Does Gillard inspire confidence?

Detectives investigating an alleged $400,000 union fraud in the 1990s wanted to prosecute a former boyfriend of Julia Gillard over the matter, it's been reported.

The Weekend Australian says internal police documents into a union funds scandal in the 1990s show that detectives wanted to prosecute former Australian Workers' Union boss Bruce Wilson and an associate, Ralph Blewitt, over the affair.

At the time, Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who was then working as a lawyer, was in a close relationship with Mr Wilson, the paper said.

Documents from the police probe showed police regarded the duo as "crooks".

It's also reported the documents show senior AWU officials were not happy that the two men escaped criminal charges over the matter.

Ms Gillard has repeatedly denied any knowledge of any wrongdoing.

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Meanwhile, as Gillard bedded in the carbon tax and found a pragmatic solution to the political problem of asylum seekers, it appeared she might finally have been regaining support within her party and the electorate. But new details about her time as a solicitor with the law firm Slater & Gordon, specifically about her conduct relating to a then client, pose a new threat to her authority and reputation.

This story has a very long tail. Many allegations have been made in many forums since the mid-1990s. Despite all the malicious and often false allegations that were magnified with the advent of the internet, no wrongdoing has been proven. But there are now legitimate questions that will, at best, distract her.

And there is a more cataclysmic scenario, of which her Labor detractors are mindful.

It's little wonder the opposition has scarcely gone near it. It doesn't need to.

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drsmith said:

After Julia Gillard's stealthy move on the media last week, is the fire still smoldering underneath.

No specifics, but the SMH's Paul Daley seems to think so,



http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/pm-like-abbott-in-the-headlights-20120825-24t28.html

It would be interesting to know what he's referring too there.

My bolds.

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Gillard was at the auction and knew the house was for Blewett and that her boyfriend would live in it.

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Mr Wilson and Ms Gillard were together until 1995 when Ms Gillard discovered she had been deceived by Mr Wilson and she said she ended the relationship.

Mr Blewitt, who now lives in Asia, broke a 17-year silence to say he was willing to tell all he knows about the union scam so the chapter could finally be closed.

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drsmith said:

Andrew Bolt has dug up a copy of a cheque for ~$68k supposedly drawn on accounts attached to said slush fund.

According to Andrew bolt,



http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/

There's also this, again from the SMH,



http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/polit...idnt-know-i-had-home-loan-20120825-24t6o.html

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Michael Smith, the 2UE broadcaster who lost his job after asking the Prime Minister too many questions about the AWU scandal, has promised to put up all the relevant documents so readers can make up their own minds.

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drsmith said:

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/...omments/michael_smith_releases_the_documents/



http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/

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white_goodman said:

shes been done in by her own handwriting... these are the type of people that spring up in politics from the union crowd

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noco said:

Maybe the $17,000 from the AWU slush fund has ran out.

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Ms Gillard has said she was unaware that there was anything untoward going on until the issue of corruption in the AWU emerged in mid-1995.

The Prime Minister was asked in Parliament on October 11 about her statement that “once I became aware that I had been deceived I ended my relationship with Mr Wilson”.

Did she also inform the appropriate authority of Mr Wilson’s misappropriation of union funds at that time, she was asked.

The Prime Minister responded that “the appropriate authorities were engaged in this matter” by this point.

But in fact while allegations of corruption surrounding Mr Wilson had started to emerge in August 1995, and Ms Gillard was interviewed by Slater & Gordon managing partners about rumours milling about concerning renovations at her house in September 1995, neither she nor the firm told the AWU, or any authorities, about the slush fund.

However, because the transcript of the Slater & Gordon interview was heavily redacted, it is unclear from the transcript whether either Ms Gillard or the firm’s partners were aware that any money in the fund had been improperly used.

The AWU leadership did not become aware of the slush fund until April 1996 (by which time the notorious Fitzroy property had been sold) and called in the police.

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drsmith said:

I'd suggest that Julia Gillard cut Bruce Wilson loose, but beyond that turned a blind eye.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in parliament next week.

http://afr.com/p/national/what_gillard_knew_about_the_slush_JbGcILLo9O59yt3QGFT68H

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noco said:

I am sure Miss Gillard alias (Sargent Schultz) will say "I know nothing".

But she is really digging a deeper hole for herself by not answering the questions.


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...to-julia-gillard/story-fng5kxvh-1226516225346

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