Shorten To Face Music Today

[icyfroth]

Bill Shorten to front royal commission today over deals struck as leader of Australian Workers Union

The commission has been looking into questionable deals between trade unions and employers, some of which took place during Mr Shorten's tenure as head of the Victorian and national branches of the Australian Workers Union (AWU).

He is expected to face questions over deals struck with employers while he was the state secretary of the AWU between 1998 and 2006, including a deal that the commission was told saved a cleaning company $2 million a year but was detrimental to workers.

They included payments of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the union between 2005 and 2008 by construction giant Thiess John Holland, described variously as "donations" or "other receipts" in disclosures to regulators.

The commission heard other examples where invoices from the union were charged for "training" but in fact related to the payment of membership fees, a practice the commission heard was used to boost member numbers.

Entire Article Here

And this man aspires to become the Pime Minister?

[debra9275]

we don't really have much choice do we?

[icyfroth]

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@debra9275 wrote:

we don't really have much choice do we?

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And why?

Because the Australian Electorate are Sheep or Goats, as Monman likes to depict them?

Or is it that Australian politics are actually dictated by Global financial interests, rather than the actual country leaders?

POWERFUL Global interests.

An example would be the recent approval of the Shenhua mine by the federal government.

It will be interesting to see how Mike Baird will act on that.

[debra9275]

why?? because we only have 2 major parties of course. though the Greens are relatively newcomers-, so not much point calling voters 'sheep or goats' if you vote for independants, then people complain about them holding things up in the senate too

[icyfroth]

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@debra9275 wrote:

why?? because we only have 2 major parties of course. though the Greens are relatively newcomers-, so not much point calling voters 'sheep or goats' if you vote for independants, then people complain about them holding things up in the senate too

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There a plenty of independents who are much more Australian-centric. The main problem is that the indepent"s election campaigns are self-funding and/ or funded by their supporters, unlike the two major parties who are partly taxpayer and mainly big-business-funded. As we've seen in the case of Mr Shorten. Money is no object.

Mr Barry O'Farrell comes to mind also, of course, with his $3000 bottle of Grange. At least he had the integrity to fall on his sword.

[debra9275]

there were a lot more than him who "fell on their swords" within the NSW LNP weren't there.?  and it was supposed to be yet another labor party witch hunt that backfired wasn't it??

unlike the two major parties who are partly taxpayer and mainly big-business-funded. As we've seen in the case of Mr Shorten. ( and Abbott) Money is no object.

does anyone else think that Mr Abbott has been a bit quiet on his RC  so far??

[icyfroth]

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@debra9275 wrote:

there were a lot more than him who "fell on their swords" within the NSW LNP weren't there.?  and it was supposed to be yet another labor party witch hunt that backfired wasn't it??

unlike the two major parties who are partly taxpayer and mainly big-business-funded. As we've seen in the case of Mr Shorten. ( and Abbott) Money is no object.

does anyone else think that Mr Abbott has been a bit quiet on his RC  so far??

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What do you expect him to say?

I think Mr Shorten's performance in the witness box (which he seemed to mistake for a soapbox) said everything.

[icyfroth]