Mark Latham denies abuse claims made by former partner Nathalie Matthews

Former Labor leader turned One Nation firebrand Mark Latham has been accused of abuse by a former partner as part of an application for a domestic violence order.

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.

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.