Australian Capital Territory opposition leader Mark Parton has admitted sending a text message that read 'my job is boring' during a committee meeting, but denied it was sent to a sex worker.
The Liberal Party leader faced a complaint alleging he sent the message to a sex worker, according to local media. The Canberra Times reported that Parton wrote, 'And f*** my job is boring. Wanna swap,' accompanied by a picture of a committee meeting last month.
Initial dismissal and admission
Parton initially dismissed the complaint as a 'smear', but on Thursday he told journalists he did send the text, while denying it was to a sex worker.
'Again, I'm sorry. I'm not going to entertain questions that are completely removed from that and that are not in the public interest. I'm just not going there,' he said.
Defence of private messages
He did not reveal the recipient of the message and defended his actions, arguing he was still 'holding the government to account'.
'There's a hell of a lot of private messages that are sent from a hell of a lot of people in the context of sitting days and hearings,' he said. 'I think it's appropriate to send private messages to people that are not designed for the public realm. I've got an off-the-cuff larrikin communication style,' he added, using an Australian slang term for someone with an irreverent sense of humour.
The official complaint has been dismissed, and Parton has referred the police to the alleged 'harassment'.
