AFP raids over Bill Shorten donations

The AWU will launch Federal Court ­action to challenge federal police raids on its offices over Bill Shorten-era donations.

An AWU worker at the union’s Sydney headquarters during yesterday’s federal police raid. Picture: James Croucher

Federal police have raided the ­Australian Workers Union’s headquarters in Sydney and ­Melbourne, amid suspicions that documents relating to an investigation into big donations the union made when Bill Shorten was in charge could be destroyed or concealed.

The raids — following a series of reports in The Weekend Australian and The Australian — threaten to plunge federal Labor into a political crisis as its leader faces another assault on his character over his past union history.

Follow reaction to the AWU donations raids in PoliticsNow, live coverage from Canberra.

Labor accused the Turnbull government of a political witchhunt and a “smear’’ against the Opposition Leader last night as AFP officers seized AWU documents from the union’s national office in Sussex Street, Sydney, and the Victorian branch in Spencer Street, West Melbourne.

The Registered Organisations Commission said it had sought warrants for the raids after launching its investigation on Friday based on having “reasonable grounds” for believing documents might be ­destroyed.

In a statement, the commission said it had received information that “raised reasonable grounds for suspecting that documents relevant to this investigation may be on the premises of the AWU (at both its Sydney national office and its Victoria branch office) and that those documents may be being ­interfered with (by being concealed or destroyed)’’.

The AWU last night confirmed it would launch Federal Court ­action today, challenging the warrants authorising the AFP to conduct the raids.

The legal ­action, if successful, could stop the commission using the documents seized in the raids.

Bill Shorten in question time yesterday. Picture: Gary Ramage

The Weekend Australian ­revealed last Saturday that the commission was investigating whether AWU donations made to activist group GetUp! in 2006 — when Mr Shorten headed the ­national and Victorian branches — were properly approved under the union rules.

The commission’s investigation followed a report by The Weekend Australian in August that Mr Shorten, as AWU chief, was behind a big donation to the activist group GetUp! when it was established, giving $100,000 and possibly much more in union funds. The revelation prompted a referral to the commission by ­Employment Minister Michaelia Cash.

A further report by The Australian in August detailing how Mr Shorten arranged the donation of $25,000 of union funds to his own election campaign when he ­entered parliament in 2007 — possibly without proper authorisation — was also referred to the commission and is the subject of its investigation into “donations to a range of recipients”.

All donations of more than $1000 must be approved by the AWU’s national executive, and its state equivalents for state branch donations.

Eight plainclothes AFP officers, some wheeling large cases, arrived at the AWU’s national ­office in Sydney at about 4.30pm yesterday and sealed off the 10th-floor headquarters in a search for what were believed to be union minutes and other possible evidence related to the financial years 2006 and 2008.

Police arrive at the AWU in Melbourne. Picture: Aaron Francis

Simultaneously, five plainclothes officers, some holding AFP folders and wearing police badges, arrived in an unmarked car at the AWU’s offices in West Melbourne and entered the office building without commenting.

Several AWU staff drove out of the Melbourne building’s carpark shortly before the ­arrival of police. The AFP officers remained in the building for 4½ hours, leaving at 9pm.

Leon Zwier, a partner with legal firm Arnold Bloch Liebler, who represented Mr Shorten free of charge during the 2015 royal commission into union corruption, arrived at the Sydney offices of the AWU while police were ­upstairs and was allowed entry while the raid was under way. He later left without comment.

In Canberra, Labor workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor accused Malcolm Turnbull of an abuse of police resources and taxpayers’ money in what he called a civil matter.

“Today we learnt in Senate estimates there are resource issues with the Australian Federal Police,” Mr O’Connor said. “At the same time that that was uncovered, we have a situation where the government is treating the police as its plaything — using the police to investigate a civil matter, an allegation that was made 10 years ago.”

Mr O’Connor accused the Prime Minister of acting politic­ally. “Mr Turnbull, when he’s under pressure, calls the police,” he said. He also accused the government of colluding with the commission, which was set up in January as a new regulator of union governance following recommendations by the royal commission, “to ­ensure this matter is elevated politically’’.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s office hit back at accusations of political interference, accusing Labor of a “hysterical smear’’. “The AFP is completely independent of government. It is absurd and false to suggest the AFP is in any way politicised,” the spokesman said.

“Labor is attacking the independence, integrity and professionalism of the AFP and its officers. This is an offensive slur and a disgraceful distraction. This matter was referred to the Registered Organisations Commission weeks ago and it is important it is allowed to investigate without hysterical smears from Labor.”

ACTU secretary Sally McManus at the AWU in Melbourne yesterday. Picture: Aaron Francis

The government spokesman said Labor’s “baseless attack” was a “repudiation of what Bill Shorten said in 2015”, when he described the AFP as “independent”.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus branded the police raids an ­attack on democracy and “the sort of action you would expect to see by an authoritarian dictator’’. “It has no place in Australia. All Australians should be disgusted,’’ Ms McManus said.

AWU national secretary Daniel Walton said the raids on his union’s offices were “quite possibly one of the greatest abuses of political and public power by the Turnbull government”.

Mr Walton said the union stood by donations made to GetUp! 10 years ago and the commission was conducting a “witch hunt” by only investigating donations made during Mr Shorten’s time at the AWU.

GetUp! said the raids were “part of a pattern from this government trying to silence its critics or anyone who challenges it”. GetUp! said it had handled the $100,000 donation from the AWU in 2005-06 appropriately and there was “no suggestion otherwise”.

“Tonight’s raids are yet another example of the federal government’s crackdown on organisations, experts and the community who are standing up for everyday Australians,’’ it said.

The Weekend Australian asked Mr Walton in August for confirmation from AWU minutes of union donations given to GetUp! as part of seed funding when Mr Shorten was also one of the activist group’s board members.

Mr Walton, who was not with the union in Mr Shorten’s era, said he would check with the union’s ­financial manager.

A week later, The Australian was told by a public relations firm acting for Mr ­Walton that the union fully supported the GetUp! donation, and that it was approved in accordance with union rules. Mr Shorten’s ­office ­issued a similar statement. No minutes have surfaced so far to back the claim that the AWU’s GetUp! donations were properly ­approved.

Additional reporting: Simone Fox Koob