SYDNEY, Aug 6 — 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 Australian 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. — AFP