The ACT Liberals leader was filmed giving a journalist the middle finger immediately after a press conference.
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee gave the one-finger salute to reporter Ian Bushnell on Wednesday after a brief altercation just three days before ACT election day.
The RiotACT reporter had peppered Ms Lee with questions about the costs of her party’s policies.
The clip preceding Ms Lee’s middle finger shows the Canberra Liberals leader criticizing the territory’s Prime Minister, ACT Labor’s Andrew Barr.
Mr. Bushnell and Ms. Lee talk over each other, the politician asks the reporter if he is done interrupting, and the reporter asks her to answer questions about her party’s policies.
The press conference ends shortly afterwards.
The Opposition Leader walks a few steps and, in full view of a camera, gives Mr Bushnell the middle finger and spoils her face.
An employee of Ms. Lee is clearly shocked for a split second, but then Ms. Lee and four employees go to the door.
ACT Liberals leader Elizabeth Lee (pictured) extended her middle finger to a reporter after a brief altercation
According to ABC, Ms Lee and Mr Bushnell have had repeated tense interactions in recent weeks.
Later on Wednesday, Ms Lee said her emotions got the best of her.
“I engaged in poor behavior that was unprofessional and I apologize,” she said.
‘I have a history with this journalist.
“I respect the work journalists do, including asking tough questions, and I think I have shown during this term that I am willing to go the extra mile and answer tough questions.”
“I’m more disappointed that my daughters might think this is the kind of behavior they wouldn’t expect from their mother, who I hope will be a role model for them,” she said.
Elizabeth Lee (pictured) says she and the reporter she took out ‘have a history’
The ACT opposition leader was first elected in 2016, after a legal career in the private, public and academic sectors.
The Canberra Liberals won 33.8 percent of the vote in 2020, behind ACT Labor’s 37.8 percent.
The ACT system presents multiple candidates from the same party in each of the five electorates. Prime Minister Barr went home with 22 percent of the votes among the 28 candidates.
Ms Lee came third behind an ACT Greens candidate.