Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has been left with a slightly blackened eye after a cream-covered crepe was shoved in her face at a Darwin market.
The territory leader fronted the media on Monday afternoon with a faint mark under her left eye, saying she would not be deterred from doing her job.
"It was a pretty firm whack to the face but I'm OK as you can see," she said.
"I will be getting checked out by a medical team just to make sure. I was in a little bit of discomfort yesterday and this morning.
"I'm back at work and I'll get on with it."
Footage shared by Nine News on social media showed a woman rushing towards Ms Fyles as she left a bank on Sunday and shoving what was described as a whipped cream crepe into her face.
NT police charged a 56-year-old woman with aggravated assault on Monday. She was bailed to appear in court on October 10.
Ms Fyles said she welcomed respectful debate with those who disagreed with her but violence was never acceptable.
The crepe thrower said she was driven to frustration when she tried to raise a health issue with Ms Fyles during her time as health minister.
"I said my husband needs an exemption from his work to get the jabs because he's had a stroke and he's waiting for a heart operation ... and she wrote back 'not worthy of a response'," she told Sky News.
When challenged that her reaction might have been going too far, the woman asserted there was no force behind her throw and drew parallels to former Qantas chief Alan Joyce, who received a pie to the face for his support of the gay marriage plebiscite in 2017.
"Do you think a cream pie is an assault? It's fresh cream pie," she said.
"Everyone's frustrated with these idiots, no one's getting any answers. She's not accountable, she's not transparent; she's completely horrible."
This is the second such incident involving the NT leader this year after she was left distressed when anti-fracking protesters confronted her while she was taking part in a trail running event in May.
NT police said they were working with the government and the minister's team on security measures.
