NUW boss Derrick Belan used union ‘loan’ to spy on ex-partner

NUW boss Derrick Belan allegedly hired an investigator to spy on his ex-partner using $17,000 from a labour­ hire man.

Former National Union of Workers boss Derrick Belan hired a private investigator to spy on his ex-partner using $17,000 from the head of a labour­ hire firm reliant on the union, a royal commission has heard.

Mr Belan also travelled to Canberra with labour hire executives to “network” with politic­ians and dine at Parliament House, with the business picking up the tab for his luxury accommodation, the royal commission into trade union corruption also heard yesterday.

This week, the commission has been investigating if corrupt payments or rewards were given to Mr Belan by ASX-listed labour­ hire firm Ashley Services.

The revelations follow days of evidence of lavish spending on union credit cards for “personal” use, allegedly by Mr Belan, who resigned as secretary of the NUW’s NSW branch last month, and his niece, the union’s bookkeeper. The commission also heard yesterday from new secretary Wayne Meaney, who said Mr Belan withdrew thousands of dollars from a union bank ­account called the “Derrick Belan team fund”, and put the cash in a safe at his own house.

Mr Belan’s relationship with Ross Shrimpton, founder of Ashley Services, came under the spotlight, with the commission hearing how Mr Shrimpton paid a $17,000 bill for a private investi­gator Mr Belan used to spy on his ex-partner during a custody dispute. Ashley Services general manager Paul Rixon told the commission how the three men agreed to use a private investigator to spy on Mr Belan’s ex-partner after he expressed fears for his children’s safety.

“He was very concerned for … the safety of his youngest daughter, he believed (she) was being left in attend­ance with other younger children while his ex-partner was going out of an evening and coming home very late,” Mr Rixon said.

Mr Shrimpton paid the bill out of a personal loan facility in his wife’s name and told the inquiry he expected Mr Belan to repay the $17,000 once he was “on his feet”. “It is my nature to assist people where I can,” he said.

The commission also heard the company employed several of Mr Belan’s family members.

Ashley Services paid for Mr Belan to stay in the diplo­matic suite of the Hyatt on a trip to Canberra in March. He also visited the capital with Mr Rixon in 2012.

Mr Rixon said the Canberra visit this year was “to do some networking … I had an issue or an industrial issue that I wanted to get some clarity on in regards to ... compliance discussions that were being discussed at that time, whether they were going to impact on our business or not.

“Derrick suggested that he would know some people we could talk to.”

The National Union of Workers was dominant at up to 70 per cent of worksites that Ashley Services provided casual workers to through its labour hire companies.