The morally bankrupt Labor Party and its embarrassing bullshit artist, Craig Thomson, are typical of Labor’s candidate recruitment calibre: the enduring immorality of attorneys.
Lawyers in Labor’s ranks of late are Bill Shorten, Julia Gillard, Penny Wong, Nicola Roxon, Mark Dreyfus, Stephen Smith, Tony Burke, Joe Ludwig, Craig Thomson.
Self-interest multiplied and gifted Australia’s wealth to play with.
The Labor Party has long forgone its once honourable heritage of representing ordinary working Australians. To recall a true worker representative Labor PM, one has to delve way back to the 1940s and Ben Chifley. These days, Graham Richardson’s infamous “whatever it takes” Machiavellian mantra of Labor has seen its candidates groomed from uni students and union management – all privileged self-interested career politicians.
Craig Thomson, qualified in law, was Labor’s member for Dobell (Wyong on the New South Wales central coast). He was parachuted into this safe Labor federal seat from the union management brotherhood, which has become preferred Labor Party recruitment practice. Join union management and expect to be groomed for Labor politics.
Craig Thomson, qualified in law at UTS, faces 145 fraud charges over his alleged misuse of his Health Service Union-issued Diners Club credit card account, of his HSU Commonwealth Bank MasterCard account, of the HSU Flight Centre travel account, and allegedly withdrawing cash from HSU accounts for himself.
So much for UTS Law, and Thomo as HSU secretary was surely just getting used to parliamentary entitlements as a Labor MP – acclimatising to Labor’s aristocratic culture for their chosen MPs.
Many political pigs presume on winning office that they are so aristocratically superior to their electors. So like the self-centred political pigs that they are, they pass laws to pay themselves generous superannuation, perks and pensions over and what the rest of us are entitled.
This was during the time Thompson was employed as National Secretary of the HSU between 2002 and 2007. The alleged fraud relates to habitual payments over these six years and beyond to furnish his personal indulgences – prostitutes, hotel room porn, personal travel for him and his wife plus thousands of unexplained cash withdrawals from HSU credit cards.
According to the prosecutor’s forensic accountant, these all amount to $164,556 in defrauding the HSU, the Commonwealth Bank and Diners Club, including $35,634 in cash withdrawals.
Depending upon which month one has listened to Thomson’s excuses, apparently:
- “the facts are it wasn’t me” (Thomson’s Laurie Oakes Confessional)
- someone in the HSU used my credit card
- his noble efforts to impose financial rigour in the HSU created resentment from “two officials” who then set him up
- his “political enemies” on numerous occasions set him up with fabricated records
- those who were out to get him had let it be known they intended to “ruin my political career by setting me up with hookers”
- there were very simple ways in which his “factional opponents” could have manufactured false evidence to create the impression he had been with prostitutes
- someone “cloned his phone” and made those on his phone calls to the brothels
- actually, he had authority to use the card for whatever he wanted
- actually he did use the card but didn’t breach union guidelines in doing so
- what were the union guidelines again? Thou shalt..
- he mistakenly used the HSU credit card instead of using his own
- he did not deny the transactions took place, but may not have been for personal use
- he didn’t deceive the Commonwealth Bank or Diners Club because he had only ever used HSU credit cards and a Flight Centre account that he was authorised to use.
- he made no false representation to Diners Club or Flight Centre as a person entitled to use the card.
- 80 witness statements (no less) including one from escort “Misty” who claims Thomson was a regular, were allowed to be tendered to the court by Thomson’s QC, but that does not mean the defence agrees with the content.
- actually, when he said to Laurie Oakes “the facts are it wasn’t me”, well it was in response to “public attacks”, it was “publicity”
- actually, “the facts are it wasn’t me” was stated to try to save his “failing marriage, public image, parliamentary seat, political candidature” (wouldn’t Thomo fail background checks anyway?)
- he denies all wrongdoing, just like Gillard has in the union slush fund scandal.
- In appeal, we are yet to hear that it was indeed all a false flag operation linked to the Philadelphia Experiment, his abduction by extraterrestrials, paranormal activity, and little green men kidnapping his credit cards, identity and memory.
- Wait for the t-shirts, the bio book and mini series..
A well paid QC can conjure up anything to get a client off the hook, even down to technical legal wording, anally retentive mono syllable fudging fueled by brainstorming on crack – anything! Whatever it takes quid pro quo with QC hourly rates!
Truth or justice depend on the fees paid. Let’s hope the Melbourne Magistrate, Charlie Rozencwajg, sees through the politico-legal chicanery.
Rozencwajg has confirmed that Thomson’s legal team has already “agreed” the former Labor MP was responsible. This exposes Thomson’s very public denials with journalist Laurie Oakes previous statements and his lengthy address to Federal Parliament in which he denied the allegations.
If found guilty by the Melbourne Magistrates Court, Thomson will have therefore lied in Parliament, which is a crime ‘Contempt of Parliament’, attracting an additional custodial sentence of six months gaol. Beechworth Correctional cosy cell earning $27 a week here we come.
Despite Craig Thomson being expelled from the Labor Party by the then PM Julia Gillard in April 2012, the Labor Party has funded Thompson’s top legal team including Queens Counsel Greg James, QC.
So how much has the Labor Party forked out for Thomson? $100,000, $200,000, $600,000, more? The ALP has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of party funds supporting Thomson’s legal battles. Then PM Gillard, who needed his vote in the hung parliament, continued to support him publicly.
And “it was entirely right for the union to have spent about $250,000 promoting his election to the seat of Dobell,” Labor MP Craig Thomson said.
So roll up roll up. Join the Labor Party and this is where your membership dues go. While poorly paid Health Services Union members continue to protest over pay cuts, way less than Craig Thomson’s QC fees and his libido.
