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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has ruled out chasing down who leaked a photo of the public servant at the centre of the Jamie Briggs saga, but condemned the former minister who initially distributed the image.
Four days after Mr Briggs resigned as cities minister for inappropriate behaviour towards a female diplomat in Hong Kong, a pixelated photograph of her was published in weekend newspapers, alongside private text messages to Mr Briggs' chief of staff Stuart Eaton and her age and job description.
The leak - seen as an attempt to discredit the woman - prompted calls for Mr Turnbull to launch an inquiry.
"These leaks inquiries, they tend to come up with very little," Mr Turnbull said on Tuesday afternoon.
"I think we know the photograph was taken by Mr Briggs' phone and he shouldn't have done it."
Mr Turnbull made the comments in his first public appearance since last Wednesday.
The picture was taken on Mr Briggs' phone. He has said he didn't leak it but admitted he had "sent it to a few people prior to the complaint and following".
Fairfax Media understands the Prime Minister was angered by the leaking and publication of the photo and had personally called a senior News Corp executive asking him not to publish.
Acting Opposition Leader Penny Wong had earlier called for the Prime Minister to take action.
"I think the more important question for Mr Turnbull is what action is he taking as the leader of the party and the Prime Minister to find out who received this photo and who provided it to the media," she said on Tuesday morning.
But Mr Turnbull suggested the government had adequately addressed the matter.
"The sharing of that photograph was very unfortunate. It was not the right thing to do, clearly. I think everyone recognises that, including Mr Briggs," he said.
"The facts are clear. Mr Briggs acknowledged that his conduct was inappropriate and he resigned. That's a heavy price to pay but it shows a very simple fact: that the government takes ministerial standards very seriously."
