Chided over assault claim

FormerLambiestaffertoldnottouse‘loaded’words

THE former manager of Senator Jacqui Lambie’s Burnie office has been chided by a Federal Court judge for using “loaded language” and referring to an argument with her boss as “an assault”.

Fern Messenger used the word assault after talking about a heated discussion she had with Senator Lambie in the office in February ,2017.

“She got in my face. She was screaming at me and I became very afraid ,” Mrs Messenger said through sobs.

“I thought she was going to hit me, I was then fearful of being in her company .”

Fern Messenger and her husband Rob – who was the Senator’s chief of staff – are giving evidence during the first week of an unfair dismissal hearing in the Federal Court in Melbourne .“Nothing you have described was an assault,” Justice John Snaden told Mrs Messenger.

“You need to stop using loaded terms. You are not doing yourself any favours .”

Under cross examination, Senator L am bie’ s lawyer Nick Harrington asked Mrs Messenger if she was so “fearful” after her alleged altercation with Senator Lambie why she did not report it.

“You were not scared because you did nothing about it. You have come to court and completely overstated and distorted what happened that day in the office ,” he said.

Mrs Messenger said her evidence was fact. The couple were sacked in 2017 and claim they were terminated in reprisal for lodging workplace complaints with then prime minister Malcolm Turn bull.

Mrs Messenger reiterated her husband’s claims that she had complained to the Senator about her bad language, her alcohol “abuse” and the embarrassment she felt when the Senator talked about her sex life on commercial radio.

Mrs Messenger told the court she had, on occasion, consumed a glass of wine with the Senator. “I didn’t realise she was alcoholic at the time,” Mrs Messenger said.

Mr Harrington accused Mrs Messenger of again overinflating the issue.