If you are just starting to read now, go straight to the bottom and read the numbered posts in order.
My interest in this complex story started when I began following Michael Smith’s blog right from the beginning. The thing that kept me hooked as the documents were presented was why would someone bash Bob K nearly to death to stop him talking? Why would a prime minister of Australia attempt to shut down all reporting on this story if there was nothing in it? Why would Michael Smith walk away from his job as a radio announcer to investigate Bob K’s story?
The bloggers who followed Michael through this journey became convinced that crimes had been committed. These people include lawyers, accountants, real estate professionals, ex police, bank officials, archivists, health professionals…the list goes on. They all want to know the truth.
But the mainstream media with the exception of a few such as Hedley Thomas and Mark Baker have hardly touched the story. The reason why is another question I ask myself.
In January 2013, I decided to start this page to try and make the complexities a bit easier to understand for people who have not really been informed. It is not a full description of what is known. And I thank Michael Smith for allowing me to share his documents with you.
This is now a major fraud squad investigation, and the next few months will be fascinating. If I was you, I’d stay tuned to Michael Smith News.
For my part, I am an ordinary woman and mother who didn’t even have a facebook page until January 2013. But I got cranky, because I really want to know who bashed up our friend Bob Kernohan.
Two states, two sets of accounts having money taken out of them in a highly “irregular” fashion. LOTS of money.
In August 1995 when Bruce scarpered back to WA pretty flush with cash, Ian Cambridge knew about money that had been taken from the Victorian account, but there was still some outstanding matters that hadn’t come to his attention.
Firstly, the Victorian money in the Construction Industry fund, which as we have seen was subsequently siphoned off.
Secondly, the AWU WRA which had been getting money from Thiess, and had been set up with the legal advice of Julia Gillard and Bernard Murphy (according to Ralph Blewitt).
And thirdly, the Kerr Street Property in Victoria, in which Slater and Gordon discovered to their alarm they had invested a $150,000 mortgage.
How that property was disposed of is, as we speak, and for the first time, the subject of very intense Victorian Fraud Squad Scrutiny….
So which federal MP’s names come up in this scandal so far, people who haven’t to my knowledge gone to the current Fraud Squad Investigation to fully explain their understanding of the scandal?
Ms Julia Gillard (Prime Minister) Ms Nicola Roxon (Attorney General, resigned 01/02/2013) Mr Bill Shorten (Minister for workplace relations etc) Mr Chris Hayes (backbencher)
I think these people swore some sort of oath to uphold the law of Australia, when they were sworn in. Never mind, I guess the police can always go to them.
After the discovery of the 1995 irregularities, some preliminary investigations were made by the Victorian Police, but they were told that everything was cool, nothing to see here, we’ve sorted it…and so the investigation fizzled.
In WA, the police showed some intense interest in the AWU WRA and thought charges should be laid, but had difficulty working out who exactly had been defrauded. They had meetings with Mr Trio of Thiess, Wilson’s brother in law, but he refused to cooperate further. The police were very frustrated, but could go no further.
Ian Cambridge called for a Royal Commssion.
But Bob Kernohan had continued to kick up a stink. And one day he was bashed senseless, and threatened with death if he kept talking to the press.
I don’t have any photos of Bob’s injuries, but just in case anyone is in any doubt about what violent political sociopaths will do, refresh your memory with these photos of an MP who was bashed in the 1980’s.
— Bruce Wilson sure had a sweet thing going in Victoria and WA before he got rumbled. Ian Cambridge wasn’t too pleased I imagine when he saw how much in the way of cash and other payments had been coming out.
All sorts of irregular things were happening with money going into and out of various accounts when Bruce was running the Victorian Branch. Especially with an account called the AWU Member’s Welfare Association No 1 Account.
Building and other firms were making payments into this account for a long time, and Wilson was withdrawing large cash sums, and paying for other people, like Town Mode, in reality a “renovation” firm. Then when his activities were discovered a hurried attempt was made to return the remaining monies to various firms, who were a bit confused.
Bill Ludwig reckoned that these last transactions involved union money, and he went to court to get it back. Successfully. But he didn’t get the cash back from Bruce. Bruce was back in WA. He wasn’t that hard to find.
— Poor Ian Cambridge, he wasn’t getting any help at all from his colleagues in the AWU, although Bill Ludwig did get a court order to have the improperly paid redundancy monies returned.
Except, Bill Ludwig didn’t actually enforce that order.
— And he didn’t even know about the AWU WRA scam yet, because neither Bruce Wilson, Ralph Blewitt, Julia Gillard, nor Slater and Gordon had told him, even though WE know that it was mentioned at Gillard’s exit interview in September 1995. He didn’t find out about that until April 1996, when an officer of the Commonwealth bank alerted him. In fact, if the bank “johnnie” hadn’t told him, we still might not know today.
During Ian Cambridge’s investigations he tried to find out where money from the Members Welfare Account was going. He discovered that a company he had never heard of called Chambers Consulting received some payments.
So he went to the Australian Securities Commission and discovered it was a large shareholder in a company called PSI. And, guess what? One of the directors of PSI was none other than Steve Harrison, joint national AWU secretary, and the guy who co signed Wilson’s redundancy cheque, after he had been facing criminal charges! How about that!
And guess what PSI did? They were administering a union superannuation fund called NSF! Gee, Ian Cambridge was really surprised.
Steve Harrison is a common name.
I think this is the same Steve Harrison, but am happy to be corrected.
— So what was it that Ian Cambridge uncovered that had him ask for a Royal Commission into the affairs of the AWU in 1996?
Here is a link to an address he gave to the 1996 Qld branch AWU delegate meeting. It is a fantastic document, written by a truth seeker, in everyday language.
Bob Kernohan is mentioned in it, as having received some funds to pay for legitimate campaigning costs, which he has subsequently explained.
Other interesting things mentioned haven’t received as much public scrutiny…
