Could One MP's run in with 'HOOKERS' bring down the Australian Govt..?

[jackovesk]

MP link to escort calls

August 19, 2011

CALLS were made to escort services from hotel rooms hired by the Labor MP Craig Thomson while he was the secretary of the Health Services Union. Charges for the calls were paid by Mr Thomson's union credit card.

Mr Thomson already faces allegations, revealed by the Herald, that his card was used to pay for escort services in Sydney, and to make more than $100,000 in cash withdrawals.

Mr Thomson has denied the allegation of irregular spending - still the subject of an investigation by Fair Work Australia.

http://images.smh.com.au/2011/08/18/2566496/ipad-art-wide-craig-420x0.jpg
Craig Thomson in Parliament yesterday

He claims he authorised payments but other people had access to the card. This new information appears to call that position into question.

Bills and credit card details obtained by the Herald reveal that:

On April 5, 2006 a call was made from Mr Thomson's hotel room at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne to Young Blondes escort agency and later to Confidential Models escort agency.

On June 7, 2006 a call was made from his room at Pacific International Suites in Melbourne to an escort agency called Bad Girls.

Another bill shows that on May 15 of that year, Mr Thomson spent $805.50 on lunch at the Melbourne restaurant Langton's. It appears only $102 was on food - $540 was for four bottles of wine and the rest on beer and coffee.

Mr Thomson declined to comment on the invoices last night.

With the federal government again under pressure to defend Mr Thomson, the Herald has learnt that Fair Work Australia paid $7092 for legal advice to shut down questioning by the opposition about the investigation into the Health Services Union's financial reporting.

During a budget estimates hearing in February, the Liberal senator Michael Ronaldson questioned Terry Nassios, the Fair Work Australia officer charged with investigating the allegations. He asked Mr Nassios who had been interviewed, and if Mr Thomson had been interviewed.

At an earlier hearing, Mr Nassios said answers to those questions could damage his investigation, but this time he said he believed the answers could be safely made public.

But as he prepared to answer, he was interrupted by the Labor Senate leader, Chris Evans, who said: ''I would like to get some advice before the officer made available details as to who has been interviewed.''

The line of questioning was ended and Senator Ronaldson has since learnt that Fair Work Australia took advice from Peter Hanks, QC, who charged $7092 to advise that revealing who had been interviewed would not be in the public interest.

Senator Ronaldson had planned to ask if Mr Thomson had been interviewed and what Fair Work had discovered.

Senator Ronaldson said yesterday that it ''beggars belief'' that a senator would ''shut down'' a bureaucrat who had decided to make information public. ''They will do and say and spend anything to prevent the inevitable - Thomson going down and a fresh election being held,'' he said.

This week it was reported that the Labor Party had spent up to $90,000 on Mr Thomson's legal fees from a withdrawn defamation action against the Herald, saving Mr Thomson from bankruptcy and disqualification from office.

It was revealed in earlier estimates hearings that as of February 2010 the inquiry cost $162,908.10, not including the time of the two staff members.

Senator Evans's office did not respond to calls.

Should the Fair Work investigation reveal wrongdoing, it could apply to the Federal Court to have a civil penalty applied or refer the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mr Thomson has not been charged with anything and on Sunday, Wyong police said they were not investigating a complaint lodged by a member of the Health Services Union.

Sources close to the MP were blaming the former Labor powerbrokers Graham Richardson and John Della Bosca for stirring up fresh allegations.

In Parliament yesterday the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, was again questioned over Mr Thomson and again said she stood by him. She declined to say when she became aware that the Labor Party had lent him money for legal bills.

The Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, accused Ms Gillard of protecting Mr Thomson to save her government but he would not agree that she should call for Mr Thomson's resignation. A Liberal senator, Mary Jo Fisher, is awaiting trial after being charged with shoplifting.

''I don't want to … set myself up as a moral paragon because you never know what tests you might face,'' Mr Abbott said.

If Mr Thomson were forced to resign, the government would probably lose its parliamentary majority at a byelection.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/mp-link-to-escort-calls-20110818-1j0az.html#ixzz1VPc0gjVz

PS - Seriousness aside, Ya gotta Love the Sense of Humor..!

http://blogs.news.com.au/images/uploads/thoi_thumb.jpg

[Lord Sidious]

Why aren't the police investigating this?

[Tane Mahuta]

Why aren't the police investigating this?

Probably cause the cops are using the same credit card too!

Gonna be interesting.....more to come!!

TM

[jackovesk]

Why aren't the police investigating this?

Because the Labor affiliated Union which issued the Credit Card to Craig Thomson have not lodged an official complaint against him, nor are the likely to..!

So, unfortunately the Police cannot intervene...

The Labor Crime-Gang has got all bases covered right from the Governor General to JuLIAR and the rest of them!

...and it was the Treasonous little Spy himself 'Mark Ahbib' :spy: who did the Wheeling & Dealing!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/MarkArbibJerilderieLibraryOpening.JPG/220px-MarkArbibJerilderieLibraryOpening.JPG

Podcast here...
:director: http://mediadownload2.f2.com.au/flash/media/2011/08/19/2567871/2567871_high.mp4

[jackovesk]

Thomson runs out of credit

Craig Thomson has new questions to answer:

BELEAGUERED Labor MP Craig Thomson is facing explosive allegations he breached electoral laws after spending nearly $40,000 on his 2007 election campaign using his union credit card.

As pressure intensifies for Mr Thomson to give a detailed explanation to Parliament, the Herald Sun can also reveal he had a $30,000 personal spending spree using his union credit card on Qantas flights for his ex-wife, swank hotels and expensive restaurant meals....

Mr Thomson, whose resignation would trigger the likely demise of the Gillard Government, enjoyed the good life as a union boss, dining at upmarket restaurants including Beppis in Sydney, and Melbourne’s Sarti, where he spent $1300.

For the first time, documents show Mr Thomson exploited his union position to spend $18,733 on radio advertising and $7253 on postal mail-outs in the lead-up to the 2007 election.

Mr Thomson was elected as the Member for Dobell in NSW, defeating the Liberals’ Ken Ticehurst in the general election won by Kevin Rudd.

According to legal documents - filed in the NSW Supreme Court after Mr Thomson sued Fairfax Media for defamation - the Labor MP “failed to disclose election campaign spending to the Australian Electoral Commission”.

Why didn’t his union president, Michael Williamson, know about this? Or did he? These questions should be asked of Williamson who was last year the national president of the Labor Party, and is still the party’s Junior Vice President.

Thomson is losing friends in Labor:

There is growing anger in the ALP towards Mr Thomson for telling his colleagues before the last election that the allegations about credit card misuse, published by the Herald in 2009, were untrue and that he was suing Fairfax Media. Mr Thomson withdrew that action in April and there is fresh anger from colleagues because he had told people he won the case. ‘’He looked me in the eye and told me he won,’’ a senior MP said yesterday.

But Labor powerbrokers risk losing the friendship of an honest man by canvassing the latest desperate strategy to keep power:

LABOR strategists are canvassing the prospect of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Harry Jenkins, being asked to step down and join the backbench should Craig Thomson lose his seat over the credit card fraud allegations.

Although Mr Thomson has not been charged with anything, Labor strategists are thinking of ways to prolong the government should it lose a precious seat… If Mr Jenkins moved to the backbench, the Deputy Speaker and Liberal MP, Peter Slipper, would become Speaker. This would give the Labor-minority government 75 seats on the floor, the Coalition 72, plus Mr Katter and Mr Crook.

Fact is, Thomson - and Labor - are poison in his electorate:

Polling of the seat by the veteran political pollster John Scales, of JWS research, shows the Coalition leading Labor by 60 per cent to 40 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis. Labor’s primary vote in Dobell is mired at 26 per cent.

UPDATE

A big thank you to all those who made this possible:

Craig Thomson’s maiden speech to parliament, February 19, 2008:

I NEED to acknowledge the fantastic advice and assistance I received from Mark Arbib, Karl Bitar and Sam Dastyari from the NSW ALP head office.
Andrew Clennell in The Daily Telegraph last Friday:

THE ALP bailout of Craig Thomson could be more than $150,000 - and federal minister Mark Arbib is understood to have brokered the deal between Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s office and NSW Labor.

Thomson’s maiden speech:

THE support I received from the entire union movement but in particular from Unions NSW, the TWU, the CFMEU mining division, the PSA, and of course my own union, the Health Services Union, was phenomenal.

Lauren Wilson in The Weekend Australian on Saturday:

FORMER union colleagues of Labor backbencher Craig Thomson reject his claims the Health Services Union reached a settlement with a man over the use of credit cards at escort agencies. Mr Thomson . . . told radio station 2UE’s Michael Smith earlier this month: “The union reached a settlement with another gentleman who paid back $15,000 in relation to the use of credit cards at an escort agency."Former Victorian HSU branch secretary Jeff Jackson told The Weekend Australian he was the person who repaid $15,000 to the union - but said the payment had nothing to do with credit cards used at escort agencies.

Thomson’s maiden speech:

I STARTED by saying that the language we use as politicians should be simple, straightforward and honest, easy to understand, childlike, one might say.

Misha Schubert in The Sunday Age yesterday:

AFTER a week of attack on his character in parliament, Mr Thomson has been confronted by another chapter in his past calling his honesty into question. Court documents reveal that an industrial court blasted a campaign he ran to woo members from another union as “deceitful” and “reprehensible”.

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/thomson_runs_out_of_credit/

PS - The Collapse of the Fabian Socialist Labor Govt. Not too far away Now..!

:nod:

[jackovesk]

Police investigate Craig Thomson

August 23, 2011 - 12:17PM

NSW police say they will investigate allegations that federal Labor MP Craig Thomson misused his union credit card.

"Shadow Attorney-General George Brandis has provided information to police in relation to a number of matters concerning a federal Labor MP," police said in a statement today.

"This correspondence has now been referred for internal assessment to determine whether a criminal offence has occurred."

Mr Thomson is alleged to have used a credit card issued to him when he was head of the Health Services Union, to pay for the services of prostitutes.

He denies the allegation and says another person, whom he has not named, used the card at brothels.

NSW Police say "standardised assessment and investigation protocols" will be followed in their investigation.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/police-investigate-craig-thomson-20110823-1j7op.html

Tick Tock - Tick Tock
http://www.sitevip.net/gifs/alarm_clock/clock_001_animado.gif

[Lord Sidious]

If only we could get ALL of them investigated.

[jackovesk]

Libs claim Arbib brokered MP's lawsuit costs

The Australian August 23, 2011

THE opposition has escalated its attack on the Gillard government, attempting to drag right-faction heavyweight Mark Arbib into the alleged credit-card scandal engulfing Labor backbencher Craig Thomson.

Liberal justice spokesman George Brandis yesterday told the Senate that Julia Gillard had bound herself "hand and foot to the integrity of the NSW Labor Party machine".

Senator Arbib, who was one of three NSW Labor powerbrokers thanked by Mr Thomson in the first minute of his maiden address to parliament in 2008, yesterday refused to answer questions about whether he had helped broker a deal for the NSW branch of the Labor Party to cover legal costs relating to Mr Thomson's withdrawn defamation action against Fairfax Media.

Senator Arbib told the Senate the questions were entirely unrelated to his portfolio responsibilities and were matters for Mr Thomson and the NSW Labor Party.

But Senator Brandis continued his attack, declaring Senator Arbib was a "central figure in organising that very, very shabby deal".

Mr Thomson has denied the ALP assisted him with the costs of the lawsuit to prevent his becoming bankrupt -- which would have forced a by-election and likely triggered a change of government.

Mr Thomson has repeatedly denied misusing his union authorised credit card.

Fresh allegations of financial impropriety against Mr Thompson were aired yesterday in relation to a bus bill for a vehicle used during his election campaign last year.

Sydney radio talkback host Ray Hadley said on his 2GB morning show that Mr Thomson and fellow Central Coast Labor MP Deb O'Neill were to be pursued for more than $38,000 in unpaid bills for two Mercedes buses used during their election campaigns last year.

The bills are for damage allegedly caused to the buses by the political advertising affixed to the external panels. Hadley alleged both MPs had refused to pay the bills. Ms O'Neill's office told 2GB they had been overcharged for the buses and that work which had not been agreed to was carried out.

Mr Thomson did not return calls from The Australian.

The Prime Minister yesterday defended her backbencher amid calls for him to make a statement answering the allegations about the misuse of his union credit card.

The opposition unsuccessfully tried to use parliament to force Mr Thomson to make an explanation about use of his credit card at an escort agency, for personal expenses and for use in his political campaign for Dobell.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/libs-claim-arbib-brokered-mps-lawsuit-costs/story-fn59niix-1226120004865

PS - I told you this man Mark Arbib :spy:...(Post #4 above)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/MarkArbibJerilderieLibraryOpening.JPG/220px-MarkArbibJerilderieLibraryOpening.JPG

Is a CANCER on our Nation, and in time HE TOO will Go..!

.................................................................................................... .............................

Previous Thread Dated 8th December 2010

WikiLeaks outs Aussie Minister Mark Arbib as a US SPY!

I knew this Fella was WROTTEN to the CORE!

WikiLeaks outs Mark Arbib as US informant...

FEDERAL Labor powerbroker Mark Arbib has been outed as a key source of intelligence on government and internal party machinations to the US embassy.

New embassy cables, released by WikiLeaks to Fairfax newspapers today, reveal the influential right-wing Labor MP has been one of the embassy's best ALP informants, along with former frontbencher Bob McMullan and current MP Michael Danby.

The documents say the Minister for Sport had been secretly offering details of Labor's inner workings even before his election to the Senate in 2007, dating back to his time as general secretary of the party's NSW branch from 2004.

Senator Arbib was one of the "faceless men" who was instrumental in the decision to oust Kevin Rudd and install Julia Gillard as Prime Minister in June.

Here's a Picture of the Treasonous THUG..!

http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2010/09/19/1225926/294190-senator-mark-arbib.jpg

Remember these names people: Mark Arbib - Bob McMullan - Machael Danby. All have committed High Treason and should be Sacked Immediately!

Mark these Names Down as NWO Minions that have been OUTED so far! I'm sure many are to follow!

Thanks to Wikileaks these Traitors are starting to be Exposed for the Scum they are..!

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/wikileaks/us-espionage-trial-endgame-for-julian-assange/story-fn775xjq-1225967923486

Here is the Thread...

http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?9061-WikiLeaks-outs-Aussie-Minister-Mark-Arbib-as-a-US-SPY-&highlight=mark+arbib

[Mad Hatter]

Interesting that until the most recent turn of events the police were unable to proceed due to a lack of a formal complaint from the union concerned. It stuns me that the union members concerned are not up in arms about the misuse of their money!!! I don't believe it can be put down to a lack of intelligence amongst the membership so what is it? Intimidation, entrenched political belief, jobs for the boys...

[Positive Vibe Merchant]

Good questions to be asking Mad Hatter.

Thanks again for the stellar work Jack.
Always smashing out the good stuff!

Lets get you in there! :)

[phillipbbg]

An old story surfaces yet again..... think back to Bob Hawk days and the Boulevade Hotel (Whisky Ago-go etc) in Sydney..... there were also special terraces for the labour boys set up whenever they were in town....

Best way to control a politician is by influencing his little head.... the big head becomes like jelly. Nice to see nothing has changed!!

[olddragon]

God i hope so!!

[jackovesk]

Union takes Thomson allegations to police

Health Services Union to refer Craig Thomson allegations to NSW Police

http://content.video.news.com.au/NDM_CP_-_TEN/983/140/news-thomson-240811_newsltd__682678.jpg

A FORMAL criminal investigation into Labor MP Craig Thomson appears likely after the Health Services Union's national executive today resolved to refer allegations of union credit card misuse against him to the NSW Police.

HSU national secretary Kathy Jackson said, after a tense meeting of the union's executive at a Sydney hotel, that while the union had originally believed Fair Work Australia should investigate the matter, the recent publicity surrounding Mr Thomson and what Ms Jackson called “new information” had led union leaders to the decision to go to the police.

Mr Thomson, who holds the marginal seat of Dobell on the NSW Central Coast, has denied allegations that when he was HSU national secretary he used his union credit card to hire prostitutes, buy airline tickets for his then wife, dine at expensive restaurants, and take hundreds of dollars of cash from ATMs at a time.

The NSW Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione, this week said that while opposition legal affairs spokesman George Brandis had sent him material regarding Mr Thomson, it would not on its own be sufficient to launch an investigation.

But Mr Scipione said he would be “happy” to investigate the matter if the HSU lodged a complaint.

Legal experts have told The Australian that Mr Brandis' approach to Mr Scipione would not on its own carry much weight, but a complaint from the alleged victim of the alleged misspending of over $100,000 of union funds would compel him to act.

The head of the HSU's NSW-Victoria branch, Mike Williamson, didn't attend today's meeting in person, but he participated via a teleconference.

Mr Williamson, a powerful figure in ALP circles, has been a strong supporter and friend of Mr Thomson in the past.

The union's move to refer the matter to police raises the stakes for the Gillard government, which would almost certainly fall if Mr Thomson was forced to resign his seat, causing a by-election.

Ms Jackson said the union was putting the interests of its members first.

“Our first priority is to the members of the Health Services Union, not to members of the Australian Labor Party.”

Ms Jackson said union members would be rightfully outraged if the allegations concerning Mr Thomson were true, but she said that determination was up to Fair Work Australia and the NSW Police.

She said the HSU, which under Ms Jackson launched its own investigation of the union's accounts during Mr Thomson's reign, would hand over all material to the police.

Earlier, Labor mounted a personal attack in parliament on Tony Abbott's integrity in a bid to deflect from the Thomson affair, raising unresolved questions over the Opposition Leader's battle against Pauline Hanson.

As the opposition pursued Mr Thomson over the alleged misuse of union funds, the Leader of the House Anthony Albanese told the parliament that Mr Abbott had “a great deal of form when it comes to these issues”.

Raising decade-old matters, Mr Albanese said Mr Abbott had been evasive over the source of $100,000 he raised for an anti-One Nation fighting fund.

“This is what the Opposition Leader told the Sydney Morning Herald back on September 5, 2003: `There are some things that the public has no particular right to know',” Mr Albanese said.

“(It's a) mantra he lives his life by.”

Mr Albanese said Mr Abbott was similarly evasive over his backing of former One Nation candidate Terry Sharples in his court battle with Ms Hanson.

“We also know that he told the ABC he didn't give Terry Sharples a loan guarantee for his costs, even though the Sydney Morning Herald had a copy of a note, witnessed and dated July 11, 1998, which had the statement `My personal guarantee that you will not be further out of pocket',” Mr Albanese said.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/tony-abbott-steps-up-attack-over-craig-thomson-denying-pairs-in-parliament/story-fn59niix-1226121261455

[jackovesk]

Union tells Thomson: explain yourself

Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 12:03am

It seems that only the Gilllard Government now wants Craig Thomson to keep his mouth shut:

THE Health Services Union (HSU) has called on Labor MP Craig Thomson to publicly explain “financial irregularities” it found after he left the union.

Mr Thomson has denied allegations he used union credit cards to pay for the services of prostitutes when he was head of the HSU between 2002 and 2007.

The HSU’s national executive agreed today to refer all relevant documents to NSW police, following a two-hour meeting in Sydney.

Mr Thomson has also rebuffed federal opposition calls to make a statement to parliament about the matter.

But his HSU successor Kathy Jackson, who is also a Labor Party member, said Mr Thomson needed to explain himself.

http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2011/08/24/1226121/503513-110825-kathy-jackson-health-services-union.jpg
Health Services Union boss Kathy Jackson in Sydney declares Craig Thomson's credit card records will be handed to police.

“Craig Thomson is a former national secretary so he should go on the public record and make a public statement about his position,” Ms Jackson told AAP.

“What we say is we became aware of irregularities following his departure as national secretary. If Craig Thomson is asked to make a statement, of course it would help.”

Jackson:


- is surprised the Fair Work Australia investigation has taken so very long.

- does not rule out others being implicated in the Thomson affair.

- won’t comment on Julia Gillard’s defence of Thomson.

- says union president Michael Williamson, Labor’s national vice president, did not front yesterday’s meeting, but chaired it by videolink for reasons unexplained.


http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/union_tells_thomson_explain_yourself/


Listen to Michael Smith’s interesting interview with current union secretary Kathy Jackson. She’s emerging as the lone person involved in the case to have acted with integrity.

Michael Smith and General Secretary of the Health Services Union Kathy Jackson discuss the background to the documents that will now be presented to police. She reveals a union credit card has been misused and police need to determine by whom.

MP3 :director: http://media.mytalk.com.au/2ue/audio/240811kathy.mp3

Michael Smith claims he has seen cash withdrawal statements from Craig Thomson's Health Services Union credit card totalling over $100,000. He explains why a union executive meeting was essential to sort out whether documentation should be handed to police.

MP3 :director: http://media.mytalk.com.au/2ue/audio/240811smithintro.mp3

PS - A Freight Train of Truth hurtling down the tracks and coming to take down the 'Fabian Socialist Criminal Labor Govt!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrYV1zH3ziU

:lever: :clock:

[Lord Sidious]

I like your post jackonugget, but the video isn't appropriate.
Even though they are showing you the crazies that get involved with wars, that isn't something we should see bandied about here.

[jackovesk]

I like your post jackonugget, but the video isn't appropriate.
Even though they are showing you the crazies that get involved with wars, that isn't something we should see bandied about here.

Agreed Sid,

It was late in the morning and I was trying to compare 'I Love the Smell of Naypalm in the Morning' to 'I Love the Fact, that the Truth on this Dirty, Criminal Govt. is finally starting to surface!

Wrong comparison, Video removed...

Changed to a Freight Train of Truth hurtling down the tracks and coming to take down the 'Fabian Socialist Criminal Labor Govt!

[jackovesk]

Escorts' files 'name MP' Craig Thomson

THE head of a leading Melbourne escort agency has raised fresh allegations linking Labor MP Craig Thomson to the use of prostitutes in the city in 2005 and 2006.

The manager of the escort agency has told The Australian that its records show the company provided services booked in the name of "Craig Thomson" at Melbourne's Pacific International Suites in November 2005 and at "The Grand", most likely the Grand Hyatt, in December 2006.

When pressed for further details, the manager provided The Australian with the contact mobile number allegedly used for the bookings. The number provided was the same as that used by Mr Thomson when he was head of the Health Services Union.

However, the manager said the agency no longer held the credit card details for payment because the transactions took place so long ago.

These alleged escort agency bookings in November 2005 and December 2006 have not been disclosed previously. They follow the reporting of phone records which show that in April 2006 and June 2006 calls were made from Mr Thomson's Melbourne hotel rooms to various escort agencies.

Mr Thomson did not return The Australian's calls yesterday. He has previously strongly denied all allegations of irregular spending after it was revealed that his union credit card was used to pay for escort services in Sydney.

The Melbourne escort agency manager yesterday requested anonymity both personally and for the agency, saying that the success of any escort business relied on discretion. The Australian was unable to independently verify if Mr Thomson was staying at those Melbourne hotels at the time of the alleged escort bookings.

However, an affidavit filed in court during the defamation proceedings Mr Thomson began and later dropped against Fairfax alleges that he frequented both of these hotels during other visits to Melbourne in 2006.

He stayed in the Grand Hyatt on April 5, 2006. Phone records filed in court show a call was made from his room to Young Blondes escort agency and later to Confidential Models escort agency. On June 7, 2006, a call was made from his hotel room at the Pacific International Suites to an escort agency called Bad Girls. The new claims relate to November 2005 and December 2006.

The Australian can confirm that Mr Thomson was in Melbourne in early December 2006, dining at the Melbourne Supper Club on December 4, when he paid a $960 bill with a Diners Club credit card.

He is also likely to have been in Melbourne in early November 2005 when a senior Health Services Union delegation attended a meeting of more than 700 unionists at the Dallas Brooks Hall.

"I continue to reject claims of wrongdoing," Mr Thomson said in a statement on Monday.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/escorts-files-name-mp-craig-thomson/story-fn59niix-1226121605788

[jackovesk]

Crimes of a fool set to finish off Gillard

Crimes have been committed that can bring down the Gillard government, and they are dumb crimes. As a former NSW chief of detectives told me: ''We are ultimately dealing with the crimes of a fool, whomever that fool may be, who has left a documented trail like a bleeding elephant in a snowfield.''

This trail of evidence of fraud, lying and cover-up now roils around the federal Labor MP Craig Thomson. It has also engulfed the NSW Police Force, which implausibly refused to act until a victim had filed a complaint.

''Utter garbage,'' said the former detective. ''Police do not need to have a complaint from a victim in order to investigate a crime.''

http://images.brisbanetimes.com.au/2011/08/24/2578994/Thomson-200x0.jpg
Red-faced ... embattled Labor MP Craig Thomson may yet bring down the Gillard government.

Even more damning, the victim in this case, the Health Services Union, clearly had no interest in bringing a complaint because the moment this became a criminal matter it would become a time bomb ticking beneath the Gillard government.

It began to tick on Tuesday afternoon when police issued a statement saying that material submitted by the federal shadow attorney-general, Senator George Brandis, would be assessed to see whether a crime had been committed. If the police cannot find a crime here, then it is the police who will need to be assessed.

As for the reluctant Health Services Union, it would have had its own case to answer, had it not announced yesterday it would be co-operating with police. Section 316 (1) of the NSW Crimes Act makes it an offence to conceal knowledge of a serious indictable offence: ''If a person has committed a serious indictable offence and another person who knows or believes that the offence has been committed … fails without reasonable excuse to bring that information to the [police] … that other person is liable to imprisonment for two years.''

''It is difficult to understand why it took [the police] so long to act,'' said the former detective. ''I believe a union member went into a central coast police station attempting to make a complaint but was turned away … We are not talking about a complicated case. Given resources, this brief would represent two to three weeks' work before somebody could be charged.''

Tick, tick, tick.

What kept a lid on this for the past two years was a defamation claim Thomson lodged against this newspaper. When the time finally came to attend court, he withdrew the action. Labor then paid his unhealthy legal bill. It was all done privately, but the public time bomb is now ticking for multiple reasons.

In 2003, 2005 and 2006, Thomson's corporate credit card was used to pay escort services in Melbourne and Sydney while he was national secretary of the HSU. He says his signature on receipts to escort agencies were forged.

A handwriting expert, Paul Westwood, formerly of the Australian Federal Police, compared the signature on Thomson's driver's licence with the signature on a credit card voucher and concluded they were probably made by the same person.

Thomson tried to reverse three payments made to an escort agency on his corporate credit card by using his personal credit cards.

Mobile phone records show that Thomson's phone was used to call escort agencies.

In 2008, the national secretary of the HSU, Kathy Jackson, now the union's executive president, wrote to the law firm Slater & Gordon claiming Thomson's credit card had been used for a number of transactions that were for private use or for his election campaign. The amounts totalled more than $70,000.

In Parliament yesterday, Thomson was asked to account for $39,454 in electoral expenses, incurred via his corporate credit card, that had not been declared to the Australian Electoral Commission.

In an interview on 2UE, Thomson, reiterating that the signature on receipts to escort agencies were not his own, said: ''The union reached a settlement with another gentleman who paid back $15,000 in relation to use of credit cards at an escort agency.''

But it has emerged that the $15,000 payment he referred to had nothing to do with escort services.

Twice yesterday, the government was able to defeat opposition motions to compel Thomson to explain his conduct, then for the Prime Minister to explain her confidence in Thomson, with the automatic support of the Greens MP, Adam Bandt, plus the rural independents Tony Windsor and Robert Oakeshott, who, like Thomson, are accelerating the end of their parliamentary careers.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/politics/crimes-of-a-fool-set-to-finish-off-gillard-20110824-1ja53.html

http://www.animationbuddy.com/Animation/Jobs_and_People/Miners_and_Diggers/Digging_sign.gif http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2011/08/24/1226121/566904-thomson-and-gillard.jpg

[Lord Sidious]

I like your post jackonugget, but the video isn't appropriate.
Even though they are showing you the crazies that get involved with wars, that isn't something we should see bandied about here.

Agreed Sid,

It was late in the morning and I was trying to compare 'I Love the Smell of Naypalm in the Morning' to 'I Love the Fact, that the Truth on this Dirty, Criminal Govt. is finally starting to surface!

Wrong comparison, Video removed...

Changed to a Freight Train of Truth hurtling down the tracks and coming to take down the 'Fabian Socialist Criminal Labor Govt!

I knew what you meant jacko.

[jackovesk]

http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2011/08/25/1226122/430725-110826-kudelka.jpg