O’Connor accuses Turnbull of using AFP as a political “plaything”

Shadow Minister for workplace relations Brendan O’Connor has accused the PM of abusing the resources of the AFP.

Opposition workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor. Image: AAP Image/Lukas Coch.

Opposition workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor has accused Malcolm Turnbull of abusing the resources of the police to further a political crusade against Bill Shorten when he was leading the Australian Workers’ Union a decade ago.

He said Mr Turnbull was treating the AFP as a political “plaything” and warned the Registered Organisations Commission — the key regulator probing donations made by the AWU to activist group GetUp!in 2006 — was now politically compromised, accusing it of colluding with the government and the media to “smear” Mr Shorten and the Labor Party.

The Victoria and national offices of the AWU were raided this afternoon as part of the Registered Organisation investigation, with Mr O’Connor conceding he was unaware of whether the union had properly approved the donations made to GetUp!or whether funds had gone towards Mr Shorten’s own election campaign in 2007.

“I haven’t seen the detail of these matters,” he said.

Mr O’Connor also said the first he knew of the raids was when he saw them happening on television. “I dare say the federal leader did not know. I believe that’s the case,” Mr O’Connor said. “And certainly, the federal Labor Party, it had no idea.”

Mr O’Connor said the government had misused the Registered Organisations Commission, arguing this vindicated Labor’s decision to oppose the new body.

“That was why we opposed the Registered Organisations Commission. We said instead ASIC should be the regulator for such matters,” Mr O’Connor said. “As a result of today, it’s clear now the government is using the power of the state and using taxpayer dollars to attack its political opponents.”

“There were cameras waiting outside the premises of the AWU before the police arrived. So clearly there’s collusion with this agency and the government with the media to ensure that this matter is elevated publicly.”

Mr O’Connor said the raids on the Victorian and national offices of the AWU represented an “abuse of ministerial power” and called on the Prime Minister to explain what role his government had played in them.

“They have sought to use their coercive powers to deploy police to raid offices to deal with what could be a civil matter at best,” he said. “Malcolm Turnbull, when he’s under pressure, calls the police.”

“He needs to explain what he knew about these raids, what he knew about the role of the commission and indeed (Employment Minister Michaelia Cash) ... must explain exactly the role she had in these raids.”

Mr O’Connor also said the AFP had more important issues to address and was under-resourced “to the extent that very serious drug importation crimes are occurring without sufficient resources deployed by the Australian Federal Police.”

He said it was “unusual” to see the police responding to the coercive powers of a civil regulator. “It may well be the case that the police could be used as authorised officers of the Registered Organisations Commission. That may well be the case,” he said.

“This is a civil regulator and yet we’ve got crime fighters raiding offices because of the role of a civil regulator.”

“That again I think highlights that the priority of this government is to deploy federal police for civil matters, because its about attacking its political opponents.”