IBAC hearings: ‘I really do want to kill him’, says Anthony Byrne text about Steve Michelson

A federal Labor MP said he was going to ‘cut the throat’ of an ­aspiring politician, an IBAC inquiry heard.

Former Bill Shorten Labor staffer Steve Michelson.

A federal Labor MP said he was going to “cut the throat” of an ­aspiring politician and threatened to put the then NSW party secretary on “the next Four Corners hatchet job on China”, an IBAC inquiry heard.

Texts messages from Anthony Byrne to fellow Victorian powerbroker Adem Somyurek in 2019 were read to a hearing for the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission on ­Tuesday. Remy van de Wiel QC told the inquiry Mr Byrne called Kaila Murnain a “ratf..ker” in a December 2018 text message to his client, Mr Somyurek, who was trying to become involved with the national executive.

“Is Kaila for [Stephen] Conroy because if she mucks you up I will make sure she guest stars on the next Four Corners hatchet job on China which I’ll be on,” the inquiry heard Mr Byrne texted Mr Somyurek.

Mr Somyurek responded “She appears to be OK.”

Mr Byrne replied “OK. Watch her. She’s a rat f..er.”

Ms Murnain, who resigned as NSW Labor general secretary in Oct­ober 2019 amid the fallout of a NSW corruption inquiry, declined to comment on Tuesday.

It is understood she does not know Mr Byrne.

On Tuesday, Mr van de Wiel read out a series of text messages sent by Mr Byrne about aspiring politician Steve Michelson amid a fierce preselection battle in 2019.

“I really do want to kill him. This is personal for me now,” said Mr Byrne. In another message, he said: “The second meeting is where we cut Michelson’s throat.”

In yet another message, he said: “‘I also want to humiliate him (Michelson) at the same time as the preselection so he is unemployable … It’s a just punishment for the grief he is causing us.”

Mr Michelson, a former staffer to Bill Shorten who resigned over a black face scandal, is alleged to have donated $5000 to the party after being “led to believe” it would help him gain preselection.

Mr Byrne said the cash from Mr Michelson went to his office and was used to renew memberships. He said he didn’t remember sending the texts but maintained that Mr Somyurek was the factional lord angry at Mr Michelson, not him. He said someone would “have to be on the dark side of the moon” to not know that Mr Somyurek was in charge.

Mr Michelson has denied all wrongdoing.