Mark Latham exchanged sexually explicit messages with his former partner during parliamentary sitting hours, according to leaked text logs.
The WhatsApp message logs reported by The Daily Telegraph allegedly show interactions between the NSW independent MP and his former partner, businesswoman Nathalie Matthews.
It comes after The Australian reported earlier this week Matthews had accused Latham of abusive behaviour, including forcing her into ‘degrading sexual acts‘.
Latham told Daily Mail Australia the outlet’s reproduction of the messages was ‘not accurate’. It is also not suggested the claims of abusive behaviour are substantiated, only that the allegations have been made.
The leaked WhatsApp messages include a series of lewd exchanges on February 20, 2025 during parliamentary sitting hours.
‘Very hard thinking about you,’ he wrote to Matthews shortly after 11am, before following up with a series of suggestive emojis.
‘Need badly to taste you,’ he wrote that afternoon, alongside an emoji of a tongue.
‘Made it back for first vote after dinner,’ he said at 8.38pm.
Mark Latham (right) is pictured alongside his ex-partner Nathalie Matthews (left) at fine dining restaurant Mimi’s in Coogee, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs
Latham has denied abusing Ms Matthews as alleged in explosive court documents
In one of the Whatsapp exchanges Latham referred to himself as ‘master’ and told Matthews to turn on her ‘tracker’
Latham told the outlet the communications did not impact his work.
The tranche of leaked messages includes far more explicit exchanges, not republished here, over a period stretching as far back as October last year.
On several occasions, Latham is referred to as ‘master’.
He said he was sent images by Matthews when parliament was sitting, ‘seeking a response’ and that he could not describe the images due to ‘an abundance of caution about the revenge porn laws’.
‘I don’t think responding to a consensual partner on a private, intimate matter in any way has reduced my workload, which I would match up against any other member in the place,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.
Matthews allegations against the politician were detailed in court documents filed with the NSW Local Court.
She made the allegations as part of an attempt to seek a domestic violence order against Latham, including that he subjected her to a ‘sustained pattern of emotional, physical, sexual, psychological, and financial abuse’.
Mr Latham has denied the allegations which he referred to as ‘comically false and ridiculous’ in a post to X on Monday night.
Pictured is a message exchange between the pair (Latham’s messages in blue)
Matthews has applied for an interim order barring Latham from venturing within 100m of her
He said he had ‘scores of documents’ to support his claims and that he would rely on those documents to defend himself.
‘As the old saying goes, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,’ he wrote.
Matthews, who runs an e-commerce global logistics firm based in Dubai, Perth and Sydney, has applied for an interim order barring Latham from coming within 100 metres of her.
She cited ‘ongoing, reasonable fear of harassment, intimidation, and potential harm’.
Her application accuses the former Labor leader of throwing a dinner plate at her, forcing her to call him ‘master’, and pressuring her to have sex with others.
Matthews’ filing, reported by The Australian, also alleges Latham prevented her from cleaning up after defecating on her before sex and telling her she was ‘property’, and telling her that her only value to him was for sex to ‘demean and control’ her.
She also alleged ‘physical violence’ incidents, including pushing her against walls, forcing her out a door, throwing a plate at her during a row. She also claimed he allegedly drove at her with his car, hit her with the side mirror and caused a bruise.
Latham is further accused of ‘systematically undermining’ Matthews to ‘control and isolate’ her by comparing her ‘unfavourably to other women and acting as if he would ‘harm himself’ to manipulate her.
Matthews accuses Latham of forcing her to cover the cost of holidays abroad ‘under duress’, making her purchase expensive goods, and coercing her regarding her father’s will for his benefit.
Latham claimed the texting did not impact his work
The politician said he has not been contacted by police regarding his ex-partner’s allegations
She claims she experienced ‘constant fear and hyper-vigilance’ since her arrival home from a June trip abroad, alleging all past break-ups with Latham featured a repeated ‘pattern of harassment and intimidation’.
She alleges: ‘The defendant has held intimate photos and videos of me, and I have been afraid he would expose them to shame and control me if I attempted to leave or resist his demands.’
Latham denied all accusations to The Australian.
‘Nothing has been served on me nor has anyone contacted me,’ he told the newspaper.
‘I haven’t had anything to do with her (Ms Matthews) since 27 May, so nearly seven weeks ago. I ended the ‘situationship’ that night for very good reason.’
Matthews made the application herself, with NSW Police neither charging Latham nor seeking an order on her behalf.
The matter will heard at Downing Centre Local Court on July 30.
Matthews is a Liberal Party member and stood as a candidate at the 2021 Sutherland Shire Council election.
