Police admit caution issued to MP may have been case of mistaken identity

Northern Territory Police have admitted a formal caution issued to federal MP Luke Gosling for allegedly breaching his bail in September may have been a case of mistaken identity, which his lawyers say could "materially assist the defence".

The member for the Darwin-based seat of Solomon is facing two charges of assaulting NT Administrator David Connolly at a Thai festival in the city in July.

Mr Gosling has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, but is subject to strict bail conditions preventing him from coming within 15 metres of Mr Connolly while the case makes its way through court.

Court documents seen by the ABC today show that in September, Mr Connolly's wife Sue Brosnan emailed photos purportedly showing Mr Gosling in breach of that condition to Major Crime Squad Detective Sergeant Sarah Hutchinson.

In a subsequent email to Mr Gosling's lawyers, Sergeant Hutchinson wrote that Mr Connolly and Ms Brosnan reported seeing the Labor MP at the Boatshed cafe in Cullen Bay on the morning of September 1.

In the email, Sergeant Hutchinson reveals the couple claimed to have first seen Mr Gosling while the administrator and others were seated on the venue's outdoor deck area at about 8:20am.

"Mr Gosling initially sat at a nearby table with a female acquaintance," it reads.

"Mr Gosling then moved to a table located more than 15 metres from the administrator."

The email states the information provided to police alleged that a short time later, Mr Gosling "entered and exited the cafe building, passing within 15 metres of the administrator on both occasions".

"On one occasion, Mr Gosling appeared to use his hand to shield his face when a member of the administrator's party took a photograph of him," it reads.

Photos of the alleged breach seen by the ABC appear to show a man in a white T-shirt who bears a resemblance to Mr Gosling walking some distance away from Mr Connolly's table.

However, the man's face is only visible in side profile in one of the images, which depicts him in a space of no more than 3 centimetres from head to toe when printed on an A4-sized page.

Potential 'doppelganger'

As a result of the "potential breach", Sergeant Hutchinson wrote that NT Police were issuing Mr Gosling with a formal caution and asked that he be reminded of his obligations.

In response, defence barrister Marty Aust SC emailed Sergeant Hutchinson later the same morning saying his client was "acutely aware" of his bail conditions and could not be the man depicted in the photographs.

"He was not present at the Boatshed at any time on [September 1], at 8:20am that morning he was engaged in school drop-off," he wrote.

"We do not accept any conduct that could give rise to a caution has occurred."

Sergeant Hutchinson then emailed Mr Aust copies of the photos, telling him the time stamps indicated they were taken between 8:19am and 8:28am.

"Both the administrator and Ms Brosnan were quite adamant that the person at the Boatshed that morning was Mr Gosling — the photographs taken certainly look like him," she wrote.

"I should also say that, from the outset, this is not something we wanted to have put before the court, hence our decision to caution.

"Obviously, if there is information that establishes Mr Gosling was not at the Boatshed that morning, I am more than happy to have the caution withdrawn."

Defence solicitor Megan Donahoe later sought summonses for CCTV footage from Mr Gosling's children's school and a Darwin hotel she said could prove he was not at the Boatshed that morning.

Ms Donahoe wrote that if that was the case, it would "demonstrate that the complainant and his wife mistakenly identified another person as Mr Gosling".

"That evidence would materially assist the defence in testing the reliability of the same witnesses' identification evidence in the substantive proceeding," she wrote.

Mr Aust has previously told the Darwin Local Court Ms Brosnan would be a key witness in the case against his client and that her evidence had "all the hallmarks of confusion or collusion".

Mr Gosling had previously been accused of breaching his bail conditions over a separate incident in August before prosecutors withdrew the charge last week.

Prosecutors raise 'prejudice' concern

The photographs' existence was first made public after News24 was granted access by the court to view them and the other documents on Monday.

A subsequent application by the ABC was delayed after prosecutors objected to the release of material in the case without their knowledge, with the issue then brought back before the court this afternoon.

During the brief hearing, prosecutor Joanne Poole told the court she would have opposed News24's initial application had she been notified in advance.

"The concern of the prosecution is to ensure a fair trial in this matter," she said.

But Ms Poole said as the information had already been made public, it would be "futile" to object to other media organisations viewing the same documents.

Mr Gosling's case is scheduled to return to court this month for a hearing relating to the assault charges.