Health minister Greg Hunt has fronted the media on Thursday morning to apologise to Katherine mayor and 71-year-old grandmother, Fay Miller, for swearing at her during a meeting in December.
The Herald Sun newspaper reported on Thursday that during a meeting on a healthcare package Hunt told the Northern Territory mayor and former Country Liberal MP that she had to "fucking get over" herself, and needed to make federal minister for Indigenous affairs, Nigel Scullion, her "fucking best friend".
Miller wrote to the minister twice, according to the newspaper, and then to the prime minister earlier this month, but it wasn't until the Herald Sun began making media inquiries this week that an apology was finally issued on Wednesday afternoon.
Hunt then fronted media on Thursday to again apologise.
Health Minister @GregHuntMP has apologised this morning for a reported "foul-mouthed tirade" towards a visiting NT mayor https://t.co/us6RU6yd5L https://t.co/MS5rfaOYX5
"During the course of the conversation, I used strong language," Hunt said. "I have apologised to the mayor of Katherine. And today I want to repeat that apology publicly and sincerely and absolutely. It was my fault and my responsibility and I accept that. And I think it's important for me to both repeat that I have apologised to the mayor, but to repeat that apology publicly," he said.
Hunt admitted that he should have apologised earlier.
Last week the Australian Federal Police confirmed that despite his claim to the contrary, Hunt's Twitter account wasn't hacked when the account liked a tweet from a porn account.