THE END GAME

Don’t you just love a good political scandal?

Do you find yourself shocked?  You should.  You see, a scandal that we find shocking, reinforces the fact that we are decent, moral human beings. We have standards and expectations, and when it comes to our politicians, we demand they be met.

I love a good scandal.  Reminds me that I’m doing okay, and am not a self-absorbed twat that abuses the power and privilege granted me by the Australian public.  I love to see the dishonesty, the dirty back-yard deals, and the corruption come to light, and it certainly has over the past couple of weeks with Craig Thomson, MP.

So, here’s the scenario:  Mr Thomson, the current Member for Dobell (in NSW), and Labor Party backbencher, has allegedly been a naughty boy; on many levels.  And I stress: allegedly.

So who is Craig Thomson? Well, prior to winning pre-selection for the seat of Dobell (which was apparently quite controversial, as some of the more senior NSW ALP MP’s didn’t want him in the party), he was the Assistant Secretary for the NSW Branch of the Health Services Union (HSU) from 2002 to 2007.  He was elected into parliament in the 2007 Election.

During his tenure at the HSU, a union credit card, which was owned by Mr Thomson, was used to secure the services of prostitutes.  BANG!

Now, this is where the fun begins.  Fairfax Media broke the story quite a few years ago and Thomson vehemently denied the allegations against him.  In fact, he slapped Fairfax Media with a defamation lawsuit.  However, it’s only defamation if what’s being reported about you is not true, and sometimes, slapping someone like Fairfax Media with a lawsuit doesn’t scare them away.  It just hardens their resolve.

Credit card receipts have surfaced that show his signature, and on the back, his driver’s licence details (good administration from an Escort service, to ensure that the card presented is owned by the user, isn’t it?).  Apparently, there are several instances of these ‘purchases’, averaging between $300 and $500 each, over a period of months, in Victoria and New South Wales, and one for a whopping $2,475.00.  However, I’ll come back to that one later.

Thomson’s excuse?  My wallet was stolen. Really? 

Now let me ask you this, my friends: if your wallet was stolen, what would be the first thing you’d do?  That’s right.  You’d ring the bank and cancel all of your cards.  Apparently, Mr Thomson didn’t do that. 

Now let me ask you another question, my friends: if you received your credit card statement, and there were transactions on there that you didn’t make, what would you do?  That’s right: you’d contact your bank and investigate them.  Mr Thomson didn’t do that, either.   In fact, when the credit card statement arrived for payment, he signed off on it, and submitted it to the HSU for payment.

His revised reason for the transactions? Someone else used my card and licence.  They were no longer stolen; someone else used them.  Ah-huh?  He admitted that the card was used to pay for the services of prostitutes, mind you; but he didn’t do it.

But Mr Thomson; there were also calls from your mobile and hotel rooms, to several different escort services during that time… apparently.  Mr Thomson? Oh yes; that wasn’t you, was it?  It was someone else.  Lost your mobile? Someone else staying in a hotel room booked in your name?

Innocent until proven guilty, I say.  However, it ain’t looking pretty, is it?

These are the problems he faces.  Number one: if he did use his card to pay for escort services, not only has he lied about it, but he has misappropriated union member funds.

The Health Services Union works for some of the lowest paid workers in the health industry: the orderlies, the cleaners and the like that bust their nuts to earn a quid and pay their union dues, which I’m sure, are not cheap.  How would they be feeling right now knowing that their union, the body that’s there to look out for them, is wasting their money on prostitutes?  I don’t think it would be much of a stretch to imagine that they’re pretty disappointed.

Number two: if he hasn’t used his card, he has, by authorising the transactions on his card, approved of the way these funds have been spent.  So here we ask: is it acceptable for unions to use their member’s money for this form of personal entertainment?  Again, I don’t think the members would be too pleased about this.

Now, here comes another question: why hasn’t the president of the HSU, Michael Williamson acted on this?  Bill Shorten MP, our federal assistant treasurer, who has an extensive background with the AWU, has said that this behaviour would warrant action by the union.  Why has this not happened?  I’ll come back to this one later as well.

So, reading between the lines, either Mr Thomson likes the company of escorts, or is permitting someone he knows, to do so, at the expense of the HSU.

What happened to the lawsuit against Fairfax Media?  It was dropped by Mr Thomson, who was privately funding the action against them.  Why?  Well, there are a few theories on this one.

Mr Thomson publicly said that it’s because he could not personally afford to pursue it, and was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy? Now that’s interesting.  Did you know, under the Australian Constitution, that if a member of parliament declares bankruptcy, or is convicted of a criminal offence that incurs a jail term, that they must resign their seat in parliament?

Big deal I hear you say?  Big deal indeed.  If he resigned his seat in parliament, the seat of Dobell would be forced to hold a bi-election to find a replacement.  After the damage that Mr Thomson has done to the ALP brand in Dobell, and the damage that the Gillard/Green government has done to the federal brand, do you think that an ALP candidate would win the seal of Dobell again?  I doubt it.

And what would it mean if the ALP lost the seat of Dobell?  We would have a hung parliament, and back to the polls we would go.  Do you think, in this negative ALP climate, that Gillard would win a federal election now?

So this is no longer a matter of a stupid politician that cannot keep his dick in his pants; it’s becomes a matter of a government holding on to power.

Enter the NSW branch of the ALP.  Allegedly, Mr Arbib (Senator for NSW, and Minister of about three different portfolio’s in the ALP government) is a massive power broker for the NSW ALP.  Apparently, he was the one that brokered a deal between Craig Thomson and Julia Gillard to bail Mr Thomson out of bankruptcy to the tune of $90,000.00, thus securing his seat in parliament.

Now, there is nothing wrong with the ALP helping one of its own out of trouble.  Nor, do I feel, that it’s wrong for them to avoid the possibility of a bi-election in this way.  However, a few things pop up here to be considered. 

Firstly, if the ALP had a clear majority in the parliament, do you think they would be bailing a nobody back bencher out of trouble?  I doubt it.  He would be out quicker than an escort’s client after their time is up. 

Secondly, do you think that by bailing Thomson out of this trouble that the highest office in the land is compromising its morals, and our standards, for power?

Let me bring you back to the $2,475.00 credit card payment to an escort service.  Now, either Mr Thomson (or whoever used the card) has had the ride of his life, or there are multiple people that are the recipients of these ‘services’.

This raises the question: who are the people that benefited from this payment?  Are they HSU officials?  Are they ALP MP’s?  Are they ALP power brokers?  Was Mr Thomson (allegedly) buying favour?  Was he securing votes?  Who knows?

What we do know, is that the ALP and the HSU don’t want any more details of this sordid story to come out, and are going into ‘damage control’ like careers depended on it.  Hang on… they do.

How did it come out after all these years, when it seemed dead and buried, I hear you ask?  Well, when you’re a member of parliament, amongst other things, you must declare all donations and gifts in kind to the parliament.  Mr Thomson hadn’t declared the $90,000.00 the NSW ALP gave him.

After being confronted with allegations that the NSW ALP paid his $90K legal bills, Mr Thomson broke parliamentary rules by amending the pecuniary interest register last week and not advising parliament in due process.

The Liberals and reporters were all over him like vultures on a corpse.

So, Mr Thomson would appear to be in more trouble than a pregnant hooker.  If he has indeed used the HSU credit card to secure the services of escorts, then he’s misappropriated member funds.  If he hasn’t used it card himself, then he’s approved of someone using it, and again, has misappropriated union funds and acted fraudulently by letting someone else use his card and licence.

AND, he’s lied about it all, used $90,000.00 of ALP member’s funds to bail himself out, mislead HSU members, the parliament, and the people of Australia.

One wonders if it was just a matter of bailing him out, or was it also buying his silence?  I think there are some people out there that have 2,475 reasons to keep him quiet.  Man, how big could this actually get?

He’s facing and investigation by the HSU, the NSW Police, Fair Trade Australia and anyone else that can be bothered.  Not to mention, public and political condemnation.  Innocent or not, his reputation is in tatters.

Should he resign?  He’s already stepped aside as Chairman of the Lower House Economics Committee, as this issue will ‘interfere with his work with the committee’.  No shit.

Mmm… I think it comes back to the fact that his removal could topple a government, and I can’t see Gillard sacking him or forcing him to resign.  To save face, she should; however, I think the need for power far outweighs morals at this stage of the game.  The federal ALP is desperately clinging to power, and this is enough to see them fall…

So what will the end game be here?  This big, black hole that is threatening to swallow Craig Thomson is getting deeper and deeper… just how many people will he drag down into it with him before it’s over?

I cannot wait to see how this unfolds…

Peace out.