Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday called a press conference in relation to the AWU fraud scandal. Ms Gillard claimed she had no evidence of any crimes in 1995/1996 and that is why she did not go to the police or AWU. Well that is a lie. But even if true she certainly has evidence now and has had so for numerous years, so why does she not go to the Victorian police and make a statement given they are currently investigating the matter.
The evidence Ms Gillard has of a crime by her own admission.
Ms Gillard has said a number of times and in her interview at Slater and Gordon in 1995 that she believed the AWU Workplace Relations Association she helped set up for her then boyfriend Bruce Wilson was a slush fund. As we all know it was an unauthorised association used to launder fraudulently gained money through for the benefit of Bruce Wilson and maybe Ralph Blewitt.
Ms Gillard says she only gave legal advice to Bruce Wilson and/or Ralph Blewitt in relation to setting up the association. But for her to believe it was a slush fund either Mr Wilson and/or Mr Blewitt had to have lied to Julia Gillard. If that is the case that is evidence that the Victorian and Western Australian police could use in charging Mr Wilson and/or Mr Blewitt.
This is important evidence because what Mr Wilson and Mr Blewitt did was fraud and identity theft. Identity theft does not have to be of a person it can also be of a body corporate such as illegally using the AWU name.
The laws
I previously did a post where I used a NSW law in relation to Julia Gillard concealing a serious indictable offence. (Click here to read the post) Someone pointed out on the comment section that the offences took place in Victoria and Western Australia so I found a Victorian law that I believed covered the crime. But on further reflection I have no doubt that NSW laws were also breached. The AWU head office is in Sydney NSW and they are the only ones who have authority to grant the use of the AWU name. And given the AWU name was used to facilitate the crime it was a crime against the AWU head office.
Section 10c part 2 of the NSW Crimes Act says: (2) A geographical nexus exists between the State and an offence if: (b) the offence is committed wholly outside the State, but the offence has an effect in the State.
The fraud and theft had a financial impact on the AWU and the identity theft had an impact on the AWU reputation.
Then we look at the very NSW laws such as:
Section 192J – Dealing with identification information
Section – 192G Intention to defraud by false or misleading statement
Section 193b – Money Laundering
There is no point arguing too much about whether NSW laws were broken as other states have similar laws. But the key point is that the above crimes or similar are what Julia Gillard is currently concealing based on her own evidence that she was lied to by Wilson and Blewitt into believing that the AWU Workplace Relations Association was a slush fund, when in fact it was a breach of the above crimes.
Julia Gillard should go to the police now and make a statement in relation to the lies she was told by Wilson and/or Blewitt when giving advice in setting up the association.
Backing away from the reasons she split up with Bruce Wilson
In yesterday’s press conference Julia Gillard said this:
“As for me, obviously at the time these matters came to the attention of the partnership they came to my attention too. I did not have in front of me any evidence of criminality or wrong doing but there was a lot of rumour about what was happening in the Victorian branch of the AWU at that time.”
“In those circumstances I came to a personal decision about ending my relationship with Mr Wilson and I did so. Then of course the Slater & Gordon internal review went through and you see the outcome of that review.”
But in the August press conference she said this:
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, as I understand it, when these issues were first questioned within the AWU, the matter was looked at, at Slater & Gordon by Bernard Murphy. Now, I presume he then informed you of these issues. What was your reaction at that time? This is specifically the activities of Mr Blewitt and Mr Wilson?
PM: Well, I’m not in a position, for all the obvious reasons about legal professional privilege, to canvas the contents of files operated by solicitors at Slater & Gordon.
What I can say to you, Dennis, and what I think your question is trying to drive at is once I became aware that I had been deceived about a series of matters, I ended my relationship with Mr Wilson.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, at any point were you aware that this workplace reform association was to receive lumps of money from companies like THEISS and John Holland?
PM: I was not aware of the receipt of these funds. I had no knowledge about the operation of the association. I provided advice, as the association was established, I then knew absolutely nothing about its workings until allegations about its workings became the subject of discussion within the AWU and then more broadly.
And
JOURNALIST: Did you confront Bruce Wilson personally after certain matters were raised with you? What was the atmosphere of that meeting and what are your feelings towards him now?
PM: I ended our relationship and I know that there’s some material in today’s Australian which would lead people to believe that our national newspapers are for Mills & Boon style recounts of words spoken between people who were formerly in a close relationship. It’s not my intention to canvas those matters. And it’s not my intention to canvas them because by definition there can be no public interest in them. I ended the relationship. That is the significant fact.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, when the scandal erupted and it became known that this money had been stolen by two shysters, who told you? Was it someone at the AWU or was it Bernard Murphy who’d been told by someone else?
PM: Well, I can’t go to matters of privilege, but first and foremost, allegations were being raised and dealt with within the AWU. Those allegations came to my attention. I formed a view that I had not been dealt with honestly and based on that view I ended a relationship I had back then, 17 years ago.
So in August they were allegations against Bruce Wilson which one assumes were obviously backed up by evidence as a person does not make serious allegations without evidence, but yesterday Ms Gillard said they were just rumours.
In August Julia Gillard said she was “deceived” by Bruce Wilson and ended the relationship. That clearly says she had hard evidence, not just rumours. But yesterday she says she ended the relationship with Wilson based on the rumours.
Julia Gillard is trying to back away from having knowledge of the crimes in 1995/1996 so she can justify not going to the police or AWU with her knowledge in 1995/96. What is Ms Gillard saying? That in her interview with Slater and Gordon in 1995 over these matters they said to her, “Ms Gillard we have heard rumours about Bruce Wilson, we have no evidence just rumours.” From my memory of the transcript Slater and Gordon had documented evidence, such as Slater and Gordon’s own files, not just rumours when they interviewed Ms Gillard.
I could write plenty more but I do not want to lose the focus which is why does Julie Gillard not go to the police now given that the Victorian Police are investigating. Quite simple, Ms Gillard will not go to the police now for the same reason she did not go in 1995, she is lying and if she goes to the police and gives evidence against Bruce Wilson he might do the same against her. If they both keep their mouths shut they will probably get away with the fraud and theft.
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