More charges …

2009-2010 National President for the Australian Labor Party, Unions NSW Vice President and Finance Committee Member, and member of the ACTU executive. The very epitome of a Labor man …

Former Health Services Union boss Michael Williamson has been charged with 28 more offences that include defrauding the organisation of $620,000 paid to his wife’s company for services never provided.

More charges are expected and more senior union staff will be charged in the coming weeks, police say.

The 59-year-old appeared briefly in a Sydney court on Wednesday charged with a total of 48 offences, following his arrest on October 4.

Court documents allege CANME Services, registered in Williamson’s wife’s name, received 47 cheques totalling $620,326 from 2001 and 2009 for work not performed.

He has also been charged with dealing in the proceeds of crime, or money laundering, in relation to $400,000 of that money.

NSW Fraud and Cybercrime Squad commander Colin Dyson said investigations by Strike Force Carnarvon are far from over.

‘These are the first charges of what I believe will be a series of charges in respect of allegations of fraud committed upon the Health Services Union,’ Detective Superintendent Dyson told reporters outside Waverley Local Court.

He said at least two other senior union staff members will be charged in coming weeks with fraud and hindering the police investigation.

CFMEU …

 

“I’m saying very very clearly that at the end of the day there is nothing illegal, nothing immoral and nothing wrong with what has happened here”.

 

The NSW division of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) has run a rehabilitation facility in Sydney, Foundation House, since 2000, in partnership with the building industry.

Most of the foundation’s board, a mixture of industry and union representatives, quit late last year over the diversion of funds they believed were earmarked for drug and alcohol programs. At least $500,000 and maybe more than $1 million raised through a workplace levy on employees and employers was transferred to unspecified CFMEU “safety initiatives”.

<Read all about it>

One hundred percent …

Courtesy of Kathie, our London correspondent …

Mathematics:

– What Makes 100%?

– What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

– Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%.

– How about achieving 103%?

– What makes up 100% in life?

– Here’s a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:
A B C  …  Z

Is represented as:
1 2 3  …  26.

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 =98%

And

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 =96%

But ,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 =100%

More interestingly,

B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 =103%

AND, look how far this approach will take you.

A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty, that while Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it’s the Bullshit and Ass Kissing that will put you over the top.

Punishing the innocent …

… and taxing the poor.

Serious criminal activity is sometimes punished with quite a severe talking to and a slap on the wrist, mostly it’s not punished at all. And after a hundred burglaries or drink driving offences, hell, what does it matter. But you won’t get a suspended sentence for speeding or parking offences.

State government is addicted to gambling and speeding. Local government is addicted to parking. It’s easy to punish the people involved they mostly have a job and a reputation and are decent folk. They have something to lose if they don’t pay their bills.

It goes a long way to explaining why drug deals are going down openly in Smith Street, Fitzroy whilst parking offences are vigorously punished. You can shop lift to the value of $50 with no chance of being prosecuted but a kilometer over the magic number and here comes a hefty speeding fine.

A parking fine can make a big dent in a family budget, just ask Dawn Walker.

Dawn works in the operating theatres at Como Hospital, Parkdale, has done for years. She parks in the street nearby, has done for years. She did that the other morning just before 9 am and at the end of her shift she was amazed to find a parking ticket affixed to her windscreen. A No Standing sign had been put up next to her car at about midday, the parking ticket was issued at 1 pm.

City of Kingston, way to go.

 

Simple as ABC …

Quality journalism means being right about everything and letting you know it.

Except at the ABC where it’s left, Pravda would be impressed …

A Mr Parker of Canberra wondered why the ABC didn’t cover the Gillard story and asked them. Nosey. The reply …

From: John Mulhall

To:

Sent: Tuesday, 23 October 2012 2:08 PM

Subject: ABC News query

Dear Mr Parker,

Thank you for your email regarding Mr Blewitt’s statements. The ABC is aware of these statements but we do not at this stage believe it warrants the attention of our news coverage.

To the extent that it may touch tangentially on a former role of the Prime Minister, we know The Australian newspaper maintains an abiding interest in events 17 years ago at the law firm Slater and Gordon, but the ABC is unaware of any allegation in the public domain which goes to the Prime Minister’s integrity. If indeed Ms Gillard has had questions to answer, ABC News reported those answers from her lengthy media conference of 24/8/12 in which she exhausted all questions on the issue.

However, if any allegation is ever raised which might go to the Prime Minister’s integrity, the ABC would of course make inquiries into it and seek to report it. As for matters concerning Mr Bruce Wilson, ABC News will cover the case against him as it proceeds.

Once again thank you for your query.

Best regards,

John Mulhall
News Editor, ABC News

Climate refugee …

It was getting too warm in Brighton due to the old AGW so I have moved a couple of suburbs further from the equator, still, fortunately, close to the moderating influence of the beautiful Port Phillip Bay. Hopefully sea level will bring the beach up to my back door.

If any, sorry, either of my friends are reading this … don’t ring on the old home phone.

So, first post on the new connection.

Hah, it works …

Seditious libel …

The UK’s section 5 is Australia’s section 18c.

The crime of seditious libel was defined and established in England during the 1606 case “De Libellis Famosis” by the Star Chamber.The case defined seditious libel as criticism of public persons, the government, or King. Truth was not a defence.

You will be pleased to know that sedition and seditious libel were abolished in the UK by section 73 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

Freedom of speech is under attack in Australia in 2012.