Former federal Labor leader turned firebrand independent MP Mark Latham has been accused of denigrating his ex-partner online after she accused him of abuse.
Nathalie May Matthews has outlined allegations of a "sustained pattern" of abuse and manipulation in an application for a restraining order against him.
Latham, 64, has denied the claims, describing them as "comically false and ridiculous" and maintaining he has not broken any laws.
Police have not laid any charges against the one-time prime-ministerial candidate and the local court has refused to release the documents as they contain untested allegations.
Matthews' lawyer urged Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday to expedite an application for a non-publication order over the "extremely sensitive" contents of the apprehended violence order (AVO) application.
He noted Latham had addressed the accusations contained in the application on X (formerly Twitter) and said there was a "risk of harm to my client".
"My client's safety is paramount," Daniel Wakin said.
"Mr Latham has substantial followers and what he is posting is denigrating my client."
But Latham's lawyer suggested he was only making the argument to pander to the media present in court at the time.
"I take umbrage at any accusations of threats to her safety," Zali Burrows said.
Magistrate Susan Horan directed the lawyers to put additional commentary to one side as she scheduled a hearing for the non-publication order application in October.
A three-day contested hearing over Ms Matthews' AVO application will begin on May 20.
Matthews will call one witness during the hearing while the former One Nation leader will call two witnesses and video evidence, the court was told.
As part of his defence, Latham had previously sought to subpoena the billionaire founder of WiseTech Global, Richard White, who opposed the move.
But Burrows revealed on Wednesday she would no longer press that subpoena.
A second subpoena directed to Matthews will be narrowed in an attempt to avoid objections.
Latham did not appear in court as he was in parliament for upper house question time.
He publicly criticised the court for allowing the clash, posting to X "is this how the NSW justice system works?"
Latham has served as a right-wing independent MP since 2023 after a falling out with Senator Pauline Hanson and his departure as One Nation NSW leader.
He helped the right-wing populist party's return to state politics in 2019, 15 years after his failed attempt to lead Labor to federal election victory.
After losing to incumbent prime minister John Howard in 2004, Latham resigned from federal parliament and was later ejected from the Labor party.
He has been embroiled in several recent scandals, including taking photos of female MPs without their knowledge, for which he has already apologised.
Calls to remove his official portrait from Labor's federal party room resulted in the addition of a sign which explains he has been barred from the party for life.