Thomson case ammo for Shorten attack

Bill Shorten could face accusations similar to Craig Thomson if it was found he gave $100,000 of AWU funds to GetUp!

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

Bill Shorten could face accusations similar to former Labor MP Craig Thomson if it was found he gave $100,000 of Australian Workers Union funds to GetUp! without authorisation, Michaelia Cash has suggested.

LATEST: Australian Workers Union confirms Getup! donation when Bill Shorten led union

Senator Cash, the Turnbull government’s Employment Min­­ister, told parliament yesterday the Labor leader had “serious questions to answer” over an AWU donation of about $100,000 to help establish activist group GetUp! in 2005.

At the time Mr Shorten ran the AWU’s national and Victorian offices as the branch secretary of both, and joined the original board of GetUp! as a ­director when it was launched in August that year.

Senator Cash raised the AWU donation in parliament yesterday following The Weekend Australian’ s revelation that Mr Shorten gave about $100,000 of union money, and possibly more, to the left-leaning activist group. Mr Shorten has persistently refused in the past to make any comment about support he provided to GetUp! when it was launched as an “independent, grassroots, community advocacy organisation”.

Asked again by The Weekend Australian, Mr Shorten did not answer specific questions on whether he recalled that the $100,000 donation, and any others to GetUp!, were documented in resolutions or minutes under AWU rule 57 that requires approval by the AWU’s national executive.

A spokesman for Mr Shorten said: “As I said on Friday, you’ll have to ask the AWU for further information on particulars.

“The AWU was proud to support the establishment of GetUp! The support was endorsed by the national executive.’’

Senator Cash yesterday ­quoted rule 57, saying the question for Mr Shorten was a simple one: “Was this $100,000 donation of AWU members’ money validly authorised under the rules?”

She claimed it was “unconscionable” that the membership fees of AWU members “could be spent on boosting Mr Shorten’s political profile rather than fight for their best interests”.

The minister then raised the case of Mr Thomson, a former Labor MP who spent funds of the Health Services Union on his own political campaign and for other personal purposes without authorisation when he was the union’s national secretary.

She added: “Again, Mr Shorten needs to answer the questions: was the $100,000 donation from the AWU authorised under union rules, and did Mr Shorten declare a conflict of interest?”

The minister further raised whether or not Mr Shorten had gained proper authorisation for “another generous donation” made to Labor in the seat of Maribyrnong by the AWU when Mr Shorten was first a candidate in the seat in 2007, and still national secretary of the AWU.

The minister’s comments leave open the possibility of the Turnbull government referring these questions about Mr Shorten’s AWU donation to the ­recently formed Registered ­Organisations Commission.

The ROC, which was set up to introduce greater financial ­accountability and transparency in the wake of the royal commission into union corruption, has investigative powers akin to a permanent royal commission, and is not limited by any statute of limitations in its inquiries.

Mr Thomson was found guilty of theft from the HSU following a long criminal prosecution. He also lost a civil case brought against him in the Federal Court which ruled he owed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the union after unauthorised funds he spent.

The Weekend Australian last week checked with the current leadership of the AWU’s national office with a request for information about resolutions and minutes related to the union’s GetUp! contribution when Mr Shorten was in charge.

So far the AWU has had difficulties obtaining the information. Most unions keep minutes indefinitely to provide a clear history of the organisation.

Financial reports of the AWU reveal high donation totals from the union in the 2006 financial year: $94,000 from the national office and $83,000 from the AWU’s Victorian office.

Mr Shorten was then in charge of both.