Malcolm Turnbull under pressure to face media over ‘mad witch’ text by Peter Dutton

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is under pressure to take action against Immigration Minister Peter Dutton after the senior minister called a journalist a “mad witch.”

Acting Opposition Leader Penny Wong criticised Dutton calling Samantha Maiden a “mad f***ing witch.” According to Dutton, he accidentally sent the text message to the political editor for News Corp’s Sunday papers over a column critical about Jamie Briggs.

Wong asked Turnbull to tell the media why Dutton’s action was acceptable. “It’s all very well to talk about increasing the role of women and stronger ministerial standards - today is the day Malcolm Turnbull must put that all that talk into action,” Wong said.

“If he fails to front up, he’s sending the clear signal he thinks this behaviour is appropriate.”

According to Wong, the Australian PM should prove his belief in the role of women in the society. "It's all very well to talk about increasing the role of women and stronger ministerial standards - today is the day Malcolm Turnbull must put all that talk into action," Wong added.

Dutton apparently wanted to send the “mad witch” text to Briggs but ended up sending it to Maiden who called it a “solid sledge.” The journalist told the Nine Network she sent an immediate reply to the senior minister, telling him that he had “sent that mad witch text to the mad witch.”

Maiden, on Sunday television, decided not to name the politician while talking about the incident. However, it was Dutton who acknowledged it. He released a statement on Sunday evening to inform that he had apologised “straight away.”

While Labor wants Turnbull to take action against Dutton, Maiden hopes the text mix-up does not affect the senior minister’s political career as he has “made a strong contribution to the government.”