She spoke out not to get Craig Thomson MP, she said, but to clean up the HSU. But, in a stunning IA exclusive,
Peter Wicks uncovers compelling documentary evidence to suggest HSU “whistleblower” Kathy Jackson may have herself misappropriated Union funds.
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HSU national secretary Kathy Jackson (image courtesy ABC). It has been almost a week now since Australians sat mesmerised as they watched Craig Thomson tell his side of the HSU saga in an address to Federal Parliament, where he still sits — although now as an Independent member.
And it has been almost 2 weeks since Independent Australia first broke the story of the tangled web behind the scenes of the Fair Work Australia Investigation. A web made up of a Liberal Party aligned think tank; the Liberal Party’s favourite lawyers; a factional battle; a Union “whistleblower”; this whistleblower’s partner; the whistleblower’s partner’s mate, the Opposition leader; and the whistleblowers partner’s organisation – where the partner is 2nd in charge – doing a five year investigation and finally issuing a report full of findings — most of which
were dismissed by the Australian Electoral Commission within just a few days.
If you have not read our previous articles, it is worth reading them here for background into this investigation.
[Read the previous stories in this series:
Part One, Part Two, Part Three and
Part Four.]
The original article Independent Australia published was highly controversial. It highlighted a web of connections that have raised questions about the credibility and good faith of the union whistleblower, Kathy Jackson, and exposed the massive conflicts of interest of Fair Work Australia’s Vice President, Michael Lawler.
These issues have placed a huge question mark over the entire Fair Work Australia investigation and its findings — most of which have been disproved by the AEC anyway, as we said before.
It is worth remembering that there have been seven – that’s right, seven – prior investigations that have each concluded that Craig Thomson had no case to answer. This FWA investigation, however, has been the first investigation to be conducted by the body for which Craig’s accuser, Kathy Jackson’s partner, holds the position of Vice President. With this in mind, the results should come as no real surprise.
The FWA investigation was set up to investigate financial irregularities within the Health Services Union. Most of the findings, however, centred around Craig Thomson. Kathy Jackson, in contrast, comes up smelling like roses in her partner’s organisation’s investigation — what a shock that was.
http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/5808/jacksonlawler.jpgThe FWA investigation lasted five long years — longer than World War One; longer than many people spent in high school; longer, even, than every Australian Big Brother series to date combined.
In the process of their investigation, FWA had access to the HSU files, records, offices, computers, staff, and even organized a police raid. Over five years, they had all the time, resources and personnel for a completely thorough and meticulous investigation of every aspect of the HSU.
However, in just over five days, with none of the other resources FWA had access to, we have uncovered new evidence that FWA – Kathy Jackson’s partner’s team – conveniently missed.
It is fair to say that the allegations against Craig Thomson are based primarily on information provided by Jackson. The evidence, which Thomson disputes and the other seven investigations dismissed, was presented by Fair Work Australia — the organisation where Michael Lawler, Jackson’s partner, is Vice President.
Paramount to the Opposition bringing Craig Thomson down, is maintaining the integrity of Kathy Jackson, Michael Lawler, and the Fair Work Australia investigation. That combined with a sickening display of personal attacks from the Coalition that have highlighted the inner ugliness of some of the Liberal front bench. And after all the muck-racking and personal attacks from the Coalition frontbench, Tony Abbott today had the audacity to suggest that Craig Thomson
resign from Parliament — apparently for his own good. This whole Craig Thomson affair has a nauseating stench to it — and very little of it seems to be coming from the man so much under attack.
Especially given I have in my possession many documents that have come from within the HSU that go towards the integrity of Craig’s accusers. These include copies of transactions, copies of cheque butts, original cheque requisitions, and remittances with signatures — all show details of transactions would appear to be extremely irregular.
For legal reasons, we cannot show most of these documents, however there are a few we will share with you here. Both myself and Independent Australia would like to make clear that all of the original documents that are in my possession will be made available for any investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption or any Police investigation. I am also happy to provide copies for any kind of parliamentary enquiry. Some of these documents raise important questions that I will put out there now.
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Firstly, as some of you may remember, during an interview on
ABC’s 7.30 programme on Monday, (transcript) Kathy Jackson answered “I reject all those claims” when asked whether the Union paid for specific things such as her gym, car, and also child care.
Here is the relevant exchange:
CHRIS UHLMANN: Well Mr Thomson’s made many accusations about you as you have of him. He points out that you drive a union paid for Volvo, that your child care and gym fees are paid for, you have taken numerous overseas trips at the expense of the union and that you’re salary doubled in the weeks after he left at $270,000. KATHY JACKSON: I reject all those claims…. This link, however, shows records of payments from the Health Services Union to Minifie Park Child Care Association. Some transactions are identified as “Staff Benefits”, and one as “Staff Uniforms”. Some of the electronic transaction records even show Kathy Jackson’s child’s name as a reference.
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/8091/minifiechildcare.pngThe Minifie Park Child Care Centre is, quite literally, just around the corner from Kathy Jackson’s residence, where she allegedly spends most nights with Fair Work Australia’s Vice President Michael Lawler. When I contacted the child care centre, I was told that they do not have uniforms. However, when I asked what staff benefits there are being paid for with HSU member’s funds, I was told by their Director, Julie Oliver, quite abruptly, to contact their solicitor, whose details I was not given.
These transactions seem to suggest that not only was Jackson concealing the truth during her interview on 7.30, but also that she may have been using Union funds to pay her substantial child care costs and was allegedly hiding the transactions in different accounts as general HSU expenses.
Secondly, I also have original
cheque requisitions and remittances in my possession that bear the approval signature of a Kathy Jackson. These documents detail payments, and have matching cheque numbers for payments, made to a company called Neranto No 10 — mostly for consultancy services. There are a rather large number of these payments, so I thought it best to have a look at Neranto No 10.
A
company search shows that Neranto No 10 was from 1994, until it was deregistered on 16 November 2008, owned and directed by Jeffrey Peter Jackson and Katherine Koukouvaos. Koukouvaos is
Kathy Jackson’s maiden name and Jeffrey Jackson is her former husband.
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/1405/neranto10.pngThere are also documents that give a
detailed breakdown of the hours of consultancy work being invoiced, and also details of
travel expenses. These hours are totalled up and
invoiced. It is important to remember that at the time these hours were being invoiced from her company, Neranto No 10, Jackson was also being paid a wage by the HSU.
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