The current whichhunt by the Turnbull goverment is a political circus orchestrated by the ideologues of a failing regime desperate to deflect from its own failures
The current raid conducted by the Federal police is nothing more than a political payback for the governments Royal Commission failure to catch out the more militant unions , but left some doubt about Shorten and the role of the AWU.
I wrote this just after the Royal Commission and I’m now wondering whether the ghosts from the past are being resurrected
Having spent 40 years as a trade union official and dealing with Shorten and his officers I’m not happy with the Federal police raids but happy that some of the crimes committed against workers may come to the surface,where’s there’s smoke there’s Bill Shorten !!!!
In legal terms, within the confines of the Royal Commission into Trade unions, Bill Shorten has dodged the bullet.
In the court of public opinion the Royal commission has proven to be a political circus with the unintended consequences of snaring a few unions and companies in their headlights.
The intended role of the commission was designed to reveal the “corrupt” practices of militant unions, not a number of Yellow unions caught up in clandestine secret deals with employers and their secret and corrupt money.
Both aspects of this farce are now exceedingly evident given the evidence given so far .
Although the Abbott now Turbull and government’s political witch hunt was devised to snaggle the crooks in the union movement, it has done a fair job of detailing both companies and trade unions in collusion, the unions they did not intend to, like the AWU and the Plumbers unions snaring major companies such as Theiss John Holland in their headlights at the same time
Let’s get to the issue of Bill Shorten and his deal with major corporations in this country .
Bill Shorten did not receive any money from Theiss John Holland to build the Eastern Freeway that has been made clear from the late night media release from Jeremy Stoljar the lawyer assisting the Royal Commission .
In the court of workers rights the jury is still out on this point!
The royal commission argues that he personally received no monetary benefit, it’s now clear that the union was the subject of $300,000 large for 3 years. Well who did benefit ? If it went to the union he must have benefited !
Its now becoming more evident each day that the money was used by Cesar Melham of the AWU to bank roll the elections of unions such as the Hospital Workers Union .
There are also many Labor Politicians who benefited from Cesar Melham’s generosity and it must be assumed that if this money was found to be from corrupt payments it must pose some very important questions about the ethical use of those funds.
David Asmar and Diana Asmar used this money to fund the re election campaign of the HWU in 2013.
David Asmar, who worked for Bill Shorten, was recently called before the commission to explain his role in the funds raised and distributed by Cesar Melham. He had an airplane ticket to fly to Lebanon but had refused to accept a summons to appear before the commission .
When advised by his lawyer of the dates he was expected to appear he was like shit of a Shanghai to his travel agent to amend his travel arrangements to leave much earlier before he could be served.
The Royal commission and its staff had been trying to serve Asmar with the papers to appear but could never find the scarlet pimpernel of the ALP, instead it issued a warrant to the Federal police to apprehend him as he was about to board the aircraft to Lebanon.
Dianne Asmar was with the pimpernel when they boarded the aircraft to Lebanon (hope she comes back, someone needs her, mainly the creditors or the citizens of Moreland council where she left a bill of $18,000 in unpaid telephone bills she refuses to pay).
The federal police served him with the summons to appear but they could not compel him to return to Australia with the new date to appear before the Royal Commission
David Asmar was a no appearance your worship at the Royal commission, he has fled to Lebanon and has supplied a sick certificate from a Lebanese doctor and unlikely to appear, if ever, in Australia again.
This is the man accused along with Cesar Melham of being involved in the largest branch stacking scam in the ALP history and being involved with accepting corrupt money from employers and distributing it to Labor members of parliament to finance their elections .
BACK TO BULLET PROOF BILL
Bill Shorten, the leader of the opposition in Parliament, is nevertheless guilty of selling out the hard won conditions of construction workers in Australia .
How was this done? Bill Shorten entered into negotiations with Theiss John Holland to construct the Eastern Freeway, negations took place over many months with Shorten as the Secretary of the Australian Workers union.
The main theme of the secret negotiations was to ensure that the wages and conditions hard won by the CFMEU were to be be diminished for the period of the contract and AWU members only to be employed at reduced rates of pay and poorer conditions.
Construction workers have fought hard and valiantly over the last five decades to maintain conditions that were stolen from them in this deal.
Why should AWU members receive less wages because of a deal done by the secretary of their union?
This is exactly the deal that Bill Shorten and Theiss John Holland conspired to fulfil
Although no court will convict Shorten of any illegalities, he now must be tried in the court of public option or in the court of workers rights .
Bill Shorten’s agreement with Theiss John Holland reduced conditions of every worker in the construction industry, he and Theiss John Holland colluded in secret to trade off conditions that set back union members 50 years .
In effect he stole wages from workers involved in the construction of the freeway and entered into a secret deal which would involve money going to the Australian Workers Union.
The company received a $100 million profit for gods sake, off the backs of union members and their wages and conditions .
Working around the clock in heat or rain, 24 hr shifts, no penalty rates previously established in the fair work commission by the CFMEU or other construction unions .
What Bill Shorten established between his union and Theiss John Holland was that they would take a inferior enterprise agreement to Fair Work Australia and agree on its conditions so that workers from other unions were robbed.
Fair Work Australia was presented with an agreement that both the union and the company agreed to meaning that there was not a need to dispute the agreement . Every one was happy except the workers who would soon find out about the secret deal designed to rob them .
The deal comprised the following conditions ,workers would be required to work in the blistering heat ,workers would be required to work in the rain ,workers would be required to work any time over a seven day period with reduced rates of pay and penalties with reduced RDOs
What did the Australian Workers union get for their co operation with this multi national company?
Their co operation resulted in the union receiving $300.000 per year for 3 years and the company Theiss John Holland a nice little earner of $ 100 million .
Now I don’t claim to be a mathematical genius but I assume that if you give the Australian Workers Union $300,000 for 3 years and the company benefits $100 Million ,the company is on a hiding to nothing and that money can be used to finance elections in both the Victorian state parliament or buy compliant unions that are in the hands of bosses that paid for these unions
No Bill Shorten, the politically motivated Royal Commission may have found you committed no legal crime ,you sure have committed a crime against the people you claim to represent ,union members and members of the working class .
There is no place in Australia for Yellow unions who refuse to serve the interests of their members .
The question to be asked here is why did David Asmar accused of crimes of branch stacking in the ALP and receiving corrupt payments from Cesar Melham fled to Lebanon where Ausralia has no extradition treaty and taken his wife the secretary of the corrupt Hospital Workers Union with him ?
The ALP has a lot of question to be answered !!
May you hang your head in shame Bill Shorten !!!