Julie Bishop questions PM's role in conveyancing

THE Coalition has questioned Julia Gillard for saying she was not "in charge" of the conveyancing file for a Melbourne property.

THE Coalition has questioned Julia Gillard for saying she was not "in charge" of the conveyancing file for a Melbourne property purchased with money from a union slush fund she helped create in 1992 for her then boyfriend, union official Bruce Wilson.

Julie Bishop said yesterday the Prime Minister was certainly involved in the conveyance of the property in Fitzroy, in Melbourne's inner northeast, which was purchased by Australian Workers Union bagman Ralph Blewitt in 1993.

Ms Gillard attended the auction of the property and witnessed the power of attorney giving Mr Wilson control of the asset. He lived in the terrace house while managing the Victoria branch of the AWU.

Ms Gillard, then a salaried partner at Slater & Gordon, also declined to charge Mr Blewitt the firm's normal conveyancing fee, in a handwritten note.

She also received correspondence from the Commonwealth Bank on March 22, 1993, confirming that the building was insured for $200,000. The file shows her involvement in other legal aspects of the transaction.

"The Prime Minister's version of events is again called into question by documents that reveal she had a far deeper involvement in the AWU slush fund than she's prepared to admit," the Deputy Opposition Leader said.

"The Prime Minister was involved in the conveyance of a property bought with money from the slush fund that she helped establish."

The Fitzroy house, bought with $100,000 from the slush fund, was sold by Mr Blewitt in February 1996, before police or the AWU leadership were aware of the existence of the fund.

Mr Blewitt and Mr Wilson were subsequently able to keep the $80,000 proceeds.

But Ms Gillard has hit back at suggestions she failed to report the existence of the slush fund to the AWU or police, saying she had no involvement in the activities of the entity.

Speaking in Laos on Tuesday, where she was attending the Asia-Europe meeting, Ms Gillard was asked why she did not tell the AWU about the existence of the fund after a former official at the union, Peter Trebilco, told The Australian he would have acted quickly to investigate and secure the funds if he had been informed by Slater & Gordon.

"I was never connected with the operation of any fund, never connected with the operation of any fund," Ms Gillard said.

"I was not an office-bearer of the association. I was not involved in its activities. I was not involved in any bank accounts it may have held. I was not an official of the AWU. I was not in charge of the conveyancing file. So you are effectively asking me why didn't I report to authorities things I did not know."

But Ms Bishop said the explanations were becoming "increasingly implausible".

"She is yet to explain why she did not report either the existence of the slush fund or the fraudulent use of it to her client the AWU or her partners or the appropriate authorities," she said.