Push to sue Craig Thomson for $500kBY: EAN HIGGINS AND MILANDA...

Push to sue Craig Thomson for $500k

BY: EAN HIGGINS AND MILANDA ROUT From: The Australian May 11, 2012 12:00AM

HEALTH Services Union national secretary Kathy Jackson will urge the union's executive to sue Craig Thomson for the $500,000 he allegedly exploited from members' funds to pay for prostitutes, high living and his own election campaign.

Ms Jackson and her lawyers are preparing legal documents to take civil action against the Labor MP turned independent, who already faces huge legal bills no longer footed by the NSW ALP.

The move follows the release on Monday of the Fair Work Australia report of its three-year investigation into the HSU national office during the period Mr Thomson was national secretary, from 2002 to 2007.

FWA found Mr Thomson had used his union credit card to spend about $6000 on escort services at different venues, more than $100,000 on unaccounted-for cash withdrawals, meals at top restaurants and accommodation at luxury hotels.

FWA also found Mr Thomson had employed organisers to promote his electoral interests in the NSW central coast seat of Dobell.

Mr Thomson continues to deny the allegations. This week he rejected the adverse findings of the FWA report and said he would fight the industrial watchdog's foreshadowed action against him.

"The FWA report can leave no one in any doubt that Craig Thomson was up to his armpits in a disgraceful rip-off of members' money and that he has been lying through his teeth about it since 2009," Ms Jackson told The Australian yesterday.

"The members deserve to have their money back, with interest.

"I intend to make sure that Thomson pays back the members' money that has been lost because of his theft and rorting.

"I have called a national executive meeting for Monday and will move the necessary motion to get the ball rolling."

The move is likely to be hugely popular with the union's rank and file, mostly lowly paid hospital workers who have expressed disgust at the alleged rorting of their union dues by Mr Thomson.

One union delegate, Katrina Hart, who works at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital, told The Australian yesterday members were crying out for such action.

"Why should our money be spent on him . . . we're not paying for prostitutes," Ms Hart said.

HSU acting national president Chris Brown said the union should wait until FWA had completed its civil actions against Mr Thomson. He said any attempt to sue before then would be "a publicity stunt", and accused Ms Jackson of grandstanding.

Ms Jackson was one of the HSU officials who took allegations of maladministration and corruption against Mr Thomson and HSU East general secretary Michael Williamson (who also denies wrongdoing) to FWA and the NSW and Victorian police, prompting investigations by all authorities.

Her move comes as questions have been raised over Mr Thomson's capacity to pay his future legal bills, with experts saying he could need at least $500,000 just to defend himself against the FWA action in the Federal Court.

Julia Gillard and her ministers faced a barrage of questions after it emerged the ALP had paid Mr Thomson's legal costs for the FWA investigation.