Allegations of sexual misconduct against New South Wales Labor Party leader Luke Foley were first aired publicly in state parliament in recent weeks by Coalition government minister David Elliott.
Mr Foley denied the allegations he'd acted inappropriately at a parliamentary Christmas party in 2016 towards a female journalist, who wasn't named at that time.
However the journalist has now reluctantly come forward, issuing a statement through the A-B-C.
In it, the A-B-C's Ashleigh Raper says an incident occurred at a bar in Martin Place in central Sydney at the Christmas party in 2016.
At the end of the evening, she says Mr Foley approached her and others to say goodnight.
She says Mr Foley stood next to her, then put his hands through a gap at the back of her dress and inside her underpants, resting his hands on her buttocks.
She says the incident was witnessed by another journalist, Sean Nicholls.
She and Mr Nicholls discussed the incident, but she did not wish to complain for fear of losing her job, and for fear of the impact the incident would have on her family.
She also asked Mr Nicholls not to tell anyone about the alleged incident, and she says he has complied with that request.
After the recent publicity following the issue being raised in parliament, Ms Raper says Mr Foley contacted her via telephone last weekend, saying he was drunk at the time of the alleged incident, that he was remorseful for it, and that he would resign this week.
But she says he contacted her again this week to say that he was still sorry, but would not be resigning after taking legal advice.
In a press conference after Ms Raper's public statement, Mr Foley continued to deny the allegation of sexual misconduct.
"The first thing I'd like to say is that the allegations against me today, made public by the ABC, are false. I've retained solicitors and senior counsel to advise on the immediate commencement of defamation proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia."
Mr Foley's proposed defamation action will be against either Ms Raper or the A-B-C, as he can't sue Mr Elliott for raising the matter because it was done under parliamentary privilege.
But regardless of the truth or otherwise of the allegation, Mr Foley said he realised his position had become untenable and announced his resignation from the leadership.
"I can't fight to clear my name and fight an election at the same time. It's just not possible to do both. Therefore, I am resigning the leadership of the Labor party, effective today. This will enable a new leader to give his or her full attention to the task of defeating the Liberal-National government, I'll be remaining as the member for Auburn, and returning to the backbench."
Ms Raper has also indicated she is unhappy her case was raised in parliament by Mr Elliott for political reasons, even though he didn't mention her name.
Mr Foley's deputy, Michael Daley, is expected to be elected to succeed him as leader.
The 2019 New South Wales state election will be the second consecutive one where a Labor leader has been forced to resign shortly before the poll.
In the months before the 2015 poll, then-Labor leader John Robertson was forced to resign after it was revealed he'd sent a letter to a government department in support of the gunman in the 2014 Sydney siege, Man Haron Monis.
Ironically, that was how Mr Foley ascended to the leadership.
A sordid scandal in state politics in the nation's biggest state, with both state and federal elections looming, has potential to make an impact far and wide.
And it has federal politicians reacting cautiously.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the matter is entirely one for the Labor party.
"The alleged behaviour of Mr Foley is very, very shocking and concerning. And really, they are matters for him and his colleagues in the Labor party to address, whether it's Bill Shorten, or others. I mean, they are matters for them to reflect on, and for him to make judgements. I'm not here to act as a judge and jury on these sorts of things. But, I must say, I found those allegations very, very shocking and disturbing."
When questioned about it, Mr Shorten said the issue is one for Mr Foley.
"I think you'd appreciate...I'm not going to start commenting on serious matters like that without getting the facts. And so, I appreciate it's a very serious matter but I'm unable to assist you further, and it's an issue for Mr Foley."
Less circumspect on the issue have been some of Mr Foley's female colleagues in the New South Wales parliament.
One Labor M-P, Trish Doyle, said Mr Foley had to resign, and that she would have called for a spill if Mr Foley had not quit.
In her statement, Ms Raper also said women should be allowed to go about their professional lives and socialise without being sexually harassed, and that sexual harassment has to stop.
That's a call echoed by New South Wales Greens M-P Jenny Leong.
"Every woman has had enough of this. We are sick to death of men in positions of power, of men in positions of influence, doing what they can to harass and intimidate women. Women cannot participate fully in society unless they feel like they can be free from harassment and discrimination. As you can hear, I am personally just disgusted and appalled by this. This is my workplace. This is other women's workplace. We are not the exception, sadly, in the New South Wales parliament. What we are seeing here is not an unusual circumstance."
