Source : the age
Warning: Graphic content
It was an action-packed morning at Alan Jones’ criminal trial in the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney.
If you’re just joining us now, Jones’ long-time talkback colleague at 2GB, Ray Hadley, returned to the witness box today after a brief stint on Tuesday.
Hadley has given evidence that complainant “C”, one of six men who has accused Jones of unwanted touching and kissing, confided in him in late 2019 about the alleged indecent assaults. Jones denies the allegations.
Hadley is now being cross-examined by Jones’ barrister Gabrielle Bashir, SC. She is expected to put to him that he encouraged “C” to make the allegations about Jones because the two broadcasters were professional rivals, but she has yet to launch this line of questioning.
- Hadley revealed during his cross-examination that he signed a “secret contract” in late 2018 to take over Jones’ breakfast radio slot at 2GB from July 2019, after he was approached by John Singleton.
- Singleton was then a major shareholder in Macquarie Media, the company that owned 2GB.
- He said the deal fell over when Singleton sold down his stake in Macquarie Media to Nine Entertainment, the owner of this masthead, but that he insisted 2GB honour the agreement to double his salary from $2 million to $4 million.
- Nine has since sold its radio division, and Hadley retired from the airwaves in 2024.
- Hadley denied that he regarded the breakfast slot as the pinnacle of professional achievement and said he was motivated by money when he signed the deal.
- He denied that it was a difficult time for him when Jones re-signed his contract for two years in May 2019, saying: “Inadvertently Mr Jones had doubled my salary for doing the same job.”
- Hadley told the court that a 2GB employee told him in about 2019 that Alan Jones had “marshalled the troops and said, ‘dig up some dirt on Hadley’.” Bashir asked if he had come to court to discredit that 2GB employee. “Not at all, I’ve come here to tell the truth, I’m under oath,” Hadley responded.
- Hadley has agreed that he called Jones many derogatory names over the years, and said they had a “tumultuous relationship”. He was taken to a text exchange he had with Jones in 2019 when Jones was sick. Jones had said he had been “crook as Rookwood”, in a reference to the Sydney cemetery. Hadley had joked in response that he loved Jones “above ground”.
The hearing will resume after the lunch break, at 2pm.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.
Hadley tells the court that Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC, was wrong when she alleged in court that he coveted Jones’ breakfast slot in 2019.
“I wasn’t coveting anything,” he said. He had already signed a contract in December 2018 to take over the breakfast slot, he said.
As the court has heard, that deal ultimately did not proceed, but Hadley said his salary was still increased from $2 million to $4 million.
Hadley said Bashir was completely misinformed and wrong about his motives.
“I was getting paid double the money to stay in bed until 3.30 [am],” he said, adding he didn’t have to get up at 1.30am.
The court hears Hadley texted “C” in late 2023, before the Herald published an article about the allegations against Jones: “That c— will be in the foetal position when he reads the story in the morning. It’s been 50 years in the making.”
The court heard Hadley also wrote that “one by one I’ll tear his supporters apart”, with a “special mention for one bloke who never saw any evidence of the behaviour”.
This was an apparent reference to the former 2GB host Jason Morrison, the court heard.
Morrison has already given evidence and has vehemently denied witnessing an alleged incident involving Jones touching “C” on the penis over his clothing at a lunch in Sydney almost 20 years ago.
Hadley has agreed that he helped “C” contact police in 2023.
He said he was not involved in “C” speaking to the Herald’s chief investigative reporter, Kate McClymont.
Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC, puts to Hadley that he “said other words [in the text to ‘C’], including ‘this bloke needs to be destroyed’.”
“I did,” he said.
“By ‘this bloke’, you meant Mr Jones,” Bashir said.
“Correct,” Hadley replied.
On October 19 that year, “C” sent Hadley a message about a Herald article, the court hears.
In that message “C” said: “Screws tightening”.
Jones’ barrister put to Hadley that he understood the reference to screws tightening was in relation to Jones and his position at 2GB.
Hadley rejected this suggestion and said he believed it was about the allegations that have been raised in court.
Hadley agrees that he called FitzSimons with “C” on October 16, 2019.
“That’s my recollection, I called him,” Hadley said.
He agreed he was present for the entire phone call while “C” spoke to FitzSimons, and the complainant did not reveal his identity.
Testimony has been painfully slow at times due to frequent breaks for objections and legal argument, to the frustration of Judge Glenn Walsh.
When Jones’ barrister Gabrielle Bashir, SC, interrupted proceedings to ask for some phone numbers not to be made public, Walsh vented with some impatience that of course he did not intend to publish them. The exhibits remained with him, he said.
“In due time when I give judgment, probably in six months’ time, by the way we’re going, I’ll have them redacted.”
A short time later Walsh asked Hadley to leave the room again for some legal argument, which he has previously quipped was a chance for the witness to “get some exercise”.
Hadley rose to his feet. “I’ve lost 3kg in two days,” he joked.
Hadley is now being cross-examined about his contact with author and journalist Peter FitzSimons, a columnist at The Sydney Morning Herald.
He has previously told the court that he facilitated a call in late 2019 between complainant “C” and FitzSimons, who was looking into similar allegations against Jones.
But the court heard that the complainant’s identity was not revealed to FitzSimons and his allegations were not reported until some years later, by the Herald’s chief investigative reporter, Kate McClymont, who made contact with “C” separately.
Hadley agreed he had been contacted by FitzSimons and McClymont in 2019 about what he knew about Jones.
“Peter FitzSimons was, to your knowledge, notoriously anti-Mr Jones?” Bashir asked.
Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC, is taking Hadley back to his police statement in June 2024. At that time, he was still working at 2GB but retired later that year.
In that statement, he said he had a conversation with “C” on October 19, 2019.
He agrees with Bashir that there was no meeting with “C” on that date, and agrees there was no mention in a second police statement in September 2024 about this being the wrong date.
Hadley also agrees that it was not until June 16 this year he made a third statement changing the date.
Warning: Graphic content
It was an action-packed morning at Alan Jones’ criminal trial in the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney.
If you’re just joining us now, Jones’ long-time talkback colleague at 2GB, Ray Hadley, returned to the witness box today after a brief stint on Tuesday.
