By Kevin Glancy

The PM now expects us to believe that the house her live-in partner was buying with a loan arranged through the company she worked for – was never discussed by them ever…that she knew nothing about it and that such a ‘campaign’ is a ‘smear’.  

Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!

But first;

Bill Shorten, Tony Burke, Stephen Conroy, Brendan O’Connor and Nicola Roxon have all defended Julia Gillard’s role in the AWU fraud on the basis that she was simply acting on behalf of her client. This is misleading and incorrect.

Shorten and Conroy have also described Gillard’s involvement in setting up a slush fund as merely ‘inappropriate’.

One can only assume that the Macquarie Dictionary, following the changes they forecast for the meaning of the word ‘misogyny’ as used by Julia Gillard in her tirade of lies about Tony Abbott, will now do likewise with the word ‘inappropriate’.

From here on in such meanings for ‘inappropriate’ will be expanded to include; corrupt, criminal, illegal, unethical, fraudulent, malpractice and just plain wrong etc.    

It must be remembered, that both Shorten and Roxon have vested interests in this scandal and the other Ministers are all ex union. Bill Shorten took over the presidency of the AWU shortly after the scandal but did not investigate it and at the time, reportedly, was in a relationship with Roxon who also worked at Slater & Gordon.  

Although it could be said of Gillard that her then boyfriend, Bruce Wilson and his mate Ralph Blewitt were her ‘client’ it conveniently ignores the fact that her real client and her priority was the AWU and her actions on her boyfriend’s behalf were covert and very much, detrimental to the interests of the AWU.

Further, Gillard by her own admission did not inform the AWU of the ‘secret’ AWU Reform Association that she helped her boyfriend establish which should not have been done without the AWU’s approval or knowledge. That is not simply a careless action, it is a deliberate attempt to defraud because Gillard knew and has admitted that it wasn’t even about ‘workers’ reform’ it was a slush fund and, as far as her boyfriend was concerned, a personal one at that.

She did not even open a ‘file’ which was standard practice as a partner in Slater & Gordon when dealing with any client. In fact it’s standard practice in any law firm. This lack of due diligence on her part brings into question the legitimacy of her ‘gang’ as a client and clearly illustrates that her intent was to deceive.

In effect she deliberately kept her activities ‘off the books’ so the AWU and others within Slater & Gordon would not find out about her covert dirty work.

Subsequently, it would be two years before those activities came to light and by then a number of companies had been coerced into ‘donating’ large sums of money on a false premise and at least one property had been purchased using some of that money.

In recent times Gillard has denied any knowledge of the 1993 purchase of the Kerr Street property and denied it again during an interview at Slater & Gordon in 1995. This week she has again denied any involvement despite revelations by a former senior partner who, on ABC Lateline, confirmed with supporting documentation that Gillard was involved with the purchase of that property.   

Apart from the fact that she is clearly identified in other documents related to that property at the time of the purchase, there are also two large amounts of money which were used for the purchase. One was a loan from her employer, Slater & Gordon and the other large sum came courtesy of the slush fund.

Gillard’s response 23^rd November 2102;

“What this boils down to is 17 years ago I couldn’t recall events that happened 2 and a half years earlier. And let’s be very clear, the matter I couldn’t recall related to Slater and Gordon issuing a mortgage not a matter associated with any union fund or account.

There would be plenty of people who would say looking back over two years it’s a bit hard to recall every bit of paper that comes across your desk. What it means is this whole campaign of smear actually boils down to absolutely nothing.”

No Julia this is not simply a ‘smear’. A ‘smear’ is calling Tony Abbott ‘a misogynist and a woman-hater’. You should know what a smear is – you and your gang use them all the time. No! These questions being put to you are based on facts supported by documentation.

This denial by Gillard is typical of her dishonest bluster and it stretches credibility too far. This is not about recalling ‘every bit of paper that comes across your desk’. No one is asking Gillard to remember such obscure things.

This isn’t about a mortgage belonging to some strange and unknown third party, this is very personal and something Gillard would clearly remember. This was a mortgage applied for by Gillard’s then boyfriend and now she is asking us to believe that;

Despite the fact that she was in a relationship with someone and living with them; that the company in which she was a lawyer and a partner lent that person a sizable amount of money to purchase a property and yet it was never discussed by her and her boyfriend over dinner’.  

Further, she didn’t ever discuss a house that her partner was attempting to purchase, one that she would be spending time in, if not living in, or the letters sent to him by her employer related to a loan. Never discussed, over coffee, during a walk in the park never…

Gillard also expects us to believe that even though she was working for the company that was lending the money that she did not get involved in negotiating the loan at any time and remained ‘in the dark’.

That this was somehow done by her boyfriend without her knowledge – that his application for a loan from Slater & Gordon had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that she worked there. That Slater & Gordon never asked her to provide some opinion about her partner or any aspect of the loan.  

Further, in excess of $100,000 was used from the illegal slush fund which she set up on her partner’s behalf. No, this was not some obscure mortgage that one conveniently forgets just two years later. So Julia stop using that word ‘smear’.  Again, you and your Labor crowd are the architects of smear and you know that this is certainly not one of those.

Now whether Gillard has acted illegally or not – one thing is certain her continued denial and posturing in relation to this matter confirms yet again, that she is a proven, serial liar and not a fit and proper person to be Prime Minister of this country.

Here’s yet another Labor woman, despite mounting evidence to the contrary, adopting the sisterhood line. The Carmen Lawrence, Joan Kirner, Roz Kelly defence of; “I can’t remember.”    

Any argument that this happened 19 years ago and therefore it should not be of interest as expressed by Tony Burke and other Labor members and supporters is irrelevant.

Gillard by her refusal to answer questions and her lies about this issue has ensured by her own hand, that it is very much today’s issue and needs to be resolved. This is a question that goes to the heart of her character and about the integrity of the person who holds the highest office in the country. It’s already under a cloud because of Gillard’s hands-on involvement in removing her predecessor and then lying about that act as well.

It’s also for lying about East Timor and the so-called Malaysian Solution – both announced by her as finalised when they did not exist. It’s about lying to the Australian people about the carbon tax and a myriad of lies told thereafter in support of that tax. There are too many Gillard lies to mention here.    

Of course, the problem for Labor is that the man waiting in the wings to step into Gillard’s high heels is Bill Shorten and he is covered in ‘union grime’ and his fitness for the Office of PM is also questionable.

Then there’s the Gillard witnessed Power of Attorney…

PRESS RELEASE – Galbally Rolfe, Lawyers, 552 Lonsdale Street Melbourne

23 November, 2012

 This firm acts on behalf of Mr. Ralph Blewitt.

 Our client attended the Victoria Police Fraud Squad today to make statements to police, following a complaint to the Chief Commissioner of Police by journalist Michael Philip Smith.

 The complaint to Victoria Police by Mr. Smith concerned the alleged creation of a false document, namely a Power of Attorney signed by our client but purporting to be witnessed by Ms. Gillard, an offence pursuant to Section 83A of the Victorian Crimes Act.

 Mr. Smith’s complaint to the Chief Commissioner follows an interview Mr. Smith conducted with Mr. Blewitt and published to the internet on the website

www.michaelsmithnews.com on Thursday, 11 October 2012.

Mr. Blewitt attended the Victoria Police Fraud Squad at the invitation of detectives and has made statements applying Section 3.1.20 of the Guidelines of the Victoria Director of Public Prosecutions.

The statements made cover:

1. The incorporation of the Australian Workers Union – Workplace Reform Association Inc in 1992. He, as the authorized officer of the association applied to incorporate the association to the Western Australian Commissioner of Corporate Affairs following legal advice from Slater & Gordon at their Melbourne offices.
2. The purchase of 85 Kerr Street, Fitzroy in the State of Victoria in 1993 in which Slater & Gordon acted as his lawyers in the transaction to purchase the property and acted as his lawyers in a loan in the sum of $150,000 secured against the property.
3. The operation of the AWU – Workplace Reform Association between 1992 and 1995 including the conduct of various parties involved in the renovation in 1994/5 of a property owned by Ms. Gillard and located at 36 St Phillips Street, Abbotsford.

 Our client has provided documents to Victoria Police to assist them in their enquiries and will be cooperating with their investigation.

 In 1995-96 Victoria Police investigated the conduct of Bruce Morton Wilson in relation to a bank account styled “Australian Workers’ Union Members Welfare Association No 1”. The role of the AWU-Workplace Reform Association and the purchase of the property at 1/85 Kerr Street Fitzroy has not been examined by Victoria Police until today.

 This firm has been contacted by the Western Australia Police Fraud Squad and our client will be cooperating with any investigation by WA Police including making a statement to police in Perth.

ENDS

A transcript of the interview between Smith and Blewitt is at

http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2012/10/the-awu-scandal-ralph-blewitttalks-about-the-power-of-attorney-transcript.html and the original audio file

of the interview is at http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2012/10/ralphblewitt-tells-his-story-about-the-gillard-power-of-attorney.html

Smith’s complaint to the Chief Commissioner of Police is at;

http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2012/10/my-report-to-the-chiefcommissioner-of-police-in-victoria.html