FYI Scott.
I disagree - think this is politics - people cannot dish it out selectively. This is what happens on HC - therein lies the problem!Gillard files missing, say lawyers
By Mark Baker
October17, 2012 — 3.00am
A FILE detailing Julia Gillard’s role in helping set up a unionslush fund from which her former boyfriend stole hundreds of thousands ofdollars has disappeared.
Law firm Slater & Gordon yesterday said it could find no documents relatingto the work done by Ms Gillard — a former salaried partner of the firm — inestablishing the Australian Workers Union Workplace Reform Association in 1992.
Police believe the association was used by Ms Gillard’s former boyfriend andsenior AWU official Bruce Wilson to steal more than $400,000, including about$100,000 which helped fund the purchase of a Fitzroy unit bought with MsGillard’s professional assistance.
Slater & Gordon managing director Andrew Grech told The Age last night thatthe firm had not been able to locate any documents relating to thecontroversial transaction.
‘‘We have not been able to identify any such documents following extensivesearches of our archival records,’’ Mr Grech said.
‘‘If there are such documents, we don’t have them. They could have beenmisplaced, or lost. I simply don’t know.’’
Ms Gillard resigned from Slater & Gordon after being challenged inSeptember 1995 about her role in setting up the association without consultingsenior colleagues and without opening a formal file on the firm’s computersystem. She has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Ms Gillard did, however, keep an unofficial file detailing the work which wasfound in a cabinet in her office after she initially claimed to have sent it toan undisclosed third party.
During a meeting with then senior partner Peter Gordon and general managerGeoff Shaw, Ms Gillard was shown and acknowledged the file, described in atranscript released two months ago as being ‘‘exactly right in front of’’ her.
Confirmation that the file is missing comes a day after the federal oppositioncalled on Slater & Gordon to make public all records relating to theformation of the association to see whether a fresh police investigation waswarranted.
Shadow attorney-general George Brandis claimed Ms Gillard may have broken thelaw by vouching for the bona fides of an organisation she later confirmed was aunion election slush fund.
Registration documents prepared with her advice declared that the associationwas formed for the purpose of ‘‘development of changes to work to achieve safeworkplaces’’.
But Ms Gillard confirmed at a media conference in August that she had told MrGordon and Mr Shaw that the association was a ‘‘slush fund’’ for union electioncampaigning.
A report in last Saturday’s Age revealed that the association had only beenregistered after Ms Gillard vouched for its legitimacy to West Australianauthorities.
A copy of a letter she wrote to answer objections raised by the WA CorporateAffairs Commission about the association’s union connections is believed tohave been contained in the missing file.
In response to a series of questions from The Age, MrGrech said Slater &Gordon had been unable to find any documents about the forming of association —including any letter sent to the Corporate Affairs Commission.
‘‘These matters relate to events occurring more than 18 years ago. In theordinary course of events client files are destroyed after seven years unlessthere is some regulatory or other reason not to do so,’’ Mr Grech said.For the past five weeks lawyers representing Ralph Blewitt, theformer AWU state secretary and close associate of Bruce Wilson who registeredthe Workplace Reform Association, have been seeking access to records held bySlater & Gordon.
In a letter dated September 24, partner Leon Zwier of Arnold Bloch Leibler,representing Slaters, challenged Mr Blewitt’s claim.
‘‘It is not sufficient to claim that any documents we hold concerning the AWUWorkplace Reform Association belong to your client simply because he was atsome point an office holder of the association,’’ MrZwier wrote.
In reply, lawyers Galbally Rolfe, representing Mr Blewitt, said: ‘‘We note youradmission on behalf of Slater & Gordon that they hold documents concerningthe AWU Workplace Reform Association.’’
Mr Grech rejected as ‘‘highly defamatory and wrong’’ claims the firm waswithholding information from former clients.
