Fair? I think Not
Fair Work Australia (FWA) has decided not to refer the actions of three former officials from the Victorian branch of the Health Services Union (HSU) to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
FWA general manager Bernadette O’Neill says an investigation into the union has found 32 breaches of the Act or union rules. Last month she said the issues related to the keeping and lodging of required financial records. The former union officials could face fines over the breaches.
Ms O’Neill says she has instructed the Government Solicitor to ask the Federal Court to impose civil penalties in relation to 28 of the cases, but says they should not be sent to the DPP.
A fourth person was also implicated but will not be referred to the court. They are claiming this was separate to the investigation of Craig Thomson.
Bernadette admitted to a Senate estimates Committee, there had been even more contact between the Government (including Bill Shorten’s office) and Fair Work Australia in relation to the Thomson investigation than we already knew about. But, no, she said, the investigation into Craig Thomson was still not completed. No, she said, she would not be releasing the conclusions of another investigation into the Health Services Union because she feared someone might be defamed.
This is a interesting comment, who are they scared of this much and why is it the FWA and Gillard Government are happy with this occurring ?
And, no, she said, Fair Work Australia would not be releasing a vital December 2009 memorandum from former Industrial Relations Commission Registrar Doug Williams to the new Fair Work Australia incoming General Manager Tim Lee. This memo from Williams, who had investigated Thomson for 8 months and was leaving his job, to Lee, who was taking Williams’ place, reportedly concluded that there was clear evidence of serious, and probably criminal, wrongdoing by Thomson.
It detailed exactly what Williams believed should be investigated and why !
The suggestion, of course, is that Lee, another former union official and Victorian ALP staffer, then instituted a “go slow” on that investigation to assist Labor.
Remember this is after denying three separate law enforcement agencies from access to their records in regard to Fraud against HSU and Electoral Commission offences. Now they are trying to keep the matter away from the CDPP, which would be because of their disclosure policy meaning disclosure of prosecution evidence. And the issue of the AGS being the Investigation agency in this matter rather than FWA whose investigations staff appears not to have had the experience or background to run an Investigation in this matter.
This Statement on Prosecution Disclosure relates to information and material held by the CDPP, investigation agencies and third parties. In order for the prosecution to meet its disclosure obligations, the CDPP depends on investigation agencies informing it of information and material covered by this Statement.
The Prosecution Policy of the Commonwealth is a public document which sets out guidelines for the making of decisions in the prosecution process. It applies to all Commonwealth prosecutions whether or not conducted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. The Prosecution Policy has been tabled in Parliament, and is publicly available. A copy is available on their web-site.
Under the Prosecution Policy there is a two-stage test that must be satisfied:
- there must be sufficient evidence to prosecute the case; and
- it must be evident from the facts of the case, and all the surrounding circumstances, that the prosecution would be in the public interest.
Having been satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to justify the initiation or continuation of a prosecution, the prosecutor must then consider whether the public interest requires a prosecution to be pursued. In determining whether this is the case, the prosecutor will consider all of the provable facts and all of the surrounding circumstances. The factors to be considered will vary from case to case, but may include:
- Whether the offence is serious or trivial;
- Any mitigating or aggravating circumstances;
- The age, intelligence, health or any special infirmity of the alleged offender, any witness or victim;
- The alleged offender’s antecedents;
- The staleness of the offence;
- The availability and efficacy of any alternatives to prosecution;
- The attitude of the victim;
- The likely outcome in the event of a finding of guilt; and
- The need for deterrence.
These are not the only factors, and other relevant factors are contained in the Prosecution Policy.
My biggest concern lies in the delay in this matter as it is ‘the staleness of the offence’ that may be on issue and end up getting Thomson out of this offence, although he may well be guilty of the offence of Fraud.
Generally, the more serious the alleged offence is, the more likely it will be that the public interest will require that a prosecution be pursued, Fraud of course is a indictable offence..
The decision to prosecute must be made impartially, and must not be influenced by any inappropriate reference to race, religion, sex, national origin or political association. The decision to prosecute must not be influenced by any political advantage or disadvantage to the Government.
FWA general manager Bernadette O’Neill, who initially refused Victoria Police’s request for help, issued a statement on Sunday saying that since FWA’s investigation was almost complete, “further advice has been sought from the Australian government solicitor as to whether it would now be appropriate to assist the police”. Mr Wood’s legal advice has been included as part of that request, Ms O’Neill said. The reason for all of this is now apparent The Australian Government Solicitor appears to have been training the FWA Investigator while doing most of the Investigation management themselves.
Fair Work Australia has no right to instruct the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS), especially as this letter was produced it would seem by the AGS, as to whether a matter should be prosecuted. The AGS decides on whether a prima facie case exists and whether it is able to be prosecuted. It would seem Ms O’Neill has not been given her job on the basis of her experience as a Investigator, or she would have realised the mistakes she has been making and unless she is able to show some legislation, she may well be answering to a case of Obstructing police in the performance of their duties, or of assisting the aid or abet of a person that has committed the act of Fraud. In this case however, the AGS played the part of the FWA Investigator every step in the process.
The evidence is shown below or in
The 2012 agenda of the Communist Party of Australia.
We need to take not of what is being said. They have confirmed where they have been active, and where they will be ramping up their campaign.
”The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is waging a campaign for job security. The number of workers employed as casuals, in fixed or short-term contracts, labour hire, and contracting has almost doubled in the last two decades. Around 40 percent of the workforce now face all the difficulties of low or uncertain income, lack of access to bank loans and other social and economic problems associate with job insecurity.
The building and construction division of the CFMEU, despite over $6 million in fines over the past two years, has not given up its fight to unionise construction sites and defend the safety, jobs, wages and conditions of its members. The Maritime Union of Australia has not backed off on the waterfront. The public sector unions have taken the fight to defend jobs and services to the streets.
Individual trade unions are to varying degrees of success recruiting new members and fighting their battles as they arise. These struggles tend to be isolated, putting out small fires, and sometimes making some small gains where possible.
These and other struggles are indicative of a growing preparedness to fight back, but the trade union movement as a whole is still far from strong enough to meet the challenges ahead and cannot do so on its own.
One of the key challenges in 2012 is the building and strengthening of the labour movement, not just in numbers and organisation but also ideologically so that it can take on the broader economic, social, ideological and political struggles as well as provide solidarity in the smaller more localised battles.
There is also an urgent need to take up a broad and united struggle for jobs, for public services, for an expansionary budget that serves the people, to halt corporate tax cuts, to improve social security, increase the age pension.
It cannot be left to the nurses to fight for public hospitals, for teachers to defend public education, manufacturing unions for manufacturing sector jobs, building unions for trade union rights, pensioners for a pension increase, the unemployed for their rights, etc. As the trade union saying goes: “An injury to one is an injury to all.”
The Your Rights @ Work campaign that brought together trade unions, left and progressive forces and members of the community provides an excellent model for building a broad united front in defence of workers’ rights, living standards, the public sector, small farmers and businesses. It saw the back of the Howard government, and such a movement could be used to build a pro-people, political alternative.
The present two-party system, in which government is alternately shared between the Liberal-National Party Coalition and the Australian Labor Party, is not serving the people.
The Communist Party of Australia (CPA) has set as one of its priorities for 2012 the important task of building the Party. The CPA believes there is a way to overcome Australia’s economic and social problems. To do this it is necessary to change the direction of politics in Australia and, eventually, to replace the capitalist system with a socialist one.
The Communist Party is a party of activists who work in trade unions, peace and environmental groups, solidarity organisations and a variety of other community movements as well as running campaigns in the name of the Communist Party.
The members of the CPA work to eliminate unemployment, poverty, injustice, homelessness, racism and war. These problems arise from the domination of our society by huge profit-hungry private corporations.
What better New Year’s resolution than to join us, or at least find out more about us, perhaps send a donation of support and take out a subscription to The Guardian.”
http://www.cpa.org.au/guardian/2012/1532/01-make-2012-the-year-of-struggle.html
Quote of the Week
The difference between a stupid man and a wise one is the stupid man’s inability to calculate the consequences of the action. The same goes for government
——————————————————————–
Quote of the Month
Quote of the Week
It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
Robert A. Heinlein
Quote of the Week
In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics.’ All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.
George Orwell
The Ghost of Christmas Presents
To start with we no longer have our Christmas Parade, where Santa arrives in Sydney. This was the great expectant event that always announced Christmas was here, and the stores were decorated, This sadly is no more, partly as some Grinches thought it inappropriate and partly because stores weren’t making the profit their shareholders demand.
However, why isn’t the Councils picking this up and running with it on behalf of all shopping centres, stores and the people of their Shire? They already waste a large amount on fireworks each year, so it isn’t about the celebrations. This why is simple many of our Councils are being run by the minorities, and instead of Christmas we have to say things like Happy Holidays, and we have whined but capitulated, instead of fighting back.
I went shopping only yesterday and thought, it doesn’t feel like Christmas, so I took stock of what was wrong. Our shops had very little Christmas decorations, whereas not all that long ago it was a wonderland for children. But even worse, I realised no one played the Christmas songs anymore, all the feel-good songs that used to be played throughout the stores and shopping centres, where people started singing at least to themselves, and they found themselves smiling at everyone that passed and all the shop assistant’s who they encountered. It gave you a sense of euphoria just to walk down the street and past the shops with the lovely music and songs, and the decorations were outstanding.
This sadly has disappeared along with the wonderful words of Merry Christmas at this time of year and why the Christmas spirit is dying in Australia. I could blame the Government, I could blame the Grinches, I could blame multiculturalism, but the shocking truth is who is really to blame, is You and Me and Everyone that complains to ourselves, yet does not fight for what we believe in and have watched the things we love being stripped out from underneath us for years. Next it is the Councils, that react to the minorities in their area and because we the majority have not complained, they make decisions that strip us of our identity, and Christmas is as much a part of Australia, as Australia Day, for it is a part of our giving nature and Christmas is far from just a religious holiday now, it is a conduit for the outpouring of emotion and friendship, that makes people just naturally feel closer to the people that pass by.
It is time to Take Back Australia, and force the change that makes it ok, to say Merry Christmas, to play Christmas songs, to decorate brightly and to say this matters to Australians.
Gillard Government failure = 15,862 arrivals
Bowen and the rest of the Gillard regime, just can’t take responsibility for any of it’s failures.
Since dismantling the Howard Government’s highly successful Pacific Solution, the Gillard Government have spent 4 years floundering to find an efficient Policy of their own.
When boat arrivals increased during the 1999-2001 period the Howard Government developed the Pacific Solution and from 2002 – June 2007 - 276 Asylum seekers arrived by boat in Australia
1994–95 – 21 – 1071
1995–96 – 14 – 589
1996–97 – 13 – 365
1997–98 – 13 – 157
1998–99 – 42 – 921
1999–00 – 75 – 4175
2000–01 – 54 – 4137
2001–02 – 19 – 3039
2002–03 – 0 – 0
2003–04 – 3 – 82
2004–05 – 0 – 0
2005–06 – 8 – 61
2006–07 – 4 – 133
2007–08 – 3 – 25
2008–09 – 23 – 1033*
2009–10 – 118 – 5609*
2010–11 – 89 – 4940**
21 July 2011 – 13 Dec 2011 – 151 boats 4280 asylum seekers
http://www.safecom.org.au/pdfs/boat-arrivals-stats.pdf
2007 – 13/12/2011 – total of 381 boats – with 15,862 Asylum seekers arrived in Australian waters
Of course the facts make mockery of the Government’s claims that Nauru won’t work ands that the Opposition are to blame for these numbers. The Opposition is maintaining the Pacific Solution is a proven solution. The Government’s own little collection of misfits in The Greens, are not supporting the Government on the Malaysian solution, however, they are not being held to account for their opposition to the Policy.
Bowen and Gillard need to drop their whining that the Opposition does not agree with them, they are not supposed to, and why would anyone agree to bad Policies ? The Opposition can afford to laugh at this Governments inaction, and brow beating and firmly point out the Greens are not being attacked for their stand on this issue, which is why the Government needs the Opposition support.
Stay firm Coalition the time to Take Back Australia is drawing near.
Rocket of the Week – Remuneration Tribunal
The Rocket this week has to be shared among 3 people
Mr John Conde AO – President – appointed on 19 June 2008 as Member and President for five years from 25 June 2008. Mr Conde was originally appointed as a member of the Remuneration Tribunal on 18 June 1998. Mr Conde is the Chairman of Ausgrid (formally EnergyAustralia). He is also Chairman of Bupa Australia Health Pty Ltd, Chairman of Whitehaven Coal Limited
Mr John B Prescott AC – appointed from 25 February 2010 for five years. Mr Prescott is Chairman of QR National Limited and a Director of Newmont Mining Corporation.
Ms Jillian Segal AM – appointed from 12 April 2010 for 5 years. Ms Segal is a Director of the National Australia Bank Limited, a Director of ASX Ltd and Deputy Chancellor of the University of New South Wales. Ms Segal is also Chairman of the General Sir John Monash Foundation and a Director of the Garvan Institute for Medical Research. Formerly, she was President of the Administrative Review Council and Deputy Chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
What do we have, people on the boards of electrical, coal, mining, Coal freight transport(claim their performance and future growth are linked to the key demand drivers of the Australian resources sector. As a result, we are well placed to benefit from the expected growth in demand for coal and iron ore, particularly from emerging Asian economies, including China and India. And banking, Investments including The ASX group who on 13 December 2011 stated it is particularly encouraged by Wayne Swans commitment to work with Industry to develop a deep and liquid retail corporate bond market in Australia, for which ASX has a interest in. and also on board with ASIC.
These 3 people were responsible for giving our politicians a minimum of 31% pay rise and a reason they gave was there would be no more taxpayer funded travel within Australia for retired politicians, the controversial "life gold pass", first introduced in 1918, would be abolished prospectively. Existing holders will be limited to 10 trips a year instead of 25.
These 3 individuals have other boards they are responsible for and when we look at what their boards are responsible for you have to question their independence in this matter of keeping politicians on side..
This is a matter of cutting our Rorts and then paying politicians for the loss of these rorts….that is not cool
The president of the Remuneration Tribunal, John Conde says it needs to be enough to attract "people of capacity" but notes a consultant’s report recommended more. Who was the consultant ?
John Conde said: You’ll find in his report a range of 185,000 to 250,000; so we’ve chosen the bottom of the range.
The thing is Mr Conde, you didn’t have to accept this as a figure to work with 185,000 is still outlandish for a base salary
John Conde said: There is never a right time for this; there has to be a time and it’s been a long time coming and we’ve concluded our work and this is our conclusion.
His speech sounds like Gillard when talking about the policies she has rammed down our throats also.
The Resources Minister Martin Ferguson’s declared he doesn’t need a pay rise, I actually think my ministerial salary’s pretty good to be honest with you.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon said it’s a bit rich to demand public servants tighten their belts while politicians unbuckle theirs, as does Greens leader Bob Brown.
The tribunal’s report also found that the pay rise was justified by the advent of email and social networking. "Email, Facebook, Twitter and the like have increased community expectations on members as regards their availability to their constituents," it said. "It is not only the case that it is now easier to contact a local member – the expectation of a speedy response has also increased dramatically. "As some members at interview noted, this means that they are now never off duty."
To a large extent social media is the effect of increasing a MP’s profile in the electorate. But never off duty? What a load of rubbish. They have staff working their FaceBook and Twitter at times. this is not a big workload. And anything with an Off button means you can be off duty, so this is a crock. and they have the same disdain for us Gillard has shown in assuming we are too ignorant to understand.
The Special Minister of State Gary Gray won’t say what he thinks about the pay hike, but agrees tax-free perks have had their day. As this is his area of responsibility, he would have had his own input into this process no matter what is said and any decision made.
Departmental Secretaries have received a minimum payrise of 31% and yet the Public Services were only granted a 3% payrise, by this Tribunal, which did not even match the average of 4.1% for the Private Sector. So for these Senior staff they warranted a 10 times larger wage rise than their staff that do all the work in the Departments.
This is the face of this Socialist Government, it happily grabs the money off all of us, and redistributes that wealth among themselves, They have no right to call themselves a grassroots community organisation, Party members are the core of the Labor Party. Party members and local branches play a central role in innovative policy development and passionately working in the community to spread labor values. for it is now rightly proven that this ALP is only in this for what they can get out of it.
Thus. Mr Conde, Mr Prescott and Ms Segal you are now seen as a Tribunal that would be easily influenced with your links to companies that rely on Government co operation, especially with the introduction of a Carbon Tax. and deserve this week’s Rocket for your disservice to all Australians,
Labor the workers Party – is it now a Myth
The below is from ALP own website
Democracy and freedom
Labor values the freedom of all people to hold whatever beliefs they choose while respecting those of others, and the freedom to express those beliefs without fear or favour.
Labor is committed to the essential democratic principle that every person should have the right to a say, directly or indirectly, in the decisions that affect his or her life. We are committed to advancing new ways of governing that foster democratic participation including:
- Democratic participation in the choice of governments.
- The promotion of new technologies that foster community involvement in decision making and public debate.
- The opportunity for representation in the workplace.
- The opportunity for a voice in planning, the environment, the delivery of public services and other aspects of community life.
http://www.alp.org.au/australian-labor/our-values/democracy-and-freedom/
A few dozen, largely middle-aged, protesters rudely interrupted parliament with their chant of "no mandate, democracy is dead". From the floor of the chamber, Parliamentary Secretary and Member for Eden-Monaro, Mike Kelly, tweeted: "Couldn’t quite hear, thought it might have been something about dental plates and brain dead."
One of the nation’s most senior union officials, Australian Workers Union National Secretary Paul Howes, also took to Twitter. "And yes Tony this is [what happens] when you start whipping up extremists and giving them a platform. A people’s revolt often attracts revolting people."
This vignette highlights crucial undercurrents in our national political debate. In denouncing a "lack of civility" the Left seems more intent on silencing criticism by denouncing its detractors as extreme and/or ignorant. In doing so it denigrates and fails to listen to the mainstream. This will only compound its political dilemma.
We saw this six months ago when a few ugly placards at an anti-carbon tax rally had Labor MPs and their fellow travellers denounce the protesters as extremists. Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said that for Tony Abbott to associate himself with the protesters was "unbefitting" of a political leader.
This is breathtaking hypocrisy. It is based on deliberate amnesia about the vicious and sometimes physical protests against the Howard government over Iraq, David Hicks and IR reforms.
In 1996, hundreds of protesters angry at the Howard government’s budget cuts, indigenous policies and IR changes stormed Parliament House. They smashed glass doors, broke windows, wrestled police and security guards, ransacked the souvenir shop, caused injuries and hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage, leading to arrests and prosecutions.
The protest was arranged by the ACTU and then president, and later Labor MP, Jennie George, told journalists on the scene that she regretted "anything that occurred but I certainly don’t bear the responsibility for it". Looking on was her colleague Greg Combet.
Opposition Leader Kim Beazley also addressed a rally before the violence unfolded. "It said it would govern for all of us," he said of the Howard government, "but it hates workers, it hates students, it hates Aboriginal people, it hates women who want to be in the workforce." Given what transpired, it might have been better to quote Martin Luther King Jnr: "hate begets hate".
This is all recent history. Many Australians remember these events. They also would recall Greens Leader Bob Brown addressing that 1996 rally, or being removed from the House of Representatives for heckling US President George Bush. They notice a lack of condemnation of the "occupy" anti-capitalism protest movement. So it is a bit rich for Labor and Greens MPs to denigrate comparatively well-behaved protesters who complain about the carbon tax.
The extremism charge is now a persistent Left attack against conservatives as is the denigrating term ‘deniers’, however, it is showing this government for what they are a bullying, union driven Socialist regime that is aware it will lose Government based on policies they have rammed down our …… throats, but instead of this being an issue, they have designed a pay rise and changes to Parliamentary super, that gives them a windfall when they are driven out of Parliament. They also seem intent on hurting the average Australian during hard times, rather than trying to reduce the pain.
This they have done by introducing a Carbon Tax in isolation of the rest of world. raising our National debt to record levels and currently $140,796,315,584.00.
How many of the top 7 emitters have a Carbon Tax? Answer = 2
Europe where the ETS faces criticism for failing to reduce carbon emissions in some cases, failing to spur non-EU countries to adopt cap-and-trade systems, and encouraging fraud and profiteering.
and;
India who has a Carbon price of $1.07/tonne and India have said they will reduce their "emissions intensity" (carbon emissions per unit of GDP), as opposed to an absolute reduction in emissions.
And then if anyone is still uncertain of how out of touch this Government is to the average Australian, it has raised Politicians pays by at least 31% where as the public sector has been given a 3% pay rise. So much for a workers party, it is understandable why there is a number of people leaving the Labor Party as they no longer represent the core values they have always had.
Take Back Australia at the next election and vote against any Socialist Parties, who are intent on destroying our Australian way of life.
Take Back Australia Badge
Kev says 