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Michaelia Cash’s top adviser was source of raid leak, court told

Senator Michaelia Cash’s chief of staff Ben Davies was the source of a controversial leak to media about imminent police raids at Australian Workers’ Union offices.

Feb 12, 2019, updated Feb 12, 2019
Michaelia Cash's former media adviser David de Garis outside the Federal Court in Melbourne. Photo: AAP/Ellen Smith

Michaelia Cash's former media adviser David de Garis outside the Federal Court in Melbourne. Photo: AAP/Ellen Smith

David de Garis, a former media adviser to the Senator who admitted passing on leaked details to journalists, was ordered today to name his source by Federal Court Justice Mordecai Bromberg.

The union is talking legal action against the Registered Organisations Commission, arguing the federal police raids on the union’s Melbourne and Sydney headquarters in October 2017 as part of a commission investigation were politically motivated and therefore unlawful.

The AWU believes it was instigated by Cash in a bid to hurt the union and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

Bromberg said while de Garis had “respectfully declined” to name his source on grounds it could incriminate him, it was in the interest of justice that the identity be revealed.

Provided with a court guarantee that his answer would not incriminate himself, de Garis named Davies under questioning by AWU legal counsel Herman Borenstein QC.

“He said around 4pm there would be the execution of raids,” de Garis said.

The conversation lasted only a few minutes and happened in Davies’ office on the day of the raids, he said.

A short time later he contacted several media outlets with the intention of arranging coverage of the raids.

He admitted he didn’t understand the consequences of his actions at the time, but had wanted to get media coverage of the raids as the investigation was one of the first by the commission.

De Garis earlier said the investigation was significant to Cash for that reason.

Davies is no longer Cash’s chief of staff.

The trial continues.

– AAP

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