Former minister Jamie Briggs says he has paid a heavy price for the Hong Kong incident that saw him resign from the ministry and has expressed regret over his consumption of alcohol to deal with the stress of work.

Mr Briggs, forced to resign in December after a female public servant complained about inappropriate behaviour, said he needed to learn from his mistakes.

"I shouldn't have been in that situation, I should have been more careful, I should have been more disciplined," he told local Adelaide Hills newspaper The Courier.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade staffer at the centre of the controversy complained that, on a night out during an official visit in November, he told her she had "piercing eyes" and kissed her on the neck, although Mr Briggs said it was her cheek.