The NSW premier says she is "incredibly disappointed" by her minister David Elliott's move to expose sexual harassment claims against ex-Labor leader Luke Foley without the alleged victim's consent.
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Mr Elliott in October used parliamentary privilege to allege Mr Foley had harassed an ABC journalist at a parliamentary party, sparking the scandal that led to the Labor leader's resignation on Thursday.
The corrections minister issued a brief statement on Friday saying he didn't mean to distress the journalist but stopped short of apologising.
Instead, he said he had "long held concerns over the character of the alternate premier".
"This has clearly been a difficult time for the journalist. To that end, it was never my intent to cause distress for the journalist," Mr Elliott said.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she was disappointed control of the story was taken out of the hands of the journalist by Mr Elliott.
"I've expressed my absolute disappointment that her ability to control the issue, as she wanted to, was taken away from her," Ms Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.
"I respect every single word she uttered in her statement."
ABC journalist Ashleigh Raper said she never wanted to go public with the story but amid widespread speculation issued a statement detailing her account of the 2016 parliamentary Christmas party where she alleges Mr Foley groped her.
Australian Associated Press
