Andrew BOLT???!? 

You've gone from a drawer of dicks to an outright dickhead!! 

Lolly I think John may well have been on the money about you. Can you really become any more ludicrous?

Remember not to forget your foil hat. THEY will take over your mind if you forget!

progressiveslol wrote on Aug 19^th, 2012 at 7:42pm:


Hey it's fine with me, after all I don't mind having a good laugh. As you may have noticed. 

Gist wrote on Aug 19^th, 2012 at 7:46pm:

Dont we all. We get to read your responses every day.

The Chronological order of Julia Gillard’s dealings with the AWU

The Australian’s, Hedley Thomas, puts together a chronological order of Julia Gillard’s dealings with the AWU.

I normally only like to use an excerpt but this scandal is so important I have copied the whole article below.




HOW THE WILSON AFFAIR HAS UNFOLDED

1987: Julia Gillard is employed by Slater & Gordon, a Melbourne-based law firm, as a solicitor and is subsequently promoted in 1990 to the role of salaried partner of the firm.

LATE 1991: Gillard, who has political ambitions, starts a romantic relationship with Bruce Wilson, a leading figure in the Australian Workers Union and a favourite of AWU heavyweight Bill Ludwig.

LATE 1991-AUGUST 1995: Gillard performs much of the legal work for Wilson and the AWU's branches in Western Australia and Victoria, which were controlled by Wilson and his union bagman, AWU official Ralph Blewitt.

EARLY-TO-MID 1992: Gillard does the legal work for Wilson and Blewitt to establish the AWU Workplace Reform Association, an entity registered in WA and subject to legislation. The association was supposed to promote training and safety on construction sites. The association's rules, which were drafted by Gillard, do not permit union officials to benefit personally.

1992-95: Wilson and Blewitt persuade large companies including Thiess and Woodside, which have major building projects staffed by AWU members, to make payments to the AWU Workplace Reform Association to promote training and safety for AWU members.

1992-95: AWU national heads and other senior AWU figures are unaware that the association has been established or that hundreds of thousands of dollars are being raised from large companies.

EARLY 1993: Gillard's romantic and solicitor-client relationship with Wilson continues. Wilson moves to Melbourne to run the AWU in Victoria and organises the purchase for $230,000 of a house at 85 Kerr Street, Fitzroy, in the name of Blewitt, with Wilson having power of attorney.

EARLY 1993: Gillard attends the auction with Wilson of the house at 85 Kerr Street, Fitzroy.

MARCH 1993: The purchase of the house is settled. Cheques totalling about $70,000 and drawn from accounts directly related to the AWU Workplace Reform Association go into the purchase. Slater & Gordon's mortgage lending arm lends $150,000 to Blewitt to buy the house.

MARCH 1993-AUGUST 1995: Wilson lives in the house. Gillard visits regularly as Wilson's girlfriend. Blewitt visits occasionally from Perth, where he lives and runs the WA branch of the AWU.

AUGUST 1995: The AWU's joint national secretary, Ian Cambridge (now a Fair Work Australia commissioner), Queensland AWU head Bill Ludwig and others identify irregularities in the Victorian branch's financial accounts and start an internal investigation. Their investigations involve Robert McClelland, then a solicitor providing legal advice, and threats to call in police.

AUGUST 1995: Wilson and Blewitt are made redundant by their branch, against the wishes of Cambridge and Ludwig, who suspect the pair have committed fraud and unsuccessfully try to stop the payouts with Federal Court injunctions.

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 1995: Gillard's law partners at Slater & Gordon become concerned that her client is accused of misappropriating significant sums of money. The partners start a secret internal investigation. Gillard ends her relationship with Wilson. The firm stops acting for Wilson and Blewitt.

SEPTEMBER 11, 1995: As part of the investigation, Gillard agrees to be questioned about her actions in a tape-recorded interview conducted by two other partners. A lengthy transcript of the interview is produced. The firm's partners are surprised and disappointed at the findings of their investigation and make a joint decision that Gillard must leave the firm.

OCTOBER 12, 1995: A Victorian government minister, Phil Gude, claims in state parliament that Gillard had been forced to leave Slater & Gordon, and that she was directly linked to the misappropriation of union funds, and that she had benefited from renovations to her own house, and that she had to pay money back to the AWU so that she and Wilson could "cover their tracks". Gillard, who was an ALP Senate candidate, tells The Australian at the time: "Whether or not Mr Wilson was a client of mine is irrelevant. Each and every allegation raised about me is absolutely untrue; there is not a shred of truth in any of it."

Gillard adds that she has "no intention of leaving" Slater & Gordon.

OCTOBER 1995: Gillard abruptly leaves Slater & Gordon.

JANUARY 23, 1996: Cambridge writes to Laurie Brereton, then federal Labor minister for industrial relations, and requests a judicial inquiry or royal commission into how the union and Wilson have misused funds.

Cambridge adds: "Quite frankly I am now certain that the Victorian affair goes a lot deeper than I had first suspected, and I am afraid that underlying the whole mess may be issues of serious corruption."

FEBRUARY 1996: The house at 85 Kerr Street, Fitzroy, is sold. The proceeds after the mortgage is repaid go to Wilson and Blewitt.

APRIL 1996: The AWU hierarchy and Cambridge discover for the first time the existence of the AWU Workplace Reform Association, set up by Gillard four years earlier and controlled by Wilson and Blewitt. Cambridge traces dozens of cheques for hundreds of thousands of dollars that have gone through the association's accounts without the union's knowledge.

MID-TO-LATE 1996: Police start fraud squad investigations in Western Australia and Victoria. Cambridge, Ludwig and the AWU want police to bring criminal charges and recover the funds.

MID 1996: Gillard, having been unsuccessful in her Senate bid, becomes chief of staff to Victoria's then opposition leader, John Brumby.

FEBRUARY 2001: Liberal frontbencher Geoff Leigh accuses Gillard in Victorian parliament of having wrongly received $57,000 of AWU funds. Gillard rejects the claims, describing them as "malicious and unfounded abuse of parliamentary privilege".

NOVEMBER 2007: A fortnight before Labor's federal election win, Glenn Milne, a News Limited senior political reporter, interviews Gillard. In a story headlined "A conman broke my heart" and published in Sunday newspapers, the then deputy opposition leader described her relationship with Wilson and her role as his solicitor, and stated: "I was young and naive. I am by no means the first person to find out that someone close turns out to be different to what you had believed them to be. I was obviously hurt when I was later falsely accused publicly of wrongdoing." Wilson, drummed out of the union in 1995 and near-penniless, maintains his silence.

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER last year: Fairfax Radio 2UE broadcaster Michael Smith, journalist Glenn Milne (then writing for The Australian) and Herald Sun commentator Andrew Bolt revisit the issue and republish allegations against Gillard, who responds in a fury to John Hartigan, the then chairman of News Limited Australia. The Australian newspaper publicly apologises to Gillard for an error made by Milne, who loses his role. Smith is banned from broadcasting an interview with a former union official with knowledge of the matters. Smith loses his job. Bolt considers resigning but stays on.

JUNE THIS YEAR: Former federal attorney-general Robert McClelland, who had been sacked by Gillard after his support for Kevin Rudd in his leadership bid, resurrects the 1995 union funds scandal by making a speech in federal parliament in which he speaks of Gillard's role then, and his own role as a lawyer for an opposing side. Gillard declines to comment.

JUNE: The Australian receives additional documentary information and resumes investigations. Harry Nowicki, a former personal injury lawyer writing a history of the AWU, discloses his findings after extensive travel and interviews with key parties.

THIS MONTH: The Australian interviews Blewitt who breaks his silence after 17 years. Blewitt admits there were "sham transactions" and seeks indemnity from prosecution for his role. Gillard declines to comment. Wayne Swan says it is "not a story".

THIS MONTH: The Australian discloses that newly released documents obtained under Freedom of Information show that fraud squad police and their legal adviser in Western Australia in 1996-97 regarded Wilson and Blewitt as crooks who should be prosecuted for criminal offences. Gillard declines to comment.

THIS MONTH: Slater & Gordon lawyers reveal to The Australian that the firm is conducting an internal review. The firm asks the AWU for permission to lift a legal lid on highly sensitive files on the union scandal. Gillard declines to comment. AWU head Paul Howes declines to comment.

TODAY: Nick Styant-Browne, a former equity partner at Slater & Gordon, breaks his silence and tells The Weekend Australian of serious concerns the firm held about Gillard's conduct in the Wilson and AWU matters, resulting in her leaving her job. Gillard again denies being involved in any wrongdoing.


http://www.andysrant.com/2012/08/the-chronological-order-of-julia-gillards-deali...

The Prime Minister asks for The Australian to fill in the gaps. Cut & Paste obliges

SKY's Australian Agenda yesterday:

Paul Kelly: " ... there were a series of allegations made in yesterday's Australian by a former senior partner which questioned your integrity. Surely you need to respond to those allegations?

Julia Gillard: I am not going to ... spend my time dealing with these events 17 years ago ... This is just nonsense ...

Kelly: No, hang on. The central point was the partner alleged you had to resign because of this issue, is that correct or not?

Gillard: Look, Paul, I did resign from Slater & Gordon, that's a matter of public record. I made the decision to do that. I mean join the dots for me, Paul. What matters about this today for Australia and me being Prime Minister? Just articulate that ... I did nothing wrong.

Hedley Thomas in Saturday's The Weekend Australian revealed:

NICK Styant-Browne, a former equity partner of (Slater & Gordon), revealed (a) legal entity that Ms Gillard (established) was used by (Gillard's boyfriend Bruce) Wilson ... to allegedly corruptly receive hundreds of thousands of dollars from large companies ... The AWU's then national leaders, Ian Cambridge and Bill Ludwig, were not made aware of the entity's existence ... Funds were ... withdrawn by Mr Wilson and Mr Blewitt (to) purchase a $230,000 house in Kerr Street, Fitzroy ... (Gillard) and Mr Wilson attended the auction of 85 Kerr Street ... (Gillard) could not categorically deny AWU union or (AWU) Workplace Reform Association monies ... had been used in the renovation of her own house in Melbourne ... Gillard had confirmed that "she did not open a file at the firm to establish the association, and that she could not at the time recall any reason why a file was not opened ... (Gillard) understood the purpose of the association was (a) slush fund ...



Affidavit by Ian Cambridge (now Fair Work Australia Commissioner), September 1996:

I AM unable to understand how Slater & Gordon, who were then acting for the Victoria branch of the (AWU), could have permitted the use of funds which were obviously taken from the union, in the purchase of private property (terrace house 85 Kerr Street) of this nature, without seeking and obtaining proper authority from the union for such use of its funds and without recording the interest of the union on the title to the property.



Hedley Thomas in The Weekend Australian again:

MR Cambridge called on the federal Labor government to establish a royal commission into what he regarded as serious and criminal rorting by union officials.



Peter Slater, Julia Gillard's boss at Slater & Gordon, May 7:

FROM time to time (Gillard) came under fairly substantial attack in the course of various litigation issues ... I think she has a very robust sense of her own integrity and she prefers that view to those who would assail it ... It can be regarded as stubbornness. She certainly sticks to a position once she's formed a view that the way she's proceeding is correct.



Some people don't accept my explanations? SKY's Australian Agenda yesterday:

PETER VAN ONSELEN: I believe you, that you did nothing wrong. I made a comment on Friday on my show The Contrarians that I thought that this is all a beat-up ... but why not just address it straight down the barrel so that we can move on ... frankly I'm sick of people emailing me about this.

Julia Gillard: Well, Peter, let me welcome but also question your grand naivety. The people who are dealing with this online in their malicious and motivated way would not stop, no matter what explanation I gave.



Who are these people? Gillard on the ABC's Australian Story, 2006:

A WOMAN who had worked in (Victorian minister ) Phil Gude's office ... was keen for me to understand that a Labor source had given (the allegations of wrongdoing) to Phil Gude ... it certainly doesn't shock you when you have been around Labor politics for a while.


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/the-prime-minister-asks-for-the-aus...

Prime Minister Julia Gillard may well have sealed her own fate

NEIL MITCHELL: On an obscure barely watched pay TV program yesterday Julia Gillard may well have sealed her own fate.

She may well have finally ended any hope she has of leading the government into the next election.

I have spoken today to some of her supporters and they are very concerned.

They believe what happened yesterday on television, combined with a new opinion poll tomorrow, could well provide the finals straws that leave the camel not just with a broken back, but out of the game.

Yesterday the Prime Minister was rattled and unimpressive.

She personally attacked one of the most respected and experienced political journalists.

Paul Kelly of the Australian Newspaper.

And she was completely wrong in what she accused him of doing.

She accused him of being a puppet of asking questions on behalf of somebody else

That is offensive and wrong. She didn’t look like a leader. She didn’t look in control.

She didn’t look capable of handling any sort of crisis

My sources tell me the Labor caucus is already very, very nervous.

And this performance, if it is backed up by another bad opinion poll due out tomorrow, could be the end.

Now nobody knows what is in that poll of course.

But this is what happened yesterday...

She was on Sky, being interviewed by Paul Kelly

He raised with her a report from the Australian newspaper on Saturday.

This all goes to a messy problem with corruption in a union, going back 17 years.

Julia Gillard’s then boyfriend, a man called Bruce Wilson, was accused of siphoning funds into an account he set up in the name of the union.

That is the accusation. Julia Gillard set up the account, she was union solicitor, he was a union official.

She also attended an auction where a house was bought from funds from that account.

And she has strongly and consistency denied any wrong doing.

She says she was naïve…. So guilty of professional incompetence, not illegal behaviour.

She strongly denies that.

On Saturday a former partner of the form Slater and Gordon claimed she had left Slater and Gordon because of an inquiry into the events.

PLAY AUDIO: Julia Gillard speaking with Paul Kelly on Sky News.


Now she didn’t answer, and there is no doubt she left Slater and Gordon soon after this all happened.

Slater and Gordon have released a statement now supporting her in careful language.

They say they found nothing that contradicted her denials and that she had left for other reasons.

Ok…fair enough. But Julia Gillard must answer that as well.

She can’t refuse to answer and she did yesterday

This is a nasty little campaign, it is building online, she needs to deal with it.

She needs to handle it like a leader and she has had many opportunities to do that but she has not.

Of course Kelly was right to ask the question

Her integrity is relevant even from something that happened 17-years ago.

The integrity of a Prime Minister is always relevant.

This is building online and several people in the finance and banking industry have now asked me about it within a few days.

The word is spreading, it is perhaps unfair but it must be dealt with.

I am not alleging that Julia Gillard was corrupt. There is no evidence of that.

I am saying she was incompetent as a solicitor but that is not a hanging offence

Yesterday she kept saying to Paul Kelly ‘If you have allegations put them to me’.

Well. This is what she needs to answer.

One - when did she become aware of the funds in this account were stolen and what did she do about it, then did she find out she had been conned and what did she do about it.

Did she tell the union? The Police? What did she do when she found her boyfriend had been conning her?

Two - when did she decide to leave Slater and Gordon and why?

Three - can she show that none of these suspect funds were used for her personal gain (including to renovate her house)?

Four - she has allegedly said to Slater and Gordon this was set up as a slush fund. When did she understand that?

And did she advise corporate authorities of that at any stage.

Five - when she attended the auction of the house was she aware the association she had established for her boyfriend was being sued to purchase it? Did she ask why?

Look, there are more questions; this is just the starting point. It goes to the detail but in the broad sense what she needs to address is this.

She said to Paul Kelly – ‘what is the allegation’? Well… this is it in a very general sense.

Prime Minister, the allegation is that you may have acted improperly.

You deny it. Nobody knows.

But you won’t answer the detail that keeps coming up.

There are now serious concerns around what happened in those days and it involves around $400,000.

Those doubts go to the heart of your integrity.

You keep asking why you should answer questions.

Well, you should answer questions because your integrity has, rightly or wrongly, come under a cloud.

Public confidence demands answers

Public perceptions demand answers

You can’t just have a blanket denial. You can’t just leave it to the law firm

You are Prime Minister, that demands an extra level of accountability.

You must answer the specific problems yourself.

By now…. I imagine the Prime Minister knows what I know. She handled yesterday’s questions very, very badly,

It could in the end be the final straw that costs her the leadership

http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/neil-mitchell-blog/prime-minister-julia-gillard-may-...

Shane B wrote on Aug 20^th, 2012 at 10:04am:




You lost. Get over it.