"...Gillard said she had heard a rumour that after Wilson left the AWU someone had presented the union with an unpaid account for work on her house...."
2012 Gillard paid for her home renovations, says builder Kon Spyridis
RETIRED Greek-born builder Kon Spyridis yesterday broke a 17-year silence to say Julia Gillard paid for the renovations on her Melbourne home.
A RETIRED Greek-born builder says Julia Gillard paid for renovations on her Melbourne home herself. Kon Spyridis yesterday broke a 17-year silence to confirm that Ms Gillard personally paid him for nearly $4000 worth of renovations with two bank cheques.
The 70-year-old Mr Spyridis flatly rejected allegations he had been paid by the Australian Workers Union for the work on Ms Gillard's inner-Melbourne property.
"The union has got nothing to do with Julia's payment for the house," he said. "This is nonsense. Julia paid me. This is the true story.
"I don't want to cover for anybody."
Speaking from his inner Melbourne home, Mr Spyridis confirmed that the AWU had owed him about $7000 for work he had done in 1995.
This was around the time it has been alleged Ms Gillard's ex-lover and one-time AWU state secretary Bruce Wilson improperly used about $400,000 in union funds.
"Bruce Wilson, when he disappeared, he owed me $7000 - for work I had done on the AWU offices in Carlton - and I got it through Jenny (Mikakos)," he said.
Ms Mikakos is a long-serving Labor member of the Victorian parliament and is a prominent member of Melbourne's Greek community.
Mr Spyridis' statement - that Ms Gillard paid for the renovations on her property, which she sold in 2007 - clears the air over allegations that were first raised in the Victorian parliament.
Last night, a spokesman for the Prime Minister declined to comment on Mr Spyridis' claims.
The former builder, who remains active in the Greek community, recalled that he was paid by Ms Gillard with two bank cheques but he does not have any records of the transactions.
