ACT Liberal leader Mark Parton denies messaging sex worker about ‘boring’ job during parliamentary hearing

The ACT Opposition leader is refusing to detail what interactions he has had with sex workers but has denied claims he messaged one during a parliamentary hearing to say “f..k my job is boring”.

An anonymous complaint was sent to the Speaker of the ACT Assembly claiming that Mark Parton had “engaged in a text message exchange with a sex worker” during a budget estimates hearing last Friday.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the Canberra Liberals leader rejected the allegation but admitted to sending a message and a photo taken inside the committee hearing to other undisclosed people, which stated: “f..k my job is boring. Wanna swap.”

“I was contacted by the Standards Commissioner last night, who wrote to me to advise that he had received an anonymous complaint about me, but he had made the call not to investigate further, and he’s obliged to do that,” Mr Parton declared.

“We are talking about an anonymous complaint that has been made, that’s gone through a process, and there is no investigation.

“There is no investigation, and as such, I’m not really sure why there’s so much concern and so much interest in that”.

Pressed on whether he had sent a message saying: “my job is boring”, the ACT opposition leader confirmed: “yes I did” but declined to reveal who the recipient was, saying he would not go “into details of private conversations”.

Then when challenged repeatedly to reveal whether he had ever engaged with a sex worker, the leader of the Canberra Liberals refused to comment.

“Look, I think I’ve made it clear that the things that are not actually in the public interest, I’m not interested in talking about,” he told reporters.

He also confirmed the matter had been referred to police because people were “trying to cause damage” given his position as ACT Opposition leader but confirmed he was yet to have a face-to-face meeting with officers.

Mr Parton also confirmed that he regretted taking a photograph inside the committee room which is against the ACT Assembly’s rules and pledged that he would not do so again.

Asked if he had contemplated resigning as leader or if he continued to enjoy the support of his Liberal colleagues, Mr Parton revealed he had “a series of conversations overnight” and believed that fellow party members still backed him.

“You know how it works in politics. If indeed there’s a critical mass that wants to go another way, so be it. But I don’t believe that that’s what’s going to occur here,” he declared.

“They’re dismayed, as I am.

“They’re, you know, they’re a little disappointed that we’re talking about this”.

First elected to the ACT Assembly in 2016 following a lengthy career as a radio announcer in Canberra, Mr Parton became leader of the Canberra Liberals in November last year.

Fellow ACT Liberal politician Chiaka Barry, who was chairing the budget estimates committee on Friday when the text message was sent, confirmed she had also received an anonymous complaint.

“I reached out to the Speaker and my understanding is that the Speaker has responded to the complainant about the appropriate process, Ms Barry was quoted as saying by The Canberra Times.

The Commissioner of Standards for the ACT Legislative Assembly, Ken Crispin KC, can decide not to investigate a complaint if he determines on reasonable grounds that it is “frivolous, vexatious or only for political advantage”.

Acting Federal Opposition Leader Jane Hume said she was unaware about the matter involving her ACT Liberal colleague.

“If I don’t know anything about it, I really can’t answer the question. But you know, so that’s literally the first I’ve heard of it,” she told reporters at a press conference in Western Australia.