Glenn Druery boasts of selling shares after getting inside word on royal commission

Australia’s corporate watchdog has been called in after Glenn Druery was caught on tape boasting about selling bank shares using insider knowledge.

Former Senator Derryn Hinch has responded to the latest leaked recordings of his former chief of staff Glenn Druery, describing him as a “delusional bulls--- artist”.

Election fixer Druery was caught on tape bragging that he sold his bank shares after learning in a meeting with federal crossbenchers that a banking royal commission was set to be called.

In leaked recordings obtained by the Herald Sun, Mr Druery can be heard crowing about his rush to protect his ­investments as a result of the strategy meeting at Parliament House in Canberra in 2017, while he was serving as former federal senator Derryn Hinch’s chief of staff.

Mr Druery on Monday ­insisted he was just joking, saying it was “a story, a yarn”.

On Tuesday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission confirmed it had received a “report of possible misconduct” on the weekend and would consider the matter.

“As with all reports received by ASIC, that information is now being assessed,” a spokeswoman said.

“Consistent with ASIC’s policy of handling such reports in confidence, we are unable to comment further on the matter at this time.”

On the tape, recorded earlier this month, Mr Druery explains to his would-be client that he ­has only ever made “one serious f--k up” in his time in politics.

Derryn Hinch’s former chief of staff Glenn Druery. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

“I was at the meeting with the Greens and Derryn and a couple of other crossbenchers where it was proposed that through this tricky, strategic mechanism that we were going to do, we were going to force the government into a royal commission into the banks, which happened,” Mr Druery says.

“So, I’m sitting in the meeting, thinking – my little bum muscle is going krrrch – and I’m thinking, f--k me, I’ve got to get out of here and sell my bank shares, they’re going to go public this afternoon.

“So I’m nodding and ‘Yep, yep’ and contributing and ‘I think we should go this way and that, and let’s go out and announce it’ and I thought, ‘wait, hang on, let’s do it after Question Time, that’ll give me f--ken time to sell my bank shares’ ...

“It’s not insider trading ... but I was too smart for my own good. I sold my bank shares, I didn’t have many, but I didn’t sell AMP and I’ve still got those dogs.

“I bought them for five bucks and they’re now at a buck ... anyway, yeah, I was a smart guy, right? F--ken get out of the bank shares, yes, yes ... bank royal commission, bank, bank, bank, bank. I wasn’t focused, mate (on not also selling his AMP stocks).”

Former politician Derryn Hinch. Picture: David Caird

Mr Druery worked for Mr Hinch when he was part of a Senate crossbench in 2017 that effectively forced former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to call a banking royal commission. Asked to comment on the recording, Mr Druery said: “It was a joke, a story, a yarn that was illegally recorded by a colourful ex-commando with a dubious past. Heston Russell seems to have no problem with operating well outside appropriate terms of engaging”.

Mr Russell, founder of the Australian Values Party, the umbrella group for the Angry Victorians Party, told the Herald Sun: “Druery openly brags about what is insider trading while he was the chief of staff to Derryn Hinch”.

Mr Druery was last week exposed in another damning recording boasting about how he rorted Victoria’s voting system through sham political parties and the sale of seats for $55,000 each and would “control” who wins multiple upper house seats in Saturday’s state election.

He says Victoria has not changed the law to stop the manipulation of votes because Labor benefits from the scam as he delivers “a crossbench they can work with”.

Mr Russell, who has provided his recordings to the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission, said: “Dan Andrews came out (last week) and stated that he didn’t know Druery ... During multiple conversations, Druery openly bragged to me about how he could get us Labor preferences and had ‘open access’ to the Premier and his people to do so.

“We are calling for a complete investigation into all meetings and conversations conducted by the Premier’s ­office with Druery.”

Glenn Druery during a video meeting with Chris Burson and Heston Russell

In the latest leaked tape, Mr Druery also reminisces about his days working for Hinch.

“It was really good fun ... I mean, to have your hands on those f--ken levers ... I was the senator by default, Hinch just didn’t know what he was doing, he didn’t have a clue,” Mr Druery says.

“He was a journalist ... and so I knew what Derryn wanted and as long as I got him a few trinkets here and there ... So that was great ... to be a part of the news, hours or days before it’s happened, is wonderful.”

But the former senator hit back at his ex-employee on Tuesday.

Mr Hinch, who went by the moniker the Human Headline when he was a broadcaster, said he was “shocked by some of Druery’s boastful self-aggrandising in recorded conversations with other minor party people”.

“Modesty has never been one of Druery’s strong suits. His demeaning of me as ‘just a journalist’ is hurtful and simply wrong,” he said.

Mr Hinch also revealed Mr Druery was blocked from agenda meetings with former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison.

“He was the office chief of staff. He had nothing at all to do with legislation. I had a lawyer on staff to analyse my proposed notices of motion and bill amendments,” he said.

“In fact, both PMs Turnbull and Morrison did not let Druery attend our agenda discussions.

“I spent three years attending every Senate session, chaired several Senate public inquiries around the country on vital issues – like ICAC and trans-vaginal mesh. And personally got a ban on convicted paedophiles travelling overseas on child rape holidays.

“I will not have all that demeaned by some delusional bullshit artist full of his own importance.”