Taylor Martin has been expelled from the Liberal Party following an eight-month investigation into expletive-laden, abusive text messages he sent former lover Lucy Wicks.
The NSW Upper House member has been sitting as an independent for the duration of the investigation, after Ms Wicks, the former federal member for Robertson, lodged a complaint accusing him of vile conduct.
Mr Martin publicly apologised for a series of text messages in which he described her as ‘f**t’.
In the messages, which he admitted were 'ugly', Mr Martin called Ms Wicks a 'f***ing idiot', a 'dumb s***', a 'sicko', an 'absolute c*** of a person' and a 'f***ing pig ignorant b***h'.
Daily Mail Australia revealed in March that Mr Martin was still being welcomed at crucial Liberal state council meetings, where his vote was still counted in the factional in-fighting over whether to expel his ally, Alex Hawke.
On Friday night, the NSW state director of the Liberal Party revealed Mr Martin had been expelled.
The fresh blow comes months after Mr Martin's new wife Brittany walked out on their marriage.
Taylor Martin (left) has been expelled over vile messages sent to his former lover Lucy Wicks (right)
‘The NSW Liberal Party has received the independent investigation report concerning a confidential complaint against the Hon Taylor Martin MLC,' the statement read.
‘On the basis of the report’s findings, the NSW Liberal Party State Director acted quickly and decisively… to expel Mr Martin as a member.
‘The NSW Liberal Party expects the highest standards of behaviour of its members and elected representatives and will continue to strive to ensure those standards are consistently upheld.’
A friend of Ms Wicks told Daily Mail Australia on Friday night that she was still coming to terms with the shock announcement.
‘There was some initial shock, and anger that it took almost 10 months just to find that she’d told the truth,’ the woman said.
‘Lucy’s taking some time, but she’s glad the investigation is over.’
NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman said that he supported the state director’s decision made after a lengthy, independent investigation.
'Mr Martin is therefore no longer a member of the Parliamentary Liberal Party,' he said.
'I expect, and the public are entitled to expect, the highest standards of behaviour by MPs.’
One Liberal branch member, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said it was ‘about time there was an outcome’, and indicated there had been murmurs in the party that officials were ‘dragging their feet’.
‘I’m not sure they wanted the investigation to finish at all.’
It is understood the complaint extended well beyond the information made publicly available at the time, including pages upon pages of further text messages.
The Liberal Party has no intention of releasing the report or findings, citing confidentiality reasons.
Ms Wicks was outed without her consent as the complainant.
Taylor Martin MLC was stood down from the NSW Liberal parliamentary party room back in July amid uproar over text messages he sent to former MP Lucy Wicks
NSW Member of the Legislative Council Taylor Martin married his girlfriend Brittany in a luxurious ceremony at the Grounds of Alexandria in December before she walked out on him weeks later
Mr Martin was spotted among the hundreds of Liberal branch members attending the state council meeting in the Grand Ballroom of Sydney's Fullerton Hotel on February 24
Mr Martin’s marriage recently ended in tense circumstances. Police responded to a disturbance at the house Mr Martin and his wife of just eight weeks Brittany shared on the Central Coast.
Mr Martin recently stood aside from the parliamentary party room when a barrage of 'ugly' text messages he sent his former girlfriend describing her as a 'f***ing idiot' and a 'dumb sl*t' were publicly exposed.
Taylor Martin timeline
November 2021: Lucy Wicks reportedly discusses complaint with colleagues
February 2022: Lucy Wicks reportedly makes verbal complaint to party, sources claim
February 2023: Ms Wicks reportedly takes complaint directly to Opposition Leader Mark Speakman
April 2023: Taylor Martin proposes to girlfriend, Brittany
July 2023: Complaint against Mr Martin is made public
Mr Martin publicly apologises for comments he made in leaked text messages, says there is 'more to the story' and vows to cooperate with investigation
Ms Wicks is publicly named as the MP who made the confidential complaint
Mr Speakman reveals Mr Martin has stood down from the party room pending an external investigation into the complaint
December 2023: Mr Martin marries Brittany in luxury ceremony at Grounds of Alexandria
February 2024: Brittany leaves Mr Martin following an incident at their home in which police were later notified. Police say it was a personal matter and no charges were laid
Mr Martin attends state council to vote on the future of his ally and friend, Alex Hawke, in the state party
But in a move that has sparked anger within the party, Daily Mail Australia revealed last month Mr Martin voted at a key NSW state council meeting in the Grand Ballroom of Sydney's Fullerton Hotel on February 24.
Mr Martin, who earns $172,000 as a member of the NSW Legislative Council, was excused from sitting with his colleagues in Parliament when his abusive texts to then-sitting federal MP Lucy Wicks were published in the press last July.
The messages sparked an external investigation that has dragged on for more than eight months - and Mr Martin has sat on the crossbench at Macquarie Street ever since, distanced from the party.
So his presence at the Liberal state council meeting where he cast a vote supporting his friend Mr Hawke, from being expelled by the party over an intra-party feud over pre-selections - shocked some party members.
One attendee told Daily Mail Australia that Mr Martin's presence at the council meeting was extraordinary, given he no longer sits in the parliamentary party room.
'It doesn't pass the pub test,' the attendee said.
'He has been stood down from the party room, it's just a reality that he should not have been there.'
Other witnesses said Mr Martin was smiling and 'jovial' as he chatted with his colleagues and factional allies.
Membership in the parliamentary party room is separate to being a branch member.
But the Liberal Party never clarified that Mr Martin's votes would still be counted during behind-closed-doors meetings outside of Parliament.
As the investigation into Mr Martin approached its ninth month, Daily Mail Australia recently revealed questions raised about the timeline of the complaints process.
Mr Martin attended a crucial Liberal state council meeting on February 24, where his vote helped to secure his ally Alex Hawke's position within the party (pictured in 2017 next to Mr Hawke, and two seats down from Lucy Wicks)
The wedding came just five months after Mr Martin publicly apologised for past conduct, after his former boss and partner Lucy Wicks lodged a formal complaint accusing him of 'five years of abuse'
A source with knowledge of the investigation said concerns about Mr Martin were first raised back by Ms Wicks to a member of the state executive in November 2021 - much earlier than reported.
It's understood the matter was not followed up for several months before she again returned to the Liberal Party in February 2022, expressing the same concerns to another elected MP.
It is understood that Ms Wicks then took her complaint directly to then-Attorney-General Mark Speakman in February 2023, ahead of the state election, where Premier Dominic Perrottet was defeated.
By the time Ms Wicks' complaint was made public in July 2023 - when she was named in the media without her consent - Mr Martin was in the throes of wedding planning with his new fiancée Brittany.
Within eight weeks of his wedding, his new wife Brittany had left the relationship.
By the time her complaint was made public in July 2023 when she was named in the media without her consent, Mr Martin was in the throes of wedding planning with his new fiance Brittany
In the process of leaving, there was a heated altercation out the front of their Central Coast home in which police were later notified.
'A report was made to police at Wyong Police Station in February; however, it is of a personal nature and as there are no associated charges,' a NSW Police spokesperson said in a statement.
'No further information is available.'
Mr Martin publicly apologised for his texts to Ms Wicks shortly after they were made public and vowed to assist with the investigation.
He said: 'I was young and inexperienced and I found myself involved in a situation that was way beyond me. There were heated words during my attempts to go separate ways that I sincerely regret.
'It was an ugly and undignified parting of ways.'
Mr Martin was elected to the Legislative Council in 2019 and is serving an eight-year term due to expire in 2027.