Shadow, there is no defense of Jackson, to say "KJ has done more for workers" is rubbish, as my partner who is an active member of the HSU can testify too. Jackson was no better than Thompson and Williamson although she was a useful tool for the anti worker, anti Labor Abbott. This RC was not established by Abbott out or any sense of doing something good for workers, it was set up as a political exercise to bash the unions and ultimately get at the Labor Party.
My partner tells me as far as she knows the HSU has done much to get its house in order following the years of abuse by the very grubs we speak of. ("T" spent 2 years out of the union in protest of what was going on, she only rejoined when asked, about 2 years back, she again took up he previous roll of delegate for her hospital). I have over 40 years experience with unions and by far they have been a positive for workers. Sure there are bad eggs and they need to be exposed and expelled, prosecuted where necessary, but I do not agree with those that claim corruption and illegality is wide spread throughout the movement and that a $80 million RC was necessary.

Poirot,

Why you keep posting links from that journalistic excrement called IA I don't know. The only qualifications required for what they call journalists is a rabid hatred of everyone not a left whinger. Journalistic integrity, fact checking and general literary competence is clearly not concepts they are familiar with.

Your link is yet another signature polemic from the intellectual pinhead Peter Wicks whose fact free verbal diarrhea dribbles on and on.

For example the FWA is not a rebadged AIRC. Juliar's purpose in disbanding the AIRC, and forming the new FWA was to reduce its ability to tackle the unions and to stack it with ex union heavies to rubber stamp labor's policies and back the unions to the hilt. Lawler was re appointed by Juliar, even though she had no obligation to do so as one of the few competent members of the new FWA.

A prime example of the damage to the FWA of Juliar's changes is the 3 year time period to prepare an unusable dossier for the DPP, where a legal intern could have done the interviews and competent dossier in a month.

Paul,

At no point have I defended KJ's actions, and I know that you are desperate to defend the kleptocracy that is union management, but the revelations by KJ shone a light into the dark corrupt heart of the union, and did more to protect the HSU workers than anyone else who was happy to sit back and see the workers robbed.

You should be ashamed of yourself trying to stop the same level of investigation into the other unions where many cases of theft and extortion are being uncovered. You claim to despise corruption, but fight to protect it.

SM,

"Why you keep posting links from that journalistic excrement called IA I don't know..."

Says the guy who reckons:

"Finally Lawler was appointed to the FWA by Juliar."

Which, of course, is absolute BS.

Lawler was already in situ - having been appointed by Tony Abbott in 2002.

"For example the FWA is not a rebadged AIRC...."

http://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/the-fair-work-system/australias-industrial-relations-timeline

"2009 – Fair Work Australia

Fair Work Australia was formed and replaced the Australian Industrial Relations Commission."

And still he rails against IA...the only media organisation who blew the whistle on the sanctity of Kathy Jackson - the darling of the Liberal Party.

Tony is a great judge of character...from 2013

"Tony Abbott has backed Damien Mantach, the man charged with running his election campaign in Victoria, despite him being caught up in a corruption investigation."

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/abbott-backs-vic-campaigner-despite-tape-scandal-20130308-2fpl8.html#ixzz3jPX1T8pi

The latest:

"Damien Mantach, the former Victorian Liberal Party director accused of embezzling $1.5 million, followed his father Brian into the party's hierarchy."

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/the-chequered-past-of--former-victorian-liberal-party-director-damien-mantach-20150820-gj3nzb.html

Btw, just noting in the Heydon saga - that lawyers have pointed out that the email released by Heydon on 12th August had one line deleted - the only line - referring to an attachment which included reference in relation to the Barwick address of "State Donation Compliance requirements".

Why was this line redacted from the released email - because it points to a fundraiser, that's why.

SM,

I've had a bit of a delve on your contention that it was Gillard who re-appointed Lawler.

Found this:

"The Fair Work Commission is powerless to remove its vice-president, Michael Lawler, unless federal reforms are passed to fill a "vacuum" in the Fair Work Act, senior barristers say.

Mr Lawler, partner of embattled former Health Services Union leader Kathy Jackson, has been on about nine months' leave for the past year. The union is now suing Ms Jackson to try to claim about $1.4 million. It has argued in the Federal Court that Ms Jackson used fraudulent bookkeeping practices to hide her withdrawal of huge sums of cash for herself between 2007 and 2010.

Fair Work Commission insiders are privately appalled at what they consider to be the erratic behaviour of Mr Lawler, who has publicly supported and even legally represented Ms Jackson at different points during her court proceedings."

Australian Bar Association president Fiona McLeod, SC, on Thursday defended the commission's president, Justice Iain Ross, against media reports suggesting he was responsible for handling the situation. While Ms McLeod would not comment on the "ongoing controversy", she said in a statement that calls for Justice Ross to deal with it were "misconceived" and commentary around this "unfair and misguided"."

(Main Point)

"Justice Ross had limited powers to discipline or remove Mr Lawler because he was appointed before the commission was established under the previous government's industrial relations regime, she said.

The Howard government appointed Mr Lawler under old legislation, which was silent on sick leave. The current law retains such entitlements for members appointed before it came into effect. He is understood to have excused himself from all Health Services Union matters before the commission since he began his relationship with Ms Jackson."

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/fair-work-commission-has-no-power-to-remove-michael-lawler-barristers-say-20150710-gi9t3o.html

SM,

"As investigative journalist Pamela Williams has tenaciously reported in The Australian, Lawler’s eight months of unexplained sick leave in the past 12 months has overlapped with Jackson’s court action, yet there is no capacity for the Fair Work Commission, the national body that sets award pay rates and conditions and helps resolve workplace disputes, to curtail Lawler’s sick leave:

“He was appointed in 2002 by Tony Abbott, then workplace-relations minister in the Howard government, under the terms and conditions of the then Workplace Relations Act. He has the status of a Federal Court judge but a slightly higher salary ($435,000). When the Rudd government replaced the Workplace Relations Act with the Fair Work Act in 2009, a series of transitional provisions made it clear that members of the commission already appointed under the previous act would hold office under the new Fair Work Act, but with the same terms and conditions they enjoyed at the time of their original appointment … It has left the FWC with a conundrum: a senior member of the organisation able to take massive quantities of sick leave but without revealing any details of his illness, and without documented policies to curtail or deny this leave. There is no provision to limit or refuse sick leave.’"

That's...

"....When the Rudd government replaced the Workplace Relations Act with the Fair Work Act in 2009, a series of transitional provisions made it clear that members of the commission already appointed under the previous act would hold office under the new Fair Work Act..."

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/opinion-labor-or-liberal-left-or-right-thats-not-the-real-point-of-difference-in-australia-at-the-top-of-the-steamy-pile/story-fnihsr9v-1227437235155

You were saying?

Poirot,

Thanks for confirming that the FWA was a new organisation that replaced the dismantled AIRC. That Juliar under Krudd chose to re appoint the AIRC commissioners was entirely Labor's choice, as they were under no obligation to do so.

As for Heydon:

"Mr Stoljar says there is: “No basis whatsoever for the serious allegation that the version produced by the Commission was altered or doctored in any way.”