An emotional but defiant Nova Peris says a series of explicit emails she is purported to have written were leaked to the media after several attempts to blackmail her as part of a bitter custody battle for her children.

Senator Peris categorically denied any wrongdoing on Thursday but did not deny writing the racy emails which were first published by News Corp on Tuesday.

And in an emphatic address to the Senate, Senator Peris said the NT News' allegation that she misused taxpayer funds to bring Trinidadian athlete Ato Boldon to Australia because they were romantically involved was "baseless" because she only made contact with her former training partner and had no power to administer the funding.

"I categorically reject any wrongdoing. I have done nothing wrong. It pains me to have to talk about my private life but the publications of these emails is part of a long-running and very difficult, long-running child access and financial estate dispute," she revealed.

"During this process I have been subjected to many threats. In dealing with these threats I face a dilemma of responding to defend my political career or responding to defend my children," she told the Senate.

Senator Peris said the aggrieved party in the legal battle emailed her in 2012, before her entry to Parliament, to say they were in possession of a "folder of emails" relating to Mr Bolden.

She said in March 2014, several months after becoming a Senator, a representative for the "aggrieved party" threatened to inflict "trauma" on everyone "especially the children".

"A representative of that aggrieved party emailed me and said that unless his wishes were granted she would take such action and I quote, "will only result in causing major trauma for everyone, especially the children and damage the reputation of some stakeholders.'

"The release and publication of these emails is an attempt to extract money, and embarrass me and my family," Senator Peris told the Senate.

She told Senators the NT News was aware of the custody battle before it published the emails.

Senator Peris said there were "serious questions" as to how the emails were obtained by News Corp. The Australian Federal Police confirmed it is evaluating a "referral" it received from Senator Peris, relating to a "number of matters," on October 2.

She also addressed reports of her private emails criticising her former Australian athletics teammate Cathy Freeman.

"I have spoken in person to Cathy Freeman. Our friendship remains strong and we will continue to support each other," she said.

She said despite the "hopes of some", the news reports would not stop her representing the people of the Northern Territory and urged the media to focus on the 26 per cent increase in the number of indigenous children removed from their families to be placed in care.

"I stand here proud of who I am," she declared. "My children are my universe and I will protect and nurture them no matter what people say about me, now or in the future," she said.

"There are three things guaranteed in life: we will all die at some stage, each day the sun will set and it will rise again tomorrow. Today is just one of those days," she concluded.

Labor MPs rallied around the former Olympian and many watched her speech from the public galleries in a show of support.

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