HSU calls for Andrew Wilkie support on Craig Thomson
- The Australian
- January 24, 2012
"I believe that if Mr Wilkie is genuine in what he has said and accountable to the public and, if it is found that Craig Thomson has misused and misappropriated union funds, then that would be an example of serious misconduct," she said yesterday.
She warned that the FWA investigation into Mr Thomson could be open to political manipulation and its findings pushed back to beyond the next election.
Ms Jackson shot to prominence in August after she referred allegations that Mr Thomson had used his union credit card to pay for prostitutes and racked up a $100,000 bill when he was HSU national secretary to the NSW Police.
Her comments follow Tony Abbott's continued attack on Mr Thomson, the member for the NSW seat of Dobell, in the wake of Mr Wilkie's weekend decision to withdraw support for the Gillard government.
Mr Wilkie no longer has any agreement with the government to support supply and confidence after Julia Gillard said that she could not pass legislation for the introduction of mandatory betting curbs on high-loss poker machines by 2014.
The Prime Minister yesterday defended her integrity against Coalition claims she backstabbed Mr Wilkie by not meeting her commitment to introduce mandatory precommitment legislation by May 8. She told The Australian that she believed most people understood politics was about working with others to deliver outcomes.
"It's about delivering change, it's about reform, it's about getting things done," she said.
But Mr Wilkie's decision to tear up his agreement with Labor means the government can now only be certain of a one-vote advantage in the lower house in the event of a no-confidence motion.
Mr Wilkie said yesterday he would have to wait to assess the outcome of any investigation into the Labor MP's conduct.
"Craig Thomson must be assumed innocent until proven guilty," he told ABC radio.
But his decision has prompted the Coalition's renewed focus on Mr Thomson, who the opposition considers the weakest link in the government and the best chance of forcing an early election through a no-confidence motion.
Opposition workplace relations spokesman Eric Abetz has written to Fair Work Australia demanding to know why its investigation into Mr Thomson had taken more than three years. The Opposition Leader said it was clear the process was not operating "fairly" or "justly".
And Ms Jackson urged the government to push for an early resolution. "I do back that (Abetz) letter," she said ". . . Our members need answers."
Acting Minister for Workplace Relations Kate Ellis declined to comment on why the investigation into Mr Thomson's conduct had taken so long.
Mr Abbott accused Ms Gillard of relying on Mr Thomson for policy advice after his public foray into the heated poker machine debate in which he described the government's compromise solution as a "victory for common sense".
"This is . . . a government which is trying to blame the . . . Andrew Wilkie betrayal on factors beyond its control and yet you've got Craig Thomson boasting . . . that in fact it was Craig Thomson himself and Labor members of parliament who have forced the Prime Minister into this position."
Former Liberal MP Peter Slipper, whose defection to the Speaker's chair has preserved the government's wafer-thin parliamentary buffer, said he believed the government would still last for a full term.
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Attention Andrew Wilkie!
In Kathy Jackson the National Secretary of the Health
Union we have a real 'whistleblower! The Australian 24/1 HSU calls for Andrew Wilkie support on Craig Thomson
Not one who had a shallow, soft - left tell nothing about
weapons of mass - destruction!
We look to another genuine whistleblower from Fair Work
Australia to blow the lid on their 'misconduct' investigation on Craig
Thompson.
Just how many more years will they take to investigate
Gillard's political hide?
Geoff Seidner
13 Alston Grove
East St Kilda 3183
03 9525 9299
News for HSU calls for Wilkie support on Thompson
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HSU calls for Andrew Wilkie support on Craig Thomson
The Australian - 8 hours agoTHE National secretary of the Health Services Union, Kathy Jackson, has urged independent MP Andrew Wilkie to support a no-confidence motion if Labor MP ...126 related articles
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