Minder was watching who was “in his bosses’ ear”

A former colleague of Fern and Rob Messenger tells a court hearing the couple would try to get her “on their side” in Senator Jacqui Lambie’s ‘toxic’ Burnie office. LATEST >>

• ‘Monkey card’ used in Lambie unfair dismissal case
• Young staffer regrets making ‘evil’ Lambie allegation
• Ex-staffer’s attempt to ‘embarrass’ Lambie
• Senator’s staffers may have shredded documents, court hears

SENATOR Jacqui Lambie’s former minder had the politician’s mobile phone linked into his iCloud so he could see where she was and who was calling her, a court has heard.

Former office worker Aryelle Sargent told a Federal Court unfair dismissal hearing she had raised the issue with the Senator after former chief-of-staff Rob Messenger talked openly about how he liked to keep track of his boss.

While the idea of linking phones was to manage the Senator’s diary, Ms Sargent told the court Mr Messenger was also seeing who was calling.

“Rob was telling me how he likes to keep track of Jacqui, who gets in her ear and who is influencing her,’ Ms Sargent said.

“He was worried about other people calling her and swaying her policy.

“When people called he could see it on his phone. I approached Jacqui with that knowledge.”

Tammy Tyrell, who is still working for Senator Lambie, also told the hearing she knew about phones being linked.

“Senator Lambie’s phone was linked to the Messengers. It would mirror calls and messages and allow personal location tracking,” Ms Tyrell told Justice John Snaden while giving evidence.

Another employee, Gemma Lynd told the court she always felt there was a hidden agenda while working with the Messengers.

“I believe a husband and wife working together was unprofessional and caused a conflict of interest,” Ms Lynd told the Federal Court in Melbourne on Friday.

“I felt they had a hidden agenda and that certain interactions in the office were to prep me and have me on their side.”

Jacqui Lambie. Picture: Chris Kidd

The couple, the former chief of staff and office manager, were sacked in May, 2017.

In a Public Interest Disclosure to then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the Messengers complained of Senator Lambie’s “bullying” behaviour, swearing, excessive drinking and inappropriate comments in the office.

The couple told the PM Senator Lambie’s office was a dangerous place to work because the Senator was “unstable” and staff were “scared” of her.

Both Ms Lynd and another worker, Karen Philpott, told the hearing, before Justice John Snaden, it was not the Senator which made the workplace toxic but the Messengers “micromanaging” and attitude towards the Senator which made it an unpleasant place to work.

Ms Lynd formally complained about their office behaviour in a statutory declaration in April, 2017.

Another office worker Aryelle Sargent gave evidence that she remembered Mr Messenger’s concern about Senator Lambie’s alcohol consumption but no directive from him that staff discourage the Senator from drinking during Parliamentary sitting weeks.