•Chief’s niece breaks down in tears at hearing
•‘More than $2000 spent on dating services’
•Nearly $300,000 paid to MP for ‘consultative services’

A POWERFUL union boss was summoned from his bed in a psychiatric hospital to face claims his union credit card was used on personal items including dating services, a tattoo and a private eye.

National Union of Workers boss Derrick Belan was due to appear before the Royal Commission into trade union corruption on Wednesday but his lawyer said he had been admitted into a beachside Sydney psychiatric hospital and would like to delay his appearance.

However, Commissioner Dyson Heydon said “Mr Belan was about one hour away and his attendance on the summons was expected”.

Mr Belan stepped down from his role at the union after he was summonsed to appear before the Commission last month to face a raft of allegations about the misuse of union cash.

Counsel assisting the Commission Sarah McNaughton, SC, said that Mr Belan’s union American Express card had been used for almost $600,000 in purchases.

Almost $40,000 went on Tiffany & Co jewellery, perfume and Easter eggs from the catchoftheday website.

Mr Belan, known for wearing black and being surrounded by an entourage of burly union minders, also used his union corporate card to pay for a tattoo, $2271.70 on dating websites and $12,000 on iTunes.

The Commission’s financial investigators have also identified almost $70,000 in “suspicious payments from Branch funds to the personal accounts of” Mr Belan’s niece Danielle O’Brien, who has since quit as the union’s book-keeper.

Ms O’Brien was sobbing and shaking as she gave evidence on Monday. She said she had left the union: “I think I was fired.

“Because I was using my credit card without permission. Well, not without permission, to buy things that I wasn’t allowed to buy or wasn’t supposed to buy because sometimes I did have permission and sometimes I didn’t,” she said.

Asked if there were other credit cards she broke down in tears and said: “Yes, I’m so sorry.”

Ms McNaughton said the Commission would also be investigating the payment of almost $300,000 to former NSW Labor MP Paul Gibson in return for “consultant services”.

She said the union had not been able to provide documents relating to the work Mr Gibson provided “save for Mr Gibson’s invoices”.

Mr Gibson is expected to be called to give evidence this week.

The Commission will also investigate the union’s payment of more than $200,000 to the Ultimate Training Centre gym in St Marys in western Sydney in return for being able to place NUW posters in the gym and NUW logos on fighters’ helmets.

Mr Belan’s links to labour hire company Action Workforce are also under scrutiny after it agreed to Mr Belan’s request to pay for a private investigator to spy on “someone domestically connected” to him.

Action Workforce is owned by troubled labour hire company Ashley Services Group - the same one that bought the labour hire company at the centre of the dodgy deal made by Labor leader Bill Shorten’s former union that short-changed workers at Chiquita Mushrooms in Victoria.

The hearings may also have wider ramifications for another Labor leader.

NSW general secretary Jamie Clements has relied heavily on Mr Belan’s support after former ALP candidate and staffer Stefanie Jones accused him of trying to kiss her in NSW Parliament House.

The hearing continues.


PURCHASES ON BELAN’S $84,287.18 MASTERCARD BILL

(from 17/10/2010 to 18/3/2015)

- $39,000 (Purchases from website catch of the day, including Tiffany & Co Jewellery, manchester

and bed linen, Lego toys, clothing, electric blankets, cameras, rugs, skateboards, kitchen appliances, children’s toys, iPads, Easter eggs, makeup and beauty care products and perfume.)

- $12,000 (iTunes purchases)

- $2271.70 in fees for dating websites

Also:

• Payments for entertainment, holidays and accommodation apparently unconnected with union duties

• The purchase of a tattoo

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/royal-commission-into-trade-union-corrupti...

John Smith wrote on Nov 4^th, 2015 at 2:37pm:


Because it will be politicians who bring Unions into line with other corporations with regard to financial oversight. Who cares? I would think Union members should care that this grub is using their members dues to pay for $12,000 worth of iTunes purchases, among the other more than half a million dollars worth of personal purchases. You can't use members' dues to fund your own extravagant lifestyle. In any other organisation, it'd be considered fraud! Who cares? You obviously don't care about fraud. Why? Are you up to your neck in it too?

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Nov 4^th, 2015 at 2:45pm:


No. If they were, they'd be subject to the same laws of financial oversight as businesses are.

bogarde73 wrote on Nov 4^th, 2015 at 2:47pm:


I'm not surprised these leftwits see nothing wrong with this abhorrent behaviour. Are you surprised?

bogarde73 wrote on Nov 4^th, 2015 at 2:47pm:



so does that mean the libs are linked to Murdochs phone taps?

Murdoch's phone taps (you mean the UK ones?) don't fund the Liberals. They don't vote in Liberal leadership ballots.
I don't see any connection.

I feel sorry for the poor saps who give hard earned money out of their pay packets for these cretinous Union Labor crooks.

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Nov 4^th, 2015 at 4:18pm:


Careful Pansi or Arsie will arrive to state that
"that work" should be "who/whom (or somebody) work" .............