(AFP) – Nov 23, 2007

SYDNEY (AFP) — A respected journalist Saturday denied reports that she had slapped a candidate in Australia's election in the face, saying she had pushed him away when he approached her.

Opposition Labor Party candidate George Newhouse was at a polling station in Sydney's affluent eastern suburbs when award-winning journalist Caroline Overington arrived, witnesses told Australian Associated Press (AAP).

Overington allegedly shocked voters and booth attendants by walking up and slapping Newhouse across the face before striding off, AAP reported.

"At first we thought, 'Who was this woman yelling at Newhouse', then she slapped him and we realised it was Caroline Overington," one witness said.

But Chris Mitchell, Overington's editor at the national broadsheet The Australian, said the journalist denied slapping Newhouse.

Overington "admitted pushing him away with an open hand when he approached her, later apologised for that and said she regretted there had been any further contact with the candidate," Mitchell said.

A spokeswoman for Newhouse confirmed that an incident with Overington had taken place and said his team were "considering our options".

Newhouse is a candidate in the rich seat of Wentworth, currently held by government minister and self-made millionaire Malcolm Turnbull but considered winnable by the centre-left Labor Party.

But the seat has provided even more drama than simply politics, with Newhouse's ex-girlfriend Dani Ecuyer running against him as an independent.

Last week flirtatious emails sent by Overington to Newhouse were published in rival papers. Overington dismissed the emails as a joke.

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