Union boss Brian Parker has faced aggressive questioning about the state of his memory after a day of evidence to unions royal commission in which he repeatedly said he could not recall events.
Mr Parker, who has stood aside as NSW secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), was asked about an alleged leak of personal contact details of Cbus superannuation fund members to the union in 2013.
He said he could not recall his reason for phoning Cbus chief executive David Atkin on the morning of June 18, 2013, two weeks before a Cbus officer, Lisa Zanatta, hand-delivered documents to the CFMEU head office in western Sydney.
Nor could Mr Parker recall the topics that were discussed in a 22-minute phone call with another Cbus officer, Bob McWhinney, two days earlier.
Adam Morison, the barrister for CFMEU whistleblower Brian Fitzpatrick, challenged Mr Parker's responses.
"When did you discover your memory was fading?" Mr Morison asked.
"Is the reason you've stepped aside because you've discovered you had such a shockingly poor memory and you realised you weren't fit to hold the office of the state secretary of the CFMEU?"
Mr Parker replied: "Clearly, no."
Mr Parker's barrister, Tim Game, sought to stop the line of questioning, describing it as "a string of insults" but Commissioner Dyson Heydon dismissed the objection, saying the cross-examination was "effective and legitimate".
The hearing has finished for the day.
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