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 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.
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Mark Latham denies ‘degrading' sex acts with former partner
WARNING: Distressing allegations Former Labor leader Mark Latham's ex-partner has alleged he asked her to call him 'master' and engaged in degrading sexual acts in a shocking apprehended violence application. Businesswoman Nathalie May Matthews, 37, has outlined the claims in an application to the NSW Local Court and is seeking a no-contact order for up to two years. Mr Latham, 64, who is a New South Wales Legislative Council member, has issued an emphatic denial about the claims, telling The Australian newspaper – that first broke the story – that the allegations were untrue. 'The claims you've listed there are absolute rubbish,' Mr Latham said. 'Comical in fact. 'Nothing has been served on me nor has anyone contacted me. '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.' 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She told me in April she had been to police seeking an AVO against another man and complained that they did nothing. — Real Mark Latham (@RealMarkLatham) July 14, 2025 'Forcing degrading sexual acts, pressuring me to engage in sexual acts with others, demanding I call him 'master,' telling me I was his property, and repeatedly telling me that my only value to him was for sex to demean and control me.' does not suggest the claims are true, only that they have been made in an application to the NSW Local Court in pursuit of an AVO. In the application, she stated that on May 27, 2025, Mr Latham arrived at her home at some time in the evening after sending her 'abusive and coercive text messages, pressuring and insulting me for not being home with him'. After she returned home later that evening, she alleged he was verbally aggressive and intimidating before leaving. 'Monster' texts revealed Shortly after, she alleged he sent further threatening and coercive messages, falsely accusing her of aggression, calling her a 'monster,' and stating he had gone to his GP to create a record claiming distress and that he had approached Parliamentary Security – given he is currently a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. In June, she stated she was in the Middle East for several weeks. Ms Matthews owns an e-commerce global logistics firm based in Dubai, Perth and Sydney. But upon her return, the application stated she had been in 'a constant state of fear and hypervigilance due to the defendant's pattern of harassment and intimidation following previous separations'. She also alleged instances of physical violence in the application including 'pushing me against walls, forcing me out the door, throwing a plate at me during an argument, and driving at me with his vehicle, hitting me with the side mirror and causing a bruise'. The application also cites allegations of psychological abuse, including 'constant put-downs comparing me unfavourably to other women, acting as if he would harm himself to manipulate me, monitoring my devices without consent, and systematically undermining my confidence to control and isolate me'. There are also claims of financial abuse, including borrowing $20,000 on four occasions without prompt repayment, forcing her to pay for international holidays under duress, coercing her into expensive purchases, and pressuring her regarding her father's will. 'Intimate videos' '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,'' the application stated. 'The defendant has repeatedly manipulated and intimidated me into resuming the relationship following separations, creating a cycle of fear and control. Previous breakups in May 2024, June 2024, September 2024, January 2025, and June 2025 were followed by similar intimidation and re-engagement. '(Mr Latham engaged in) physical violence, including pushing me against walls, forcing me out the door, throwing a plate at me during an argument, and driving at me with his vehicle, hitting me with the side mirror and causing a bruise,' the court document claims. The matter will be mentioned at Downing Centre Local Court on July 30. 'Vile' homophobic tweets Last year the Federal Court found Mr Latham defamed independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich after claiming in a homophobic social media post that Mr Greenwich was not a fit and proper person to be a member of the NSW parliament because he engaged in 'disgusting' sexual activities. He was ordered to pay $140,000 to Mr Greenwich. During the trial, Mr Greenwich's barrister Matt Collins KC said Mr Latham's statements were 'pregnant with innuendo'. 'It is plainly not a tweet about homosexual sex. It's a tweet about a particular and unhygienic sex act,' Dr Collins said. 'People understood Mr Latham to be saying exactly what he said in the tweet: that Mr Greenwich he engages in the particular disgusting and hygienic sexual act.' In the Federal Court, Justice David O'Callaghan found this first imputation was conveyed. But a second imputation, that Mr Greenwich was not a fit and proper person to sit in parliament, was not found to have been conveyed. Justice O'Callaghan found Mr Greenwich had established it had caused or was likely to cause serious harm to his reputation. 'In my view, the ordinary reasonable person would interpret the meaning of the primary tweet to be that Mr Greenwich – not homosexual men generally – engages in disgusting sexual activities,' he said in the 74-page judgment. 'One might be forgiven for being lost for words to characterise many of the tweets and comments,' he said. 'Counsel opted for 'despicable' … but that is barely to do justice to the hate-filled venom that was unleashed …' Last month Mr Latham used parliamentary privilege to reveal confidential information from a psychologist's report prepared for the tribunal as to the case brought by Mr Greenwich. In response, Mr Greenwich told parliament that Mr Latham 'thinks and talks far too much about my sex life'.
