The Liberals' Chiaka Barry says she was likely at the centre of a claimed threat of physical violence former ACT opposition leader Leanne Castley cited when she sensationally quit the party.
Ms Castley said opposition members' comments since her resignation demonstrated the poor culture she had walked away from and she had now made a formal complaint under the members' code of conduct.
Ms Barry said she had told Ms Castley "if you come at me the way you did, I would have no choice but to come back at you" at a meeting following a tense interaction in the Legislative Assembly chamber last month.
Ms Barry said she could have handled it differently but had never intended to make a threat of physical violence.
"I was debating a matter in chamber, and Ms Castley had verbally said to me, and I quote, 'F--k, you're debating the wrong bill', and that was incorrect. She slammed her laptop and walked out," Ms Barry said.
Ms Barry joined Opposition Leader Mark Parton at a press conference on Thursday afternoon to provide more details about the incident the Liberals believed was at the centre of Ms Castley's allegation.
"I said, if you come at me the way you did, I would have no choice but to come back at you. So my intention was if she was to keep verbally embarrassing me, I would verbally embarrass her as well," Ms Barry said she had told Ms Castley after their interaction in the chamber.
The alleged incident is not clearly captured in Hansard or the video recording of the Assembly debate.
Ms Barry said she thought the full context of what happened needed to be shared so the public understood what had happened and to prevent aspersions being cast on her colleagues.
"I felt quite embarrassed when Leanne spoke to me in the chamber, the way she spoke to me. She called my competency into question, and the competency of my staff in public, in the presence of the public, my colleagues, and the other side," she said.
"And that was quite humiliating for me."
The first-term Ginninderra MLA said she felt strongly about coming forward and giving her side of the story.
"I've spent my life defending women and children, so it is quite concerning to me that someone would think that I'm capable of doing that," Ms Barry said.
Ms Castley refused to provide any details about the allegation when she announced on Wednesday she would move to the crossbench.
On Thursday, Ms Castley said: "Opposition members' comments in the last 36 hours demonstrate the culture I have walked away from: a party that tolerates poor behaviour and then seeks to minimise it when concerns are raised.
"This is now the subject of a formal complaint and I will not be commenting further."
Mr Parton said Ms Castley had directed a harsh comment to Ms Barry in the chamber that caused Ms Barry offence and distress, prompting him to convene a meeting to resolve the issue.
"During the meeting, Leanne apologised for her behaviour on the previous day but, nevertheless, it was an animated discussion," Mr Parton said.
"During the conversation, Chiaka said to Leanne, and I'll quote directly, If you come for me again, I will come for you. That's what she said. I instantly intervened."
Mr Parton said he had said Ms Barry's statement could be perceived as a threat against Ms Castley and that Ms Barry immediately clarified that she did not mean it that way.
"She meant that if this happens again, that she would respond accordingly. And so, from my view, the matter was dealt with instantly at the time. And there was no need whatsoever for it to be re-prosecuted in any way," he said.
"It was a misunderstanding that was instantly cleared up."
"There is no one issue or reason for why I am going. I have simply had enough of being part of an organisation with such a toxic culture. There has been a long-running campaign against me of bullying, intimidation, lies and even the threat of physical violence," Ms Castley said on Wednesday.
Ms Barry said there was not a culture of bad behaviour in the Canberra Liberals and she thought the incident with Ms Castley had been resolved.
"It is a political party. We don't come here to sing Kumbaya. There are times when we have conversations, and that is the beauty of the political party and the Liberal Party, that you have exchange of views, and that conversation is robust, but ultimately you go out with a position," Ms Barry said.
Asked on Thursday whether there was anything toxic about his party's culture, the Liberals' top ACT Senate candidate and former branch president, Nick Tyrrell, said: "There's nothing toxic about my campaign to win a seat for the Liberal Party in the Senate representing the ACT."
Mr Parton said he spoke with Mr Tyrrell shortly after that press conference. "We catch up probably every 48 hours, and, no, Mr Tyrrell and I are not of the view that there's a toxic culture in the party," Mr Parton said.
