Access to Lambie bio notes denied

A REQUEST to access court documents, including an alleged biography of Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, has been knocked back.

Senator Lambie’s former chief of staff, Rob Messenger, is suing the maverick MP for alleged non-payment relating to the political tome.

Mr Messenger claimed he entered into an agreement with Senator Lambie to ghostwrite her autobiography after she struck a deal with publisher Allen & Unwin.

In documents lodged with the court, Mr Messenger said he agreed to pen the book for $12,000 paid in instalments.

However, his authorship was terminated after he left her office earlier in the year.

Mr Messenger is claiming he is owed $4000 for his work that includes 17 chapters.

Whether they will ever see the light of day is not clear, however, Mr Messenger claimed his chapters were well received by the publisher.

“[They said] I think you’ve absolutely nailed the voice. I could hear Jacqui in every word I read,” Mr Messenger said in court documents.

Senator Lambie has said she is aware of the case and her lawyer was “onto this”.

The Mercury requested access to the chapters Mr Messenger had filed but was knocked back by the court.

“The documents currently filed do not fall within the allowable categories,” Burnie Magistrates Court manager Natalie Luttrell said.

In a separate case, Mr Messenger is suing Senator Lambie and the Commonwealth for alleged unlawful dismissal.

His statement of claim has been suppressed by Federal Court Judge Duncan Kerr.