Now, Craig Thompson may well be innocent, he might have repaid the
money he spent on the credit card.
I just wonder if he had repaid the money whether the FWA would have
been so slow in resolving the matter.

The circumstances surrounding the way the FWA has handled the matter
is more important than whatever Thompson may have done.
It suggests corruption on the basic of
"wink wink knudge knudge say no more".

This is a far more insidious form of corruption than if money passed.

It seems to me that there is currently two laws in this country. One for the Coalition, where a member can be found guilty of a physical crime, but get off without conviction recorded. Another for Labor where a member is considered to be guilty without opportunity to prove innocence.

Shame on Australia for being so two-faced in legal matters.

...This Federal Government rots in the paddock with the dead sheep from last years muster. The current Labor government would surely rate as one of the most inept and unpredictable in the history of Australian politics. With a fresh breed of blow flies now circling the rotting carcass of Labor, from the “stinking” Thompson affair; Thompson himself further exacerbates the fall-out from his high profile crime spree, and infects the surrounding air by the addition of cowardice, to his un-circumspect behaviour.

...I give top marks to the ACTU for their move though, to urgently distance the organisation from the affair, by suspending the HSU from ACTU affiliation.

...Obviously the Thompson affair has crashed any credibility that FWA may be free-standing and independent from Government manipulation, (Irrespective of Gillards claim to the contrary). The evidence of the "Fact" is in the inordinate time it took to process its investigation into the operations of the HSU executive: That point alone challenges the theory of independence, "But there's more"; added to the "Fact" of delay in process, in the end, the FWA inquiry floundered around with the legal acceptability of the results; effectively sidelining any hope of the DPP to challenge possible criminal dealings of the executive of the HSU, past and present, (including Thompson), with an eventual outcome of fundamental mal-process of documentation.

...“Blind Freddy” would NOT accept this masterstroke of ineptitude as accidental: Yet Gillard goes on the “defensive” with a blatant lie, claiming against all the obvious evidence, that the FWA is independent!

...Two things must urgently happen:

1. Thompson must resign immediately.
2. Abbott must call for a double dissolution of parliament, if Thompson refuses the call, (against the odds of success).

...The second move will give Abbott the credibility he needs on this issue, and offer honourable Labor MP’s a chance to jump the sinking stinking ship of Gillards Labor “Chinese Junk” ship of Government.

Only a very blind person could not see the difference between a woman who suffered the humilation of a petty crime and faced the courts and a Government that at State and Federal level stoops to the lowest levels possible to cling to power. Talk about denial Thankfully the voters are so naive or deceived.

NB,

Making the hard decisions is one thing. Decisions that are unpopular because you lied to the voters is not something to be proud of.

SM:

...The “sordid” Thompson affair goes terribly wrong on so many levels, and crosses the threshold of “The Australian Way”. Thompson (under normal circumstances), would resign at the point of exposure of the credit card abuse. But to abuse a union credit card for the purposes of prostitution is a reprehensible act of dishonesty. Dishonesty is totally unacceptable in the higher order of Politics, and there are very accepted norms to follow for those MP’s who transgress; “resign”!

...Then follows the lies and the cover-ups: If Gillard cannot be trusted with the truth, she should resign. Ample opportunity was presented to her during the recent leadership challenge by Rudd to do so, with a degree of honour intact. I believe at this point, Gillard exposed her true colours again, by clinging to her personal megalomaniac need for power; a power and control which usurps all honour and truthfulness obviously, and extends her selfish needs above the “rights” of the electorate to an expectation of political integrity from elected officials, including first and foremost, “honesty”.

...I add the Thompson affair to the Andrew Wilkie affair: Another double-cross of monumental proportions by Gillard. Difficult it was to agree in total with Andrew Wilkie on his poker machine reforms, but I considered his arbitrary shafting by Gillard, following Slippers treachery, as more evidence of Gillards ease to treat the Australian people with the same degree of contempt she holds for Wilkie. A contemptuousness betraying natural expectations of trust shattered by Gillard, when time and convenience converge.

Gillard has proved herself once again capable of pathological reprehensibility and should "GO".