Socialist Australia : PM Madame Gillard refuses to answers questions about past Lovers Union Scam / Slush Fund

The $5000 question - claims Julia Gillard's ex-boyfriend Bruce Wilson put cash into her account

The Daily Telegraph
November 14, 2012 12:00AM

JULIA Gillard's past continued to haunt her last night, with allegations emerging that in June 1996 a union employee told the national head of the Australian Workers Union that he deposited $5000 cash into her account.

The allegation, outlined exclusively in The Australian today, is that the cash had come from the Prime Minister's then boyfriend, AWU official Bruce Wilson.

Ms Gillard has always denied any wrongdoing over the creation of a union slush fund on behalf of Mr Wilson and union official Ralph Blewitt during her time as a lawyer for Slater and Gordon.

The allegation comes as Mr Blewitt indicated he is willing to speak openly about his role in the union scandal but wants the police to guarantee him immunity from prosecution.

The Australian reports that then national AWU head Ian Cambridge, now a Fair Work Australia Commissioner, recorded in his 1994-1996 diary allegations by union employee Wayne Hem that Mr Wilson, after a night at a casino, had given him a wad of cash totalling $5000 along with Ms Gillard's bank account details and told him to deposit it.

The report also states that Mr Hem's allegations formed part of a statutory declaration sworn to the newspaper in Melbourne three days ago during a lengthy interview.

The report stressed it was not known from where Mr Wilson got the funds and there was no evidence, nor was it suggested, Ms Gillard asked for the payment or knew of its origins. Ms Gillard yesterday repeated her denial of any wrongdoing.

Her spokesman issued a statement to The Australian saying: "The Prime Minister has made clear on numerous occasions that she was not involved in any wrongdoing.

"I also note that despite repeatedly being asked to do so, The Australian has been unable to substantiate any allegations of wrongdoing."

Mr Hem told The Australian that he told Mr Cambridge about the bank deposit on June 7, 1996, during a drive to Melbourne. During this time Mr Cambridge was investigating AWU fraud.

Mr Cambridge's June 7, 1996 diary entry notes Mr Hem telling him "about an event that took place in about July last year (1995)", The Australian reports.

"This event involved Bruce Wilson handing Wayne an envelope which contained approximately $5000 in $100 and $50 notes and Wilson instructed Hem to deposit this $5000 into a personal account of Julia Gillard."

Mr Hem provided further detail on the allegation in his statutory declaration to The Australian, saying he had been asked to attend Mr Wilson's office. "I went down and he handed me about five grand," Mr Hem said in the report.

"Then Bruce handed me a piece of paper with the account number and a name on it, and it was Julia's name.

"He said 'Go put this in Julia's account'. I said 'OK'.

"He (Wilson) made a comment about not saying anything. I just went down to the bank, put it in, came back, gave him the receipt.

"I didn't know if it was for Julia or if the account was a private account or a Slater and Gordon account. It just had Julia Gillard's name on it and I put it in the bank account."

 Read more on this story at The Australian.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/investigations/whistleblower-wayne-hem-alerted-awus-national-secretary-to-5000-payment-to-julia-gillard/story-fng5kxvh-1226516225346

AWU man ready to open up on fraud

Steve Lewis 
The Daily Telegraph 
November 14, 2012 12:00AM

POLICE have asked the lawyer for a key player in the Australian Workers Union scandal whether his client would provide details about an alleged "slush" fund used by Julia Gillard's former boyfriend Bruce Wilson.

In a move that could shed fresh evidence on the 15-year-old union fraud, Victorian detectives have confirmed they are willing to speak with former AWU official Ralph Blewitt.

Now living in Malaysia, Mr Blewitt's testimony could be explosive and include details of an alleged "slush" fund that was used to help purchase a Melbourne property.

Prime Minister Gillard, whose former boyfriend Mr Wilson was the mastermind behind the union fraud, provided advice on a number of matters while a lawyer at Slater & Gordon, including helping to register the AWU Workplace Reform Association which Ms Gillard admitted was used as a "slush" fund by Mr Wilson and Mr Blewitt over a three-year period.

Mr Blewitt has indicated he is willing to speak openly about his role in the union scandal but wants police to guarantee him immunity from prosecution.

Last night, Mr Blewitt's Melbourne lawyer Bob Galbally said his client was happy to co-operate with Victorian fraud squad officers. He expected the police would seek to investigate the scandal "on a wide basis" including details of a "slush" fund used by the two former AWU officials.

"My client is happy to make a statement to the police about the purchase of the Kerr St property. The purchase was with stolen funds," Mr Galbally said.

He said Victoria Police had said they "are prepared to investigate the matter".

"Before I take (Mr Blewitt) in for a statement, I am seeking approval from the police to him making a statement with a proviso that it should not be used in evidence against himself," Mr Galbally said. He said he expected police would "investigate on a wide basis".

Known as the AWU Workplace Reform Association, the fund was used to misappropriate $400,000, according to an investigation carried out by the union management.

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Revealed: Julia Gillard lost her job after law firm's secret investigation

BY: HedleyThomas, 
NATIONAL CHIEF CORRESPONDENT  
The Australian 
August 18, 2012 

JULIA Gillard left her job as a partner with law firm Slater & Gordon as a direct result of a secret internal probe in 1995 into controversial work she had done for her then boyfriend, a union boss accused of corruption, The Weekend Australian can reveal.

Nick Styant-Browne, a former equity partner of the firm, broke a 17-year silence yesterday to reveal that the firm's probe included a confidential formal interview with the Prime Minister - then an industrial lawyer - on September 11, 1995, which was "recorded and transcribed".

In the interview, Ms Gillard stated that she could not categorically rule out that she had personally benefited from union funds in the renovation of her Melbourne house, according to Mr Styant-Browne.

She said in the interview that she believed she had paid for all the work and materials, and had receipts, which she later produced.

The firm's probe revolved around Ms Gillard's work since mid-1992 for the Australian Workers Union and her then boyfriend - the AWU's ambitious leader at the time, Bruce Wilson - as well as her direct role in establishing the AWU Workplace Reform Association for Mr Wilson.

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Mr Styant-Browne's revelations today mark the first time that anyone among the former and present partners of her employer before she started her political career has spoken on the record about matters that have controversially dogged Ms Gillard since 1995.

Mr Styant-Browne, now a Seattle-based lawyer, said the partnership "took a very serious view" of these and other matters, "and accepted her resignation".

"The firm was scrupulous to ensure these matters were both properly investigated and Ms Gillard was given every opportunity to explain her involvement," Mr Styant-Browne said. "Ms Gillard conveyed to me that she thought she had been 'shabbily' treated after eight years of service."

In response to a series of detailed questions from The Weekend Australian, a spokesman for Ms Gillard said last night she had "made clear that she was not involved in any wrongdoing, and has dealt with these allegations previously". "The Prime Minister maintains good relations with Slater & Gordon," he said.

The legal entity that Ms Gillard began to establish for Mr Wilson from mid-1992 was used by Mr Wilson and his then friend, AWU bagman and West Australian branch head Ralph Blewitt, to allegedly corruptly receive hundreds of thousands of dollars from large companies.

The companies were told their money would pay for safety and training of AWU members on major work sites. However, the funds were allegedly siphoned off for purposes including the personal use of Mr Wilson and Mr Blewitt. At the time, the AWU's then national leaders, Ian Cambridge and Bill Ludwig, were not made aware of the entity's existence. They were unaware that large sums of money had been going into accounts linked to the association, and that those funds were subsequently withdrawn by Mr Wilson and Mr Blewitt for purposes including the purchase of a $230,000 house in Kerr Street, Fitzroy. 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.

Ms Gillard has repeatedly and strenuously denied that she had any knowledge of what the association that she had set up was going to be used for. She has also denied receiving any benefit from the funds. She has repeatedly rejected claims made in parliament that renovations to her own house in Melbourne in the early-to-mid 1990s were part-funded by money allegedly siphoned off by Mr Wilson.

Mr Styant-Browne revealed yesterday that Ms Gillard had said in her formal interview on September 11, 1995, that "she could not categorically deny AWU union or (AWU) Workplace Reform Association monies" had been used in the renovation of her own house in Melbourne. He said she had subsequently produced receipts for work done on the Abbotsford property.

In a two-page statement to The Weekend Australian, Mr Styant-Browne also revealed unusual circumstances surrounding what he described as Ms Gillard's "legal and related work to establish the AWU Workplace Reform Association in Western Australia".

He said that in her formal interview, Ms 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. He said that she had stated that no other lawyer at the firm worked on the matter, and "to her recollection, no other lawyer was consulted". She stated in the interview that she "was not involved in opening or operating any bank accounts for the association," Mr Styant-Browne said.

Referring to the recorded interview, Mr Styant-Browne said: "She understood the purpose of the association was to hold re-election funds for union officials contributed by individual union members and fundraisers. She stated it was referred to as a re-election or slush fund. She had been in a relationship with Mr Wilson for nearly four years commencing in late 1991.

"She and Mr Wilson attended the auction of 85 Kerr Street, Fitzroy in early 1993 where Mr Wilson made a successful bid for the house which was purchased in the name of Ralph Blewitt. Mr Blewitt did not attend the auction. She understood the house was a property investment made by Mr Blewitt, and that Mr Wilson would live there as a trusted tenant. She believed this arrangement suited them both.

"She had extensively renovated her own house in Abbotsford. Mr Wilson had assisted in the renovations. She believed she had paid for all the work and materials, and had receipts which she agreed to produce. She was aware someone had sought payment from the AWU for work and materials he had supplied for the house. He was mistaken or misinformed. But she could not categorically deny AWU union or Workplace Association monies had been used for any of the work. As at the time of the interview, her relationship with Mr Wilson had recently ended."

Mr Styant-Browne said the conduct of Slater & Gordon in waiving its conveyancing fee for the purchase of the Fitzroy house and lending $150,000 to complete the sale was not unusual.

"Like many law firms, Slater & Gordon regularly did discounted or free conveyances for clients who held office in its client corporations or organisations. Like any labour law firm, the fees for these conveyances for union officials were regularly waived, " he said.

"Slater & Gordon conducted a solicitors' contributory mortgage practice, which made loans secured by first mortgage over properties up to a percentage of a sworn valuation obtained for the specific purpose of the loan. A partner of the firm was designated as the trustee for the mortgage on behalf of the contributors, and signed the mortgage in that capacity. Legal fees or disbursements for the mortgage formed part of the loan, as was the case for the Kerr Street mortgage. The Kerr Street conveyance and mortgage were both unexceptionable transactions for the firm's conveyancing and mortgage practice.

"As for the florid allegations suggesting a cover-up by Slater & Gordon made in some radio interviews and online media, they are utterly absurd."

Explaining his reasons for speaking out after a long silence, Mr Styant-Browne, 54, who is not a member of any political party, said: "It has recently become clear to me that there is a genuine public interest in this story, which has prompted my statement now".

The Australian revealed earlier this month that Mr Wilson's former close friend, Mr Blewitt, wanted to expose the extent of his alleged scam with Mr Wilson, and that he would admit his own wrongdoing if he received an indemnity from prosecution. Mr Blewitt, 66, said: "My greatest fear is that I incriminate myself but this has to come out now".

The Australian has also reported that internal documents, newly released under Freedom of Information, from an exhaustive police probe at the time show detectives suspected Mr Wilson and Mr Blewitt, were "crooks" and wanted them criminally prosecuted over a $400,000-plus alleged fraud. The documents from the police file include letters showing leaders of the AWU, which remains the most influential industrial supporter of the federal Labor government, were deeply annoyed that the two men were not charged with criminal offences.

The managing director of Slater & Gordon, Andrew Grech, has begun contacting its former clients including Mr Blewitt, Mr Wilson and the AWU, "asking that they agree to waive their right to legal privilege attaching to lawyer-client communication so that we can respond to the public allegations that have been made".

"We are not prepared to have our firm's reputation impugned by the allegations relating to these matters, which occurred almost two decades ago," Mr Grech told The Australian last week.

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