The ex-wife of former WA treasurer Troy Buswell has tearfully told the Perth Magistrates Court she did not want to tell anyone he physically abused her because she "hated herself" and felt like a "hypocrite."
Police officer Melissa Hankinson was in her third day of testimony during Mr Buswell's trial on six charges of physically assaulting her during their five-year relationship.
He is alleged to have repeatedly abused her, including pushing her down some stairs, prodding her with a broom, punching her to the jaw and kicking her to the body.
It is alleged the abuse happened in the context of a relationship in which he was controlling of her, both financially and emotionally.
Today Ms Hankinson testified about her concerns about reporting the abuse, saying she feared that her personal life would be played out in the media and "I would be looked at and judged and pitied."
Giving evidence via video link from another room in the building, she said as a police officer, she thought she was not meant "to put up" with any abuse.
"I'm meant to bring people before the courts for doing this, and I speak to people about domestic violence, and I'm a hypocrite and I hate myself for that," she told the court.
Fear she would not be believed
Ms Hankinson said she was worried she would be sued for defamation of character and she was scared people would not believe her.
Earlier, she testified about the night her relationship with Mr Buswell ended, telling the court it happened after she became angry when she saw something that upset her on his mobile phone.
She said she asked to speak to him in their bedroom, and as she was walking down the hallway she felt pain in her bottom and then saw a boot in the middle of the floor.
"He said 'relax, I was just joking', [but] I was angry.
"I didn't know if I was kicked or if it was the boot that was thrown at me."
'This is what a broken woman looks like'
Ms Hankinson said they then talked in the bedroom and she was "probably the angriest" she had ever been in the relationship.
"He said to me he was recording me and he looked up at the air conditioning vent … I said 'record away, this is what a broken woman looks like'," she testified.
Ms Hankinson said she asked her daughter to call the police, and when they attended, Mr Buswell was given a 72-hour notice to stay away from the house.
She said that night was the end of their relationship and they later divorced.
Mr Buswell denies the allegations against him, and in an opening address to the court, his lawyer Tom Percy QC claimed the case was a vindictive act of revenge by Ms Hankinson.
Further violence alleged
It is part of the prosecution's case that Mr Buswell was violent on other occasions, which were not the subject of charges.
They include an instance in December 2025 where Ms Hankinson alleged he used a shovel to smash his way into the master bedroom.
She testified he came home after a long Christmas lunch and was angry because a taxi had refused his fare.
She told the court she had work the next day and did not "want to have to deal with him", so she went to bed and locked the door.
"He banged on the door to come into the bedroom and I told him to go to sleep elsewhere in the house," she said.
"He got the shovel from the garage and I could hear there was banging on the door, and he got it open.
"He came in and there was a shovel in his hand."
Ms Hankinson said the lock and the wood on the door were damaged.
Ms Hankinson lied to police, friend
Later, under cross-examination by Mr Percy, Ms Hankinson told the court what she saw on Mr Buswell's telephone that upset her on the final night of their relationship was pornography.
She denied it was a lie and that what she was really upset about was Mr Buswell's refusal to accept an ultimatum from her about their financial affairs, telling the court that was not discussed at all that night.
Ms Hankinson admitted she lied to police who attended her house, and later a friend, by telling them there had been only a verbal argument, but she insisted she had been assaulted.
Mr Percy also accused her of trying to "trap" his client into breaching his bail conditions, by calling him on her daughter's phone in March 2020 after he had been charged.
Details of the call were read to the court, with Ms Hankinson twice telling Mr Buswell that while he was not allowed to see her, he could talk to her, asking him to "please talk to me Troy?".
She denied Mr Percy's claim it was "a clever and cunning" ploy to try to get Mr Buswell locked up testifying she made the call because she was "missing him very much".
"There were a number of reasons. I was worried about coronavirus, it was in our first lockdown," she said.
She also denied she was drunk, saying instead she was "hysterical".
Heavy drinking denied
Mr Percy also raised Mr Buswell's 2010 relationship with the former Greens MP, Adele Carles, which ended with him suing her for defamation.
Ms Hankinson agreed she did not want to end up like Ms Carles, but denied compiling a "dossier of injuries" she had suffered "from any source" to use against Mr Buswell as "an exit strategy" if the relationship soured.
"You compiled a list of incidents so you could put a sinister spin on them … and ultimately turn against him if you required … it was your insurance policy?" Mr Percy asked.
"No," Ms Hankinson replied.
Mr Percy claimed the secret recordings Ms Hankinson made of arguments she had with Mr Buswell were done because she wanted to ensure she was not the one to blame for any separation.
"If you had to accuse him of domestic violence that was just collateral damage along the way?" Mr Percy said.
"No," Ms Hankinson testified.
Ms Hankinson also denied claims she would regularly drink to excess and sometimes fall over because she had difficulty controlling her actions.
"I've never had a problem with alcohol," she said.
"I've always been able to control my actions.
"I would not drink to excess, I would drink to have a good time, not to excess."
