Whistleblower Kathy Jackson faces heat

KATHY Jackson, the whistleblower who exposed large-scale fraud in her union, will face questions at a corruption inquiry this week.

KATHY Jackson, the whistleblower who exposed large-scale fraud by two top officials from her union, will face questions at a corruption inquiry this week about allegations that she used members’ funds running to hundreds of thousands of dollars for a slush fund and personal expenses.

Ms Jackson has previously said she looked forward to giving evidence to the royal commission into union corruption regarding Michael Williamson and Craig Thomson, former leaders of the Health Services Union who were convicted after she went to police.

But the whistleblower is now expected to be probed about her past activities as secretary of the HSU’s No 3 branch in Victoria.

The Australian can reveal that the royal commission issued an urgent request on Friday for the HSU to hand over all financial records from Ms Jackson’s No 3 branch dating back to 1995, when she took over.

It also requested records held by the HSU about Neranto, a company previously owned by Ms Jackson and her former husband, Jeff Jackson.

An amount of $36,774 was alleg­edly paid to Neranto by the HSU’s separate No 1 branch in Victoria in the late 1990s — then controlled by Mr Jackson — as a consultancy fee for Ms Jackson.

The royal commission has also asked for all records held by the HSU in relation to $246,000 of members’ funds allegedly transferred into a bank account known as the National Health Development Account. This follows a report in The Australian last month that HSU lawyers had amended a Federal Court statement of claim against Ms Jackson, adding a demand for repayment of $246,000 because of alleged misuse of office and misappropriation of funds when she headed the No 3 branch.

Ms Jackson declined to comment on the NHDA last month, saying it was a matter for the royal commission.

She has previously described it as a slush fund used for political purposes, not personal.

The HSU’s court claim against Ms Jackson alleges that the fund was set up by her or an unincorporated association of which she was a member, and transfers were made “in order for Jackson to obtai­n an advantage for herself”.

Ms Jackson, who is the HSU’s honorary national secretary but who has been on sick leave for almost two years due to stress, could also be asked this week about alleg­ations that tobacco company Philip Morris helped fund HSU elections in 2009 involving her and senior Victorian federal Labor MP David Feeney.

Fairfax Media reported last month that the commission was examining allegations the tobacco company helped fund the 2009 election campaign in Victoria with tens of thousands of dollars.

Mr Feeney, a Jackson ally, firmly denied any knowledge of Philip Morris contributions to the 2009 campaign, saying he had “not solicited donations from Phil­ip Morris for any purpose since 2004”. At the time, Ms Jackson did not return calls.

Among the allegations that she has dismissed as false over the years are that expenses for jewellery, shoes, make-up and even a ski trip were HSU-funded after she charged them to her credit card.

Ms Jackson was not available for comment yesterday. Previously she said that she paid for personal items, and HSU spending was authorised by her branch committee of management.