Embattled politician Mark Latham claims relationship with Nathalie Matthews was ‘sexed-up' but consensual
This week, widespread reports detailed Ms Matthews' allegations that Mr Latham pressured her into 'degrading' sex acts and threw dinner plates at her.
Speaking to the media at length on Saturday in south-west Sydney, an at times belligerent Mr Latham also refused to confirm or deny allegations that he had sex in his NSW parliamentary office.
He instead responded by asking reporters if they had engaged in similar behaviour at their workplaces.
'These are matters that are private . . . I'm not making any comment on things that are private,' he said
During the lengthy press conference, he said his relationship with Ms Matthews was an 'entirely consensual arrangement between two adults'.
'One thing's abundantly clear, what we had for over two years was a sexed-up, consensual, open arrangement between adults with a fair bit of other contacts, such as fun days of the races thrown in,' he said. 'I didn't make any moral judgment about her.
'I just enjoyed our time together, and it was enjoyable for 90 per cent of the time, the other per cent could be dark and disturbing, but I rationalised it by thinking at my age — an age at which my father had already dropped dead — 90 per cent beat 10 per cent but ultimately, there was an incident that ended it all I mentioned earlier; the races.'
On the night of a contentious vote on the sale of Rosehill Racecourse in Sydney, an incident between the pair allegedly unfolded.
Mr Latham, a one-time Federal Labor leader, later leader of One Nation NSW and now an independent NSW MP, claims the incident was the 'first time in my life I'd ever been physically scared of a woman'.
He claimed Ms Matthews was 'covered in mud' and confronted him. 'This was like something from World War Z,' he said.
Responding to additional reports that he had previously photographed female MPs during parliamentary sessions and sent derogatory private messages about them, Mr Latham acknowledged he had made a 'mistake'.
'I have apologised to both Susan Carter and Abigail Boyd, and they've accepted my apology, for which I thank them both sincerely,' he said.
Mr Latham maintained that he did not breach any parliamentary standing orders and has never been formally notified of any complaints regarding his behaviour.
Ms Matthews reportedly said part of the reason she applied for a domestic violence order against him was fear that intimate videos she claims to have filmed — including one recorded in NSW Parliament House — would be made public.
Mr Latham insisted he had no knowledge of such video recordings involving him.
'I have checked my devices and I can't find any material (Ms Matthews) has filmed involving me, and that includes NSW Parliament House,' Mr Latham said.
'If she has recorded these videos, it is without my knowledge and consent, and there's a question about the legality of such a practice.'
On Saturday, Ms Matthews issued a statement saying she was 'aware' of the remarks made by Mr Latham and would make no additional comments.
'I request the privacy that I deserve whilst I go through this stressful period,' she said.
'The full story will come out in due course in the proper manner.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
5 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
After failed Rosehill deal, a battle for control of the Australian Turf Club
Two months since Australian Turf Club members voted to reject the $5 billion proposed sale of Rosehill Gardens Racecourse and stick a knife in the Minns government's housing plans, the moment still looms large over Sydney's politics. That night, Upper House MP Mark Latham, one of the fiercest opponents of the sale, ended his relationship with then partner Nathalie Matthews. Matthews has since accused Latham of a sustained pattern of emotional, physical and financial abuse and pressuring her into degrading sexual acts in an application for a private apprehended violence order. Latham denies the allegations. Right before Latham became the unwelcome centre of attention, ATC chair Peter McGauran, a former Nationals minister in the Howard government and one of the architects of the Rosehill sale, resigned. On Monday afternoon, the board will vote for McGauran's successor, a formality which has devolved into a messy proxy battle between supporters and opponents of the scuppered deal. On one side is McGuaran's protegee Ben Bayot, another champion of the deal, who has the presumed backing of Racing NSW and its mercurial chief executive Peter V'landys. But the failed sale, which enjoyed the joint support of V'landys and Premier Chris Minns, showed that not even the double-team of Sydney's most powerful person and the state premier can always get their way, particularly when faced with a wall of Boomer recalcitrance. Loading Standing against Bayot is Sydney silk Tim Hale SC, who ascended to the board four years ago with the backing of trainer extraordinaire Gai Waterhouse and former International Olympic Committee vice-president John Coates. ATC sources say the vote will go down to the wire, with each camp having three definite votes each. So far, ATC board member Caroline Searcy is the swing vote, and both camps have offered her the vice-chair position in return for support. But one of Bayot's three votes is that of McGauran himself. Hale's supporters have legal advice, prepared by barrister Steven Finch SC, showing that McGauran has already resigned his board position and is ineligible to vote. Team McGauran has its own advice to the contrary.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
NSW Labor vowed to never work with Mark Latham. The reality is more complicated
'They wanted our support,' Roberts said. 'It wasn't a one-off, they were constantly chasing us. This idea they won't work with Latham is bullshit. You only have to sit there and watch the footage in the chamber when parliament is sitting and watch certain ministers go and sit beside him and chat with him. Loading 'I know and can say that he's had texts of support from some Labor MPs in the last couple of days.' Nor can Labor claim to have a zero-tolerance policy towards MPs with questionable track records. In 2022, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party leader Robert Borsak was captured on camera saying a female MP should have been 'clocked' following a fiery debate in parliament. Despite Labor MPs calling on Borsak to apologise at the time, in government they have continued to work with him. Last month, this masthead revealed Minns had opened the door to a Shooters plan to establish a new 'hunting authority' and pay bounty hunters to kill feral animals. Minns has pointed out the government doesn't 'accept' votes on legislation, and, unlike a normal workplace, he has no power to restrict Latham's conduct in parliament. At the same time, he has also criticised the Liberals and crossbench parties such as the Greens for having 'backed each other's motions'. But ministers regularly negotiate with him. In March, during debate over a bill to establish a new governance model over SafeWork NSW, the government MP leading the debate thanked Latham for his 'carefully considered amendment' to the bill which had been drafted 'in consultation with the minister's office'. The allegations against Latham are yet another chapter in the long and unsavoury history of politics in this state. Rape allegations against a Nationals MP aired in the parliament, the alleged harassment of a female journalist by Labor leader Luke Foley, and the former NSW Labor general secretary, Jamie Clements, who quit in 2016 facing sexual harassment allegations. The Broderick Report, released in 2022, was a shocking indictment on the parliament's culture. The report found five people had experienced attempted or actual sexual assault. There was a culture of 'systemic and multidirectional bullying' in parliament, it found. More than a third of respondents said they had been bullied or sexually harassed over the past five years, and some offices were 'well-known hotspots'. It also found that almost half of sexual harassment incidents in the past five years were perpetrated by MPs. Loading Despite that, by June last year, only 6 per cent of MPs had taken part in a workplace culture program set up following the report's release. That figure has since risen to 48 per cent of MPs who have done the first stage of the training. Only 39 MPs, or about 29 per cent, have done both stages. The Department of Parliamentary Services did not directly respond to a question about how many of the Broderick report's 31 recommendations had been implemented, but pointed to a $15 million funding announcement made by the government in 2023 to help put the changes in place. They included 10 new human resources staff members. 'Key areas of change have transitioned to ongoing arrangements, including a commitment to ensuring that the parliament has the resources needed to support staff and promote a safe and respectful workplace,' a spokesperson for the department said. However, progress on other reforms has been slow. A parliamentary committee set up after Labor came to power in 2023 to review the implementation of Broderick's recommendations has yet to hold any hearings, and submissions only closed last month. A separate inquiry into the Independent Complaints Officer, which is supposed to deal with internal bullying and harassment claims, found most complaints were not investigated because they were outside its remit.
West Australian
2 days ago
- West Australian
Embattled politician Mark Latham claims relationship with Nathalie Matthews was ‘sexed-up' but consensual
Embattled politician Mark Latham has renewed claims his relationship with former partner Nathalie Matthews was 'sexed-up' but consensual, as he denied allegations made by his former partner. This week, widespread reports detailed Ms Matthews' allegations that Mr Latham pressured her into 'degrading' sex acts and threw dinner plates at her. Speaking to the media at length on Saturday in south-west Sydney, an at times belligerent Mr Latham also refused to confirm or deny allegations that he had sex in his NSW parliamentary office. He instead responded by asking reporters if they had engaged in similar behaviour at their workplaces. 'These are matters that are private . . . I'm not making any comment on things that are private,' he said During the lengthy press conference, he said his relationship with Ms Matthews was an 'entirely consensual arrangement between two adults'. 'One thing's abundantly clear, what we had for over two years was a sexed-up, consensual, open arrangement between adults with a fair bit of other contacts, such as fun days of the races thrown in,' he said. 'I didn't make any moral judgment about her. 'I just enjoyed our time together, and it was enjoyable for 90 per cent of the time, the other per cent could be dark and disturbing, but I rationalised it by thinking at my age — an age at which my father had already dropped dead — 90 per cent beat 10 per cent but ultimately, there was an incident that ended it all I mentioned earlier; the races.' On the night of a contentious vote on the sale of Rosehill Racecourse in Sydney, an incident between the pair allegedly unfolded. Mr Latham, a one-time Federal Labor leader, later leader of One Nation NSW and now an independent NSW MP, claims the incident was the 'first time in my life I'd ever been physically scared of a woman'. He claimed Ms Matthews was 'covered in mud' and confronted him. 'This was like something from World War Z,' he said. Responding to additional reports that he had previously photographed female MPs during parliamentary sessions and sent derogatory private messages about them, Mr Latham acknowledged he had made a 'mistake'. 'I have apologised to both Susan Carter and Abigail Boyd, and they've accepted my apology, for which I thank them both sincerely,' he said. Mr Latham maintained that he did not breach any parliamentary standing orders and has never been formally notified of any complaints regarding his behaviour. Ms Matthews reportedly said part of the reason she applied for a domestic violence order against him was fear that intimate videos she claims to have filmed — including one recorded in NSW Parliament House — would be made public. Mr Latham insisted he had no knowledge of such video recordings involving him. 'I have checked my devices and I can't find any material (Ms Matthews) has filmed involving me, and that includes NSW Parliament House,' Mr Latham said. 'If she has recorded these videos, it is without my knowledge and consent, and there's a question about the legality of such a practice.' On Saturday, Ms Matthews issued a statement saying she was 'aware' of the remarks made by Mr Latham and would make no additional comments. 'I request the privacy that I deserve whilst I go through this stressful period,' she said. 'The full story will come out in due course in the proper manner.'
