The foreign affairs minister also says Jamie Briggs’s resignation from the Turnbull ministry means that matter is closed too

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Peter Dutton’s apology to a journalist for calling her a “mad fucking witch” in a text message should be the end of the matter, the most senior woman in the Coalition ranks, Julie Bishop, has urged.

Bishop told ABC radio on Thursday the immigration minister had “recognised the error of his ways” after accidentally sending a text intended for Jamie Briggs to a News Corp Australia journalist, Samantha Maiden.

“It was an inadvertent text to a journalist, she has accepted his apology and I think in those circumstances we should move on,” the foreign affairs minister said.

Dutton had been prompted to send the offensive text message after Maiden had written about Briggs’s resignation from the frontbench after admitting inappropriate conduct with a junior consular staff member during a night out in Hong Kong.

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Briggs has been accused of telling the young woman she had “piercing eyes” and then kissing her on the cheek or neck. The former cities minister later admitted to distributing a photo of the staff member before and after the allegations had been made public.

Bishop indicated that Briggs’s decision to step down from the ministry meant the matter was closed.

“Jamie Briggs has resigned and that is a significant consequence from the actions that occurred while he was overseas,” she said.

She had not spoken to the young woman who raised the allegations, nor did she plan to, insisting her department was handling the matter well.

“She has asked for confidentiality, she’s asked for privacy, and I’m satisfied that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are providing the appropriate level of support,” Bishop said.

“They’ve offered her counselling services and they are working closely with her and I have maintained contact with the relevant officers in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to ensure that she is receiving that support.”

Briggs has not publicly spoken about his political future, although it is believed he will recontest his South Australian seat of Mayo at the next election, due this year.

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The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has placed the blame squarely on Briggs for leaking the photos of the young woman to the media, even after saying in his resignation speech that he would protect her identity.

The acting opposition leader, Penny Wong, said that there is chatter within the Liberal party that Briggs should go.

“I think the issue is whether he is the right person to represent the people and whether the behaviour that he has demonstrated is to the standards of an MP and the certainly about that is already inside the Liberal party about whether he is the right candidate to run in that seat,” Wong said.

But Turnbull downplayed Labor’s call for an investigation into how the photos made it into the media.



“These leaks inquiries tend to come up with very little,” he said on Tuesday. “We know the photo was taken on Mr Briggs’s phone and he shared it, and he shouldn’t have done it, clearly.”

Turnbull also criticised the Australian newspaper for publishing pixelated images of the woman.

“From the outset I have sought to ensure the privacy of the public servant concerned has been protected,” he said in a statement late on Monday.

“Publishing the identity of a complainant in a case like this not only infringes their privacy, it serves actively to discourage other women who are concerned about the conduct of a superior from raising a complaint in the future.

“I urge all parties to respect the public servant’s privacy.”