Rhett Watson
September 01, 2009 12:01am
NSW Health Minister John Della Bosca resigned last night, just hours after he was revealed to have been embroiled in a sex scandal.
Mr Della Bosca decided to quit as Health Minister after The Daily Telegraph put a list of questions to him outlining a six-month affair he had this year with a 26-year-old woman.
Late last night Mr Della Bosca, who has campaigned hard behind the scenes to oust Premier Nathan Rees, issued a statement that he had resigned as a Minister and the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council.
"I regret some personal decisions I made and I am deeply sorry for the hurt I have caused my family," he said.
The 26-year-old woman provided a statement to The Daily Telegraph claiming Mr Della Bosca:
* STOPPED a security guard from checking her identity, and did not get her to sign the visitor's register, when he took her into his parliament office where they had sex;
* MISSED a morning flight to the NSW regional city of Armidale for a hospital opening and meetings with health officials and spent the afternoon with her;
* BRAGGED about his affair to an Upper House colleague, who offered to employ the woman, because he believed people thought he was a "square"; and
* TOLD the woman he had the backing of caucus to replace Mr Rees, whom she said Della Bosca labelled a "freckle-faced Latham".
Mr Della Bosca, 53, said last night: "I'm not commenting on my marriage or any other personal matters.
"At no time did I breach my duties as a Minister or Member of Parliament.
"It's not true that I deliberately missed a flight to Armidale nor did I avoid any security protocol at Parliament and nor was any offer of employment made."
The woman said last night that Mr Della Bosca had repeatedly told her he loved her.
"I don't know how he managed to do his job when he spent so much time with me," she said. "There were times when John would cancel work to see me."
Their relationship only ended last month - she said at her behest - after Mr Della Bosca did not follow through on what the woman claims were repeated promises to leave his wife, the federal MP Belinda Neal.
The Daily Telegraph has had access to a series of text messages sent from two mobile phones used by Mr Della Bosca to the woman's mobile phone.
The woman has told The Daily Telegraph Mr Della Bosca occasionally spent the night at her home and that she also spent one night with him at his mother's house in the inner city.
But most of their liaisons, she said, occurred during the day at her apartment.
The woman has also revealed she regarded Mr Della Bosca as "hot"' and "sexy" but that, on reflection, she now "felt silly" and "used".
"I fell in love with him. You can't really explain attraction," she said.
"I thought he was a spunk. He has the most beautiful eyes and beautiful smile.
"If he had said it was only ever going to be an affair then I could've taken it or left it. But he kept telling me he was going to leave his wife and I believed him."
She said Mr Della Bosca took her to Parliament on April 9, only weeks after they met.
"We were having lunch one day and he said, 'I want to show you where I work'," she said. She said Mr Della Bosca then gave her a tour before taking her to his office where, she says, they had sex on a couch.
"A security guard asked for my identification but John got mad and said that I was with him and I was let through," she said.
"He said if anyone ever asked him, he would say I was his niece."
Out of pity, Im gonna give him a leave pass on this one...................
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