Sources say Queensland MP told them he hugged the RAAF officer who filed the complaint

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The under-fire Liberal minister Scott Buchholz gave a female air force officer what he described to colleagues as “a hug” – a move which led to an official complaint against him.

Buchholz has issued an apology to the officer following the incident in Darwin last August during a taxpayer-funded exchange with the Australian defence force to observe the military exercise Pitch Black in 2018.

The Defence department has declined to reveal details of the complaint, which was first reported by the ABC.

But the Guardian understands Buchholz has told colleagues the nature of the incident was a “hug”.

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“He may have misread the situation and the friendly nature of the group,” a defence source said.

“If you’re a smaller woman and a big burly bloke throws his arms around you that can be confronting.”

Another source said Buchholz is a “known hugger” but acknowledged that could throw some people off guard if they didn’t know him well.

Defence said the complaint was referred to the office of the minister for defence personnel.

“Defence subsequently received an apology from the parliamentarian and is satisfied with the response,” a spokesman said.

In a statement, Buchholz, who was promoted from the backbench to the ministry by Scott Morrison just weeks after the incident, admitted to poor behaviour.

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“I behaved like an idiot on a parliamentary exchange last year and I recognise how inappropriate my actions were. I apologised for my conduct and the offence I caused, and I reiterate my deep respect for the ADF and its members,” he said.

The Guardian sought further comment from Buchholz’s office about the hug allegation.

His spokesman said Buchholz had nothing further to add and was focused on constituency business on Thursday.

Buchholz was part of a federal parliamentarian group who attended the biennial training exercise in northern Australia involving the Royal Australian Air Force and up to 4,000 personnel from Australia’s military allies.

The MPs have copped criticism for skipping some events to go to the Darwin Cup races.

Labor MP Luke Gosling arranged a leave pass with Defence officials for himself to attend the event because it was in his local federal electorate. It’s understood other MPs in the group tagged along.

However, Liberal MP Ian Goodenough told the ABC he was advised the cup was a major event in the Northern Territory and insisted the leave pass covered the entire group.