THE Australian Council of Trade Unions will push ahead with an application for the royal commissioner into union corruption to disqualify himself from the inquiry because he agreed to address a Liberal Party fundraiser.
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Confirmation of the union movement’s application, to be heard and ruled on by royal commissioner Dyson Heydon on Friday, came as Prime Minister Tony Abbott continued to defend the former High Court judge as an “honourable man” with a “marvellous record”.
Mr Abbott said Labor had appointed Mr Heydon to the NSW Court of Appeal.
“And, yes, he was appointed by the Howard government to be a judge of the High Court, but Dyson Heydon has served with great distinction as a judge … and he is doing valuable and necessary work as a royal commission into union corruption,” Mr Abbott said.
Of course there are a couple of major issues for the ACTU, the first being: he has not, nor will he attend the fundraiser; and when he agreed to give a speech it was not said to be a fundraiser.
As to my knowledge you are not guilty of what might have occurred, there is no question to be answered.
The ACTU is still running scared as is its ALP. It can say what it will but there has been no act of impropriety, and I am not sure if he had attended it could be seen attending a NSW Liberal Party fundraiser would be a sign of bias when the commission is looking into trade union governance and corruption, not the ALP.
K. Hicks,
Basin View.
