Mr Thomson’s admission of lying is a damming indictment of those who protected him. Ms Gillard refused to distance herself from Mr Thomson. She argued in her flawed memoir, My Story, that she clung to his vote because she faced a minority parliament. It may be her story, but it is not the full story. It was rather a case of poor political judgment underscored by her alliance with the union movement. As Ms Gillard told the Australian Workers’ Union conference in 2013, she did not lead a moderate, progressive or social democratic party. Rather, she led a party of unions because “that is what we come from”. No successful modern Labor leader — not Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke or Paul Keating — ever described the party in such narrow and self-interested terms. But this speech reflected the mentality and practices of Gillard Labor: defend your own, even if it fouls your nest. It is why Labor preselected Mr Thomson for his Dobell seat ahead of the 2010 election, even though allegations of his theft and fraud were widely reported in 2009. NSW Labor‘s then secretary, Senator Sam Dastyari, continued to pay Mr Thomson’s legal fees — close to $350,000 — to defend the morally depraved activities he was corruptly engaged in through to 2012, when he was finally suspended from the party. Ms Gillard only took action when her magical “line had been crossed”. Still, Ms Gillard was happy to receive Mr Thomson’s parliamentary vote as her grip on power weakened. Yet Fair Work had already identified Mr Thomson’s systematic breach of union rules and industrial laws. The ACTU and Labor had severed its affiliation with the HSU. The HSU leadership said they never doubted Mr Thomson was guilty — a view that was known inside Labor. Mr Thomson had the temerity to accuse others of lying. Despite all this, Ms Gillard clung to Mr Thomson. Even when Mr Thomson was standing as an Independent candidate against Labor in Dobell, Anthony Albanese was seen enjoying a beer with him in Sydney. It is another example of serial poor judgment by Labor figures. The challenge for the party is to demonstrate to voters that it is no longer a prisoner of the unions.
What they say and what they do are two different scenario-----Carr &Conroy have look after themselves at the next per-selection. The Alp will hit people with that many new taxes--they will not know what hit them !!
