An Australian politician has been left red-faced after being forced to admit Thursday he texted "my job is boring" and an expletive to a contact during a meeting.
Mark Parton -- who leads the opposition Liberal Party in the Canberra Capital Territory -- was subject this week to a complaint alleging he sent the message to a sex worker, local media reported.
"And f--- my job is boring. Wanna swap," Parton reportedly wrote, accompanied by a picture of a committee meeting last month, according to the Canberra Times.
After initially denying the complaint in full as a "smear,” he told national broadcaster ABC on Thursday that he did send the text but denied that it was to a sex worker.
He did not say who the message was sent to and defended it, arguing he was still "holding the government to account.”
"There's a hell of a lot of private messages that are sent from a hell of a lot of people in the context of sitting days and hearings," he said.
The complaint has been dismissed, he added.
Parton's office did not respond to a request for comment from AFP.
