On Friday (2/10/15) the Trade Union Royal Commission announced the witness list for hearings in October into the Australian Workers Union (AWU). It is impossible to see Bill Shorten surviving this latest onslaught for long as the only thing saving Shorten was the anti-Abbott sentiment in the polls which is now gone.
Most of the ongoing investigation relates to Bill Shorten’s time as National Secretary of the AWU and Victorian State Secretary of the AWU. It’s a fair guess that most of the announced witnesses will give evidence that will damage Bill Shorten’s reputation and image.
The new evidence is focused on known fraud and theft and/or suspected fraud and theft by Bill Shorten and others involving various companies. Executives of the companies have been called as witnesses and it is well known that some at least are going to give incriminating evidence against Bill Shorten.
Below is the witness list and the relevant companies. I have added the figures of the fraud/bribe and/or alleged fraud/bribe. We will probably never know the true amounts as the Unions are well known for running slush funds off the accounting books.
Witness list
Monday, 12 October and Tuesday, 13 October Thiess John Holland case study – Estimated fraud/bribe $300,000
Michael Connell, Christopher Herbert, Michael Minotti, Gordon Ralph, Stephen Sasse, Deborah Swinley, Don Johnson, Julian Rzesniowiecki and Gregory Sparkman
Wednesday, 14 October and Thursday, 15 October ACI (Glass)/O-I case study – Estimated fraud/bribe $500,000
Neil Cooper, Michael Gilhome, Brendan Mitchell, Gregory Ridder and Peter Robinson and Mario Minniti
Thursday, 15 October Downer EDI case study – Estimated fraud/bribe $25,000
Bill McGuire, Jamie Spencer and Predrag Susa
Friday, 16 October Unibuilt case study – Estimated fraud/bribe $40,000 for Bill Shorten’s 2007 election campaign
Edward Lockyer and Lance Wilson
Monday, 19 October and Tuesday, 20 October Cleanevent case study – Estimated fraud/bribe $25,000 per year – Employees lost wages totalling millions of dollars
Zoe Angus, Paul Howes, Thomas Jeffers, Julianne Page, John-Paul Blandthorn, Steven Hunter and Craig Winter
Wednesday, 21 October
Jelica Addamo, Michael Chen, Angela Leo and Paul Vine
Thursday, 22 October
Cesar Melhem
For a detailed back-grounding of most of the witnesses and the companies (Click here)
The Royal Commission hearing as outlined above and Bill Shorten’s slump in the polls mean Shorten is about to face what will probably be his worst month in politics and there will be a lot of people cheering.
Bill Shorten’s crime gang at the HSU Victoria Number 1 Branch
Regular readers of this site know there is still massive fraud and theft happening at the HSU Victoria Number 1 Branch by Bill Shorten’s supporters. (Click here to read more)
So Shorten not only has to worry about his corrupt conduct when he was at the AWU, he also has to hope the Royal Commission hasn’t investigated further into his supporters’ crimes at the HSU.
I assumed in April that there would be further hearings into the HSU given that on Thursday the 23rd April at the 2015 Opening Session Commissioner Dyson Heydon said his final report would also deal with some matters relating to:
“the HSU Victoria No 1 Branch under the secretaryship of Ms Diana Asmar.” (Click here to read more)
Time is running out so maybe they won’t have hearings and just address what they have found in written submissions and the final report.
Australia needs a strong Labor Party to put pressure on the Liberals
Given that Australia at the moment is to a large extent a two party system it is important that both the Liberal and Labor Party’s are as competent as possible to put pressure on the other to perform at a high standard. At the moment the Labor Party is well below standard and are not in a position to put pressure on anyone to perform.
The biggest positive of Bill Shorten’s demise is that it will force the Labor Party to at least start to re-think their ways which the biggest problem is breaking away from the Unions’ control.
Lachlan Harris who is a former adviser to Kevin Rudd said in a recent interview:
“I think until the elevation of Turnbull, Labor hadn’t really tasted the bitterness of Opposition since we lost in 2013. We’re now tasting that bitterness.”
“But we had to taste that for the real conversation about genuine reform, modernisation, broadening the appeal of the ALP to take place. That didn’t seem necessary when Tony Abbott was leader. It is absolutely necessary now.”
“We dis-empowered ourselves by having a strategy which was built only on the unpopularity of Abbott. We need to build a more modern, progressive, inclusive Labor Party with a very broad base in order to take on these moderate, popular and credible Liberal Party leaders.” (Click here to read more)
Change won’t happen until Shorten is gone and everyone in the Labor Party knows it. They only certainty in the Labor Party at the moment is that they are already planning for life after Shorten and it is just a matter of time before he is gone.
Negative people like to say that there is nothing you can do about corruption but have a good look around at all the reputations being destroyed as their corrupt pasts come back to haunt them. And the people driving that are people using social media like me and you. So don’t ever let anyone say you can’t do anything.
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Categories: Bill Shorten, Royal Commission
Hooray, Hooray! At long last the TURC is conducting these vital insights with real people at real companies caught up for years in this disgusting union corruption. The No.1 man of course behind all these is that “charmer” Shorten……what an arrogant, conceited person he is!
Hopefully the RC can implicate all the other hangers-on and parasites who have been feeding off the fraudulent deals, monies and all their ill-gotten gains for years and years. Mostly, the poor union members just pay their huge subs and get creamed-off every time.
Let’s hope the very end result is a reasonably clean Labor Party to bring some decency and sound opposition back to politics and try to get this country, we mostly love, on a forward and encouraging path for our future…..I’m still, however, not holding my breath yet!!!
All-power to the Royal Commission over the coming weeks!
Heydon and Stoljar , will hope there is not a labor government at the upcoming federal election
Heydon and Stoljar should be made to face an inquiry into their incompetence
A’hem, Joe, they are collecting evidence, establishing findings etc. Calm ya farm.
No doubt Joe H, they are shivering in their boots
Hopefully in the time we will see some of the big guns such as Ludwig in the dock.
I agree Shoten’s days are numbered. But I’m unclear under Rudds New Rules the process Labor has for dumping their Leader and electing a new one. ( Process and who votes )
Long overdue for him to face the “MUSIC” . What will he do to avoid his attendance?.
Make up some excuse not to be there again!
Hopefully Shortens appearance will not become another version of the Amnesia Assizes where he can not even remember his mothers maiden name.
As in the Murdoch “News of the World” phone hacking enquiry where the general consensus was that the wicked witch Reebekah Brooks,”didn’t know what see was supposed to know”.I suspect that Bill will have taken the same approach during his tenure at the union and let others do the banking with his tacit approval.
It will be interesting to see how many of the witnesses also have trouble remembering specific details of events that may incriminate themselves.The shadow of Tom Domican in NSW politics during the 80s may be resurrected to induce amnesia because the alternative could be a long stay in the intensive care ward at the hospital.
I fear that that any mud that is thrown around,as in Abbott’s citizenship/rhodes scholarship and what year they were both awarded,Bill will be declared a Koala (a protected species) and the minions will become the fall guys.
Lets hope not.
At this stage Bill Shorten will not be re-appearing as a witness. But that could change fast.
My number one hope is to see that girl who has accused Shorten of rape have her day in Court.
Hear, hear!
You know, the real solution is to look at the problem with royal commissions. The problem is that they cannot prosecute on their own (as I understand it, please correct me if this is incorrect); they simply rely on the prosecution departments of the relevant government body. Such hypocrisy! ….. the decision to prosecute the investigated is made by the investigated…. Are we mad!
Which law makers made this law, come on, own up!
The solution is the Royal Commission should prosecute with all its evidence as it finds guilt…. Very very simple, very truthful, not hiding behind the smartest lawyer/barrister “who wishes to manipulate the law” as they wish…. And they do.
I just want to see that smug look wiped of Shortens face. The corruption and thuggery that underpins the union movement and Shorten in particular needs stamping out and Shortens exposure as a prime mover of union corruption will be a good start. His standard response to almost every question of ‘everything I did as a union leader was for the benefit of the members’ needs exposing for the lie it is.
Paul Howes will be an interesting one.
Steve Purvinas should also be on the list of witnesses given the public statements he made in 2012 about threats to his family by AWU “hired goons”.
And while we’re on the subject of threats by AWU goons, when is there going to be some follow-up on Bob Kernohan’s testimony.
It will be very interesting to witness the out come of all that has so fare been brought to the surface. The Royal Commission into Union Corruption is one thing that these creations never factored into their schemes when they set up their slush funds and stand-over scams. The tracking of money and the movement of funds is very traceable these days. It is getting harder to explain the Beach House and the Roller in the back shed when you’re only on a few thousand dollars a week. And lets be honest, not every one can pick 6 winners at the racers each week. Can they Bill?
This Royal Commission is nothing more than a massive political witch hunt headed up by the bias, phony commissioner Heydon and is lapdog Stoljar. If Cathy Jackson isn’t recalled to answer more questions after her fraudulent rorts amounting to well over $1m, it proves that Heydon is only interested in an outcome that will damage Shorten, the ALP and lastly the unions credibility. The terms of reference that the serial liar and rorter of entitlements Tony Abbott placed on this RC also paints the picture of a political witch hunt aimed directly at defaming Gillard and more importantly Shorten.
Heydon’s findings will only be taken seriously by the LNP and their supporters. If Shorten has to front again he should take Heydon’s lead and answer every question with the old “I don’t recall” just as so many Liberals including Arthur Sinodinos did when they fronted the ICAC over the numerous illegal donations they received and tried their best to cover up.
What a waste of $80m of taxpayers money.
Defaming Gillard? I think she managed that quite well herself. Now if Bill could just swing a pay-off from Brookings for services rendered to “Globalization” as well then he’ll become another untouchable.
afraid of losing something emo?
Shorten is running his mouth about the Liberals trying to take away people’s Sunday penalty rates. I wonder how he can do that with a straight face given how many people he sold out to line his own pockets? EBA in Shorten’s world means Entitlements Bargained Away apparently.
So what happened late this afternoon? In Victoria, we had a saying when the rug was pulled from under our feet ~ we would say “We’ve just been Jeffed!!!” referring to Jeff Kennett. What does the collective at Kangaroo Court say about Shorten scoring a get out of jail free card? I would like to write exactly how I feel, but I think this site has a ban on bad language. 🙁
What’s the point in naming and shaming unless you have the power to obtain some satisfaction of your grievance….i.e. Prosecution.
Without the power to prosecute directly, the current RC jurisdiction provides an automatic “get out of goal free card” for those found to be corrupt instead of being able to follow through with prosecution through the Court System.
As it stands now, the lack of active measures by our “unrepresentatively elected politicians” to instill the right in the Royal Commission to prosecute can only reduce even further any trust we have in these Members of Parliament (State, Federal & Local) because of their individual & collective inaction.
It looks as if you can expect some above-the-law decisions by the DPP and Courts. John Lomax of the CFMEU got the charges against him dropped as expected in the ACT Magistrates Court. That good luck may happened to Bill Shorten too. Last year the DPP in Brisbane did not prosecute the perpetrators in the Heiner-Affair, even though there was Prima facie evidence against them and several Commissions found that there is sufficient Prima facie evidence to indict the perpetrators. Who and what is behind this favouritism? Are there too many labour-lawyers in the Courts and DPP?