for clean energy infrastructure, and create a resilience-rating system for all housing to meet our clean energy targets and adapt to climate change". By doing so, the report says Labor will be able to both lower the cost of cutting emissions, while also maximising the opportunities presented by the energy transition to boost the economy. The Commission places heavy emphasis on a market-based approach, arguing both the Renewable Energy Target and the Capacity Investment Scheme, both central to Labor's net zero agenda, be scrapped in favour of direct incentives in the electricity sector. It also calls for the creation of a new independent agency which would determine a set of "carbon values" against which all emissions reduction policies would be assessed. The agency would set "carbon values" based on the "implied carbon prices" needed to meet Australia's emissions. By doing so, the Commission argues Australia could meet its internationally agreed climate targets at the lowest possible cost. "Our recommendations align with many of the benefits conferred by a broad-based, enduring, national carbon price – a policy that many, including the PC, have consistently argued for," the report said. In addition to factoring in the price of carbon while assessing emissions reduction plans, the report also calls for major reforms to the approval process for renewables projects. "We need to build a large amount of clean energy infrastructure to meet climate targets and ensure reliable and affordable energy supply. But our sluggish and uncertain approval processes are not up to the task," Commissioner Martin Stokie said. "Getting to yes or no quicker on priority projects would meaningfully speed up the clean energy transition." The Commission argues for substantive changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, including the introduction of national environmental standards, improved regional planning and clear rules about engaging with local communities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It also recommends the appointment of an independent Clean Energy Coordinator-General to work across government and break through roadblocks, as well as the creation of a "strike team" to rapidly asses priority projects. Other recommendations included in the report include an increase to the number of facilities covered by Labor's emissions reduction program for industry, the Safeguard Mechanism, and the abolishment of a fringe benefits tax exemption for electric vehicles.
