Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has apologised to a journalist after calling her a mad witch in a text message and accidentally sending it to her.

Samantha Maiden, a political editor for News Corp media, said today that Dutton had “apologised and said that he had sent the text to the wrong person”.

Maiden had written a column critical of Dutton’s colleague Jamie Briggs, an ex-minister who resigned last week over his behaviour with a young diplomat in a Hong Kong bar.

“I was more than happy to accept Peter Dutton’s apology,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation ( ABC ). “As soon as he sent me that text saying ‘Mate, she’s a bit of a mad witch’ I sent him a text saying ‘Mate, you've sent the text to the mad witch’.”

The text message, in which Dutton used an expletive and called Maiden a mad witch, was reportedly intended for Briggs, local media said.

“Sam and I have exchanged some robust language over the years, so we had a laugh after this and I apologised to her straight away which she took in good faith,” Dutton said in a statement today, according to the ABC .

“I’m expecting a tough time in her next column.”

- dpa