Dyson Heydon decision may be days away

Dyson Heydon is likely to take until Tuesday to decide if he will recuse himself from the union royal commission.

Dyson Heydon is likely to take until Tuesday to decide if he will recuse himself from the trade union royal commission, amid ­increasing disruption to the hearing timetable arising from today’s expected­ showdown, with seven unions petitioning him to stand down on the grounds of bias.

The commission confirmed yesterday it had received three submissions supporting the disqualification application, including one from the ACTU on behalf of the Communications Electrical and Plumbing Union, Health Services Union, Transport Workers Union, Unions NSW and the Maritime Union of Australia.

The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union and Australian Workers Union made separate applications using their own legal teams.

“If the commissioner does not determine the application for disqualification at the conclusion of the oral hearing tomorrow, he will deliver his ruling as soon as possible thereafter, possibly on Tuesday 25 August,” a statement on the royal commission’s website said.

A spokesman later confirmed that the commission had moved its scheduled hearing of evidence from senior ACT construction union officials including branch secretary Dean Hall, due to begin on Monday, to allow Mr Heydon time to deliberate. “We will have to push back the CFMEU ACT hearings to focus on the application before­ us,’’ the spokesman said.

Bill Shorten conceded yesterday that the commission should be allowed to continue if Mr Heydon was ultimately replaced, after Labor spent the week calling for Tony Abbott to remove him from his post.

The Prime Minister accused Labor of running a protection racket for the union movement.

Mr Shorten branded Mr Heydon­ “right wing” and labelled him yesterday as Mr Abbott’s “captain’s pick”. Pressed on whether he thought the inquiry should continue, Mr Shorten said: “If they find another royal commissioner, yes. My point though is ... it is wrong for a royal commissioner investigating the political rivals to accept an invitation to a Liberal fundraiser.

“No one asked the NSW divis­ion of the Liberal Party to invite right-wing former High Court judge Dyson Heydon to speak.

“No one asked Dyson Heydon to agree to speak to a Liberal Party fundraiser two months after he ­became royal commissioner.

“These are judgments made by Mr Abbott and his captain’s pick.”

Union lawyers will build today on previous complaints to the commission’s solicitors about a lack of “procedural fairness” and the alleged withholding of crucial inform­ation, including the number and names of witnesses and the full timetable for the hearings.

Construction union secretary Dave Noonan told The Australian yesterday that, as a result of the commission, “people who have not been charged with any offence and likely never will are being highlighted as if they have been convicted”.

A letter sent to the commission before last month’s Canberra hearings, signed by law firm Slater + Gordon’s indust­rial and employment practice head Phillip Pasfield, said: “The procedural process adopt­ed ... is, with respect, unjust. It does not provide for any procedural fairness.”

Mr Hall, assistant secretary Jason O’Mara and CFMEU ACT branch president Jason Jennings were to be cross-examined from Monday on evidence relating to the Canberra hearings, which resulted in three arrests last month.

During those hearings, the commission heard testimony alleg­ing harassment and coercion of contractors to sign union enterprise agreements. The claims of market manipulation prompted the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to announce it would begin intervening where employers bow to union demands­ over use of labour.