WITNESS STATEMENT
Robert John KERNOHAN
1. My full name is Robert John KERNOHAN and I was born in Ireland on the 27 July 1951. I am currently 62 years of age .
2. I am currently retired .
3. Shortly after I was born, my parents left Ireland and came to Australia and settled in Melbourne. I attended at Werribee High School and left school when I was 16 years of age.
4. I started my working life as an apprentice butcher but did not complete my apprenticeship. After that I worked as a labourer and in about 1972, I got a job at the Altona petrochemical complex in Melbourne. Whilst employed there in the same year, I joined the Australian Workers ’ Union ( ‘AWU ’) Victorian Branch .
5. The AWU has only a branch in every state. A state branch is controlled by the president, secretary and branch executives. A President is an honorary position, by that I mean it is a ‘non -paid’ position. The President’s main function is to chair branch executive meetings.
6. The Secretary is responsible for the day to day running of the branch, which includes branch affairs and this is a paid position. Both the President an d Secretary positions are elected positions. The Vice President and branch executives are also elected and are honorary positions.
7. Elections occur every four years and they are controlled by the Electoral Commission. Rank and file members of the AWU are able to vote for a person who nominates for these positions. Elections are controlled by date, back in the 1980’s; I recall that el ections were held in October. The same date applies for both state and national elections.
8. The State Executive usually consists of six rank and file members which are elected. It also includes a state President and Secretary . The Executive is responsibl e for the day to day running of the Victorian branch . The State
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Executive usually sits once a month however it can also sit at the discretion of the President and Secretary.
9. In regards to minutes of meetings, i n my time with the AWU, holding various positi ons such as Victorian Branch President, Branch Vice President and Federal Executive Counci llor, minutes of all formal meetings were recorded and kept on file. In terms of the branch executive, the minutes were stored within the branch. For the National E xecutive, they were stored at the National Branch head office. I don’t believe that they are destroyed after a certain time as I remember reading the minutes of meetings going back to 1901.
10. What the State Executives cannot do is determine AWU national pol icy, purchase property, or open bank accounts. These items must be approved by the National Executive . The reason for these restrictions is because the AWU national rules determine that you cannot. If someone was to breach the rules they could be charge d with a criminal matter such as theft or fraud.
11. To obtain an authorisation to say open a bank account, a state branch Secretary would need , in the first instance, to obtain approval from his Branch Executives. He /She would then need to write to the Natio nal Secretary requesting to open a bank account in the name of the AWU and ask for that request to be put before the National Executive for authorisation. If authorisation was obtained, the resolution would be given to you in writing and you would use thi s document at a bank to open an account.
12. Another thing that the state Executive is responsible for is an independent audit. Independent auditors are called once a year and the state branch finances are audited.
13. The National Executive is made up of an h onorary President which can come from anywhere in the organisation as can the National Secretary. The National Secretary is a full time paid position similar to the state branch Secretary.
14. The National Executive consisted of two elected members from each state. These positions were four year terms. A National President, Vice President and a National Secretary also sit on the National Executive. The National
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Executive would consist of ten members and would sit once every two months or more often as deter mined by the National Secretary or President.
15. The National President and Secretary are similar to state equivalents and are elected from AWU members from around Australia. The President is responsible for chairing the National Executive. The National Sec retary has all the power for the day to day running of the national office and the governing of the state branches.
16. If the National office wanted to open a bank account or purchase property it would need to be approved by the National Executive.
17. It is impo rtant to note that the AWU National Convention is the supreme decision making body of the Union and it overrides the National Executive. The National Convention was held annually and it comprised of elected delegates from all states in Australia.
18. My knowledge of the AWU structure such as the national and state branches is based on my experience back in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. At that time the AWU had between 70,000 and 80,000 me mbers. Things may have changed since I left the organisation in February 1997.
19. In 1976 I was elected to the position of AWU Shop Steward. The Shop Steward is a delegate for the individual workplace. By being elected to this position I was responsible for the AWU members which were at the Altona petrochemical plant.
20. In 1982 I filled a casual vacancy for the position of ‘Organiser’. I was nominated to fill this casual position by the then President and Secretary of the AWU Victorian Branch. At the time of my appointment as an Organiser, David CUNNINGHAM was the AWU Victorian Branch President and Ian CUTLER was the AWU Victorian Branch Secretary.
21. The re ason for this nominati on was that the person who held that position resigned from the AWU. An Organiser is a person who is responsible for a geographical area. My area was Gippsland which included all the off -shore oil/gas platforms. At that time we had 11 in Bass Strait. The position required me to give notice to the Altona petrochemical plant and move to an
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AWU office in Sale. The position of Organiser also meant that I was now a paid employee of the AWU.
22. In 1984 I decided to stand for the official O rganiser position during the elections and I won the position.
23. In 1986 I was transferred from the Gippsland area back to Melbourne and given the Organiser position for the western suburbs of Melbourne. This area included the petrochemical companies loca ted in Altona. The decision to transfer was requested by me and approved by the Victorian Branch Secretary and President with no opposition by the Branch Executive.
24. In 1986 I was also appointed to fill a casual vacancy on the National Executive of the AWU and I remained a member of the National Executive until 1989
25. On the National Executive I recall that there was Joe KEAHAN, he was the Western Australian Branch Secretary, he has since passed away. Alan BEGG, the South Australian Branch Secretary, and he was elected to the honorary National Presidency position at the time. There was John DUNNERTY and Kevin TINSON, both were from South Australia. The Tasmanian s were represented by John BUTLER and an other , but I cannot recall his name. From New South Wale s there was Ernie ECOB and Fergus LAKE. From Western Australia there was Bruce WILSON and from Queensland Errol HODDER and Bill LUDWIG. The full time position National Secretary position was held by Gill BARR and the National President was held by Allan BERGG .
26. The head office of the AWU National office was located in Sydney.
27. I first met Bruce WILSON when we were both on the National Executive. Bruce would have been on the National Executive from late 1984, early 1985 until the time he left the AWU.
28. I d id not have much to do with Bruce at the time as he was in his early 30’s and a lot younger and more militant and aggressive than me .
29. In December 1989 , Ian CUTLER was the Victorian Branch Secretary and I was the Vice President of the Victorian Branch. I was part of the Ian CUTLER , AWU Victorian Branch , team of officials that lost the branch
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election s to the Bob S MITH team . At that time basically everyone, except office staff lost their positions.
30. After losing m y position as an AWU Victorian B ranch Office r in late 1989 , I was immediately approached by other South Australian officials to become a full time industrial officer with the South Australia AWU branch. I took the position and my family and I moved to South Australia. I took the place of Jay WEATH ERILL who is the now Premier of South Australia.
31. I kept in t ouch with former AWU Victorian b ranch officials and members and I heard worrying reports about the management and operations of t he newly elected AWU Victorian B ranch officials.
32. In 1991 I decide d to come back to Victoria with the intention of contesting the AWU Annual Convention ballot , which was to be held in February, 1993 , and the Victorian Branch full -term elections , which were scheduled to begin in September 1993.
33. Not long after I returned to Victoria, I received a phone call from the then Australian Labor Party (‘ALP’) Minister Senator Robert RAY who was the Federal Minister for Defence and he offered me a position on his staff. I accepted his offer and commenced worki ng as one of his electoral staff at his office in Treasury Place in Victoria.
34. Although I was not officially employed at the AWU, I was still a member of the AWU and I continued to campaign for upcoming positions.
35. On or around 1 July 1992, I sent a let ter to Mr. M. FORSHAW, General Secretary of the AWU sated 1 July 1992. The letter refers to me laying union charges against Victorian Branch Secretary Robert Leslie SMITH. I laid union charges pursuant to AWU Rule 37 alleging gross misappropriation of uni on funds. The particulars of the charges are set out in the document and it relates to significant finances of the branch members which were misappropriated by people I mentioned. This included the disappearance of approximately $25,000 which related to a Rig Workers trust account. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 01 ’ is a copy of the letter.
36. The Victorian Branch had a trust fund for health and safety for oil rig workers in Bass Strait. This trust fund was in existence in December 1989 and it
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contained about $25,000. I was able to obtain a balance sheet as they were readily available to members and I could see that the fund was not present on the sheet. To use this fund legitimately it would have required a resolution from the Branch Executive and there was no record of this occurring. This fund was purposely set up for health and safety training for AWU Rig Workers who worked off -shore.
37. On or around 7 July 1992, I sent another letter to Mr. FORSHAW dated 1 July 1992. The letter refers to the facts which were raised in the previous letter dated 1July 1992. It names, in addition to Robert Leslie SMITH, all the other Victorian Branch Executives at the time such as Fred PHILLIPS, Jim COLLINS and Mick WALSH. In my view, PHILLIPS, COLLINS and WALSH were also accountable for the enormous financial discrepancies within the Victorian Branch. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 0 2’ is a copy of the letter.
38. On or around 9 July 1992, I sent a further letter to Mr. FORSHAW dated 9 July 1992. This let ter correct ed an oversight regarding my membership number which was not included in the letter dated 7 July, 1992. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 0 3’ is a copy of the letter.
39. In July 1992, I instructed Bill SHORTEN to prepare various newspaper articles for publication in The Australian, The Age and The Financial Review. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 0 4’ are copies of those articles dated 9 July 1992.
40. Following those media articles Mr Shorten prepared a flyer for me to send to circula te to Victoria Branch AWU members . The flyer contained excerpts from various media articles critical of the AWU. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘RJK 05’ is a copy of that flyer.
41. I first met Bill SHORTEN in 1991 through Senator Robert RAY. He was a young man in his early 20s university law student who was active in Young Labor and was willing to help me throughout in my campaign against A WU Victorian Branch officials. In fact, I regarded him as a friend and my campaign manager at that time as he was involved in drafting numerous press releases and leaflets.
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42. I went to the media because at the time I felt that my charges were not taken seriously. By going to the media I believed that it would have turned up the heat on the General Secretary and the Nat ional Executive to take the allegations seriously and grant me access to inspect the Victorian Branch books.
43. On or around 14 July 1992, I sent a further letter to Mr Bob SMITH, Secretary AWU, dated 14 July 1992. The addressee, ‘Bob SMITH’, is Bob Leslie SMITH and the letter refers to a request that I made pursuant to Rule 63 of the AWU Rules to Bob Leslie SMITH to obtain an explanation of expenditure of union funds. I never received any response from Bob Leslie SMITH. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘RJK 0 6’ is a copy of the letter.
44. On or around 11 August 1992, I received a letter from Mr FORSHAW dated 11 August 1992. The letter informed me of the outcome of the previous letters provided by me to FORSHAW. It stated that upon receiving my previous le tters the National Executive determined to defer any hearing of my charges for consideration at the following executive meeting. In respect of my call for an independent audit o f the Victorian Branch finances, th e Executive Council carried a resolution re jecting my req uest. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 0 7’ is a copy of the letter.
45. I was not surprised that the Executive Council would respond to me in the manner that they did. Every effort that I made at the time to obtain transparency for the AWU membership , in respect to irregularities in the Union’s finances, was stonewalled at every turn.
46. On or around 26 August 1992 I received a further letter from Mr FORSHAW dated 26 August 1992. The letter informed me that the that FORSHAW, on behalf of t he Executive Council, had sought legal advice in relation to the charges particularised in my letters dated 7 and 14 July 1992. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 0 8’ is a copy of the letter.
47. I recall that when I received this letter I formed view that this was yet another attempt to impede my rights as a union member to have my allegation s and charges , against those that I had specified , dealt with in accordance with the
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rules. It gave them yet another reason, from their point of view, to prevent my charges being heard.
48. Although my charges were never heard, Robert Leslie SMITH, Fred PHILLIPS and Mick WALSH were told to pretty much clean out the ir desks and they eventually left the AWU.
49. Not long after, the National AWU Secretary Michael FORSHAW an d National President Bill LUDWIG came down to sort out the matter. WILSON was later installed as the Acting State Secretary of Victorian Brach by the National Executive. The person who had the numbers of the National Executive was Bill LUDWIG and Bill to ok WILSON under his wing.
50. Just after WILSON was installed , I objected to the National Executive for WILSON being Branch Secretary of both the Victorian and Western Australian branches. I told them it was not legal to do this. This matter went before the Federal Industrial Court in Victoria and the applicant was Angelo PALMA who was an Organiser in the Victorian Branch.
51. Prior to Angelo making the application he was sacked by Bruce WILSON for continuing to raise questions about financial irregularities in the Victorian Branch. After being sacked, Angelo came to s ee me and I asked him to join my campaign which he agreed to do.
52. Angelo PALMA’S application to the Federal Industrial Court in Victoria was dismissed and as a result the court did not intervene to prevent WILSON from being the Acting Secretary in Vict oria and the Secretary of the Western Australian Branch.
53. Sometime in late 1992, I had John CAIN Jr, draft a letter addressed to WILSON requesting me to have access to the Victorian Branch books to find out w here the rig workers trust fund went to. WILSON did not reply to this letter and so I made a complaint to the National Executive that I had been denied the right as a member of the AWU to look at the Victorian financial branch records by WILSON.
54. The National Executive took the matter over and they set a date which they knew I could not attend because I was interstate . I wrote back another letter that the first date was unsuitable and they told me that they would set another
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date but I knew it was futile and that it wasn’t going to happen. Eventually vi a another member of the National Executive another date was arranged for me to see the books.
55. I went into WILSON’S branch office alone to see the books and I was blocked in the doorway by Bill the Greek. I cannot recall Bill ’s surname but it starts with a ‘T’. Bill knew why I was there and he told me that I wasn’t going to get in. Bill was appointed as branch organiser, he is very large bloke, and I dub bed him WILSON’S bodyguard because wherever WILSON went, Bill the Greek was there. I wasn’t going to s tart any trouble so I left. I did not pursue the issue any further.
56. I continued my campaign on Bruce W ILSON and other AWU Victorian Branch officials for covering up financial irregularities in the AWU Victorian branch accounts and for their financi al mismanagement of the union. I campaigned against them both in the media and by going to various work sites and speaking to members. I did either before starting my working day with Senator Robert RAY or at the end of the day. Senator Robert RAY knew what I was doing and he supported me. He told me to “do whatever I believed I needed to do to win the Victorian Branch elections”.
57. In August, 1992, I left Senator Robert RAY’S office.
58. I left the office for two reasons. The first reason was because in m y own mind there was a conflict of interest as I believed I was running in the Victorian elections and Robert RAY had told me words similar to that he “expected union delegate numbers within the Victorian branch of the AWU would be delivered to him to allo cate as he so wished”. By that what he meant was that he would control the AWU numbers and influence with the Victorian Branch of the AWU. I didn’t want to be part of that.
59. The second reason was that from time to time I would be requested to work to infl uence the outcome of other union elections. Stephen CONROY, who was working for another Federal politician , who I can’t recall, was also the head of the Labor Unity faction . He was also trying to influence the outcome of elections by supporting and financ ing the campaigns of union elections.
60. Stephen CONROY would answer to Robert RAY and every second Friday Robert RAY would come to the office and get an update from Stephen Statement of Robert John KERNOHAN Page 9 of 29
CONROY as to what was happening with various union elections that CONROY was involved in. The offices’ in four Treasury Place in Melbourne was used by CONROY to oversee the various election campaigns that he and his faction were involved in. All phone canvassing, photocopying and any other resource that the Federal Treasury building coul d provide was utilised by CONROY in these activities.
61. In the lead up to the December 1992 elections, I continued to campaign by visiting AWU worksites. Part of my campaign was seeking support from AWU members for an independent audit of the Victorian Bran ch books. I was hoping that by doing this, this would add further weight and pressure on the AWU National Executive to provide me access to the Victorian Branch books. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 0 9 and 10 ’ are copies of my campaign material . Both of these two items were prepared by Bill SHORTEN and approved and signed by me to be sent out to all Victorian AWU branch members seeking their support for my campaign.
62. In October, 1992, I remember I received a call from Pat HUNTLY who was from mem ory the Editor of the ‘Industrial Relations & Management’ journal and she wanted an interview with me in relation to the conflict in the Victorian Branch particularly between WILSON and me . I agreed to the interview and the interview was published in an ar ticle in the journal. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 11 ’ is a copy of the article.
63. The article also contains an interview of Bruce WILSON and Bill LUDWIG.
64. At a meet ing of AWU members in approximately mid 1992 I moved several resoluti ons including calling on the AWU Victorian Branch to disclose the sale and or acquisition of union properties, investments and expenditure of monies including trust funds, revenue from ticket monies paid in advance from members, details of branch membershi ps since 1990, all debts owed by the branch, disclosure of all loans by the branch, disclosure of all expenses paid by the union to all elected officials and administration staff, branch ticket sales including union tickets not yet accounted for for the ye ar ending 31 July 1991 and further that the General Secretary be authorised to provide Victorian Branch members with a summary of the audit when it is completed. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 12 ’ are copies of the resolutions I moved.
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65. I moved all these resolutions because of the serious financial discrepancies I had discovered in the Victoria Branch AWU balance sheet. These resolutions were passed by the members and forwarded to the National Convention that was scheduled for January 1993.
66. Somet ime in late 1992, I received a copy of a document from Hewitt & Company Chartered Accountants addressed to Bruce Wilson of the AWU Victorian Branch dated 10 September 1992. It was circulated to every member of the AWU Victorian Branch and it was also table d at the AWU February 1993 Convention. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 13 ’ is a copy of the letter.
67. I do not know much about the accounting firm and I believe that WILSON must have engaged them to conduct an audit on the financial administration of the Victorian Branch. He did this as a result of the resolution that I moved and had passed at the previous meeting of the AWU members.
68. When I first read the document I formed the view at the time that the document totally misrepresented the financial position of the Victorian Branch. I formed that view because I knew that $25,000 for the rig workers’ fund and union tickets were unaccounted for. I continued my campaign for an independent audit because I felt that it would have been better to have someon e conduct and audit who had never done the books before.
69. In or around November 1992, Mr LUDWIG, the National President, and Mr FORSHAW, the General Secretary circulated to all AWU Victorian Branch members a letter titled ‘Report to Victorian AWU Members fr om the AWU Executive Council’ dated November 1992. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 14 ’ is a copy of the letter. This letter was signed to coincide with the election of AWU delegates to convention.
70. I believe that the letter was in response to my resolutions passed at a previous AWU meeting of the members and my campaign calling for an independent audit. It was designed to try and discredit my campaign calling for an independent audit.
71. In December 1992, I together with four other AWU Victorian branch members won elections for the position of AWU Victorian Branch delegates
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to the Annual Convention of the AWU to be held in February 1 993. The positions were honorary .
72. In February, 1993, the Annual Convention was held in Adelaide. At this convention the AWU delegates voted to endorse an amalgamation with the Federated Industrial, Manufacturing and Engineering Employees union (“FIMEE”) . As a result , elections for AWU officials were postponed until March 1995 to enable the amalgamation to take effect. On the 1 November 1993 the two unions formally amalgamated.
73. At the convention, as WILSON was still the Acting Secretary of the Victorian Branch and Secretary of the Western Australian Branch, he was required to produce the Victorian branch balance sheet. When he did this, I stood up and asked WILSON some questions to do with the balance sheet, the trust account for the rig workers, and the $25,000.00 and what happened to it. He couldn’t answer i t.
74. I also asked him about membership tickets for the Victorian branch. At the time, about 300 tickets were unaccounted for, they weren’t in the position of the branch and they had gone missing. Each ticket wa s worth about $300.00 per annum and they were put down as lost on his balance sheet. I believe that they were sold. I believe this because there is no plausible reason why they should be lost. There were no sworn statements explaining the loss of these tickets.
75. Tickets in unions were very valuable and they were normally stored in the office safe and they would be signed for if used. When I asked WILSON about the tickets, WILSON got nasty. He started waving papers at me and ran the argument that I was trying to destroy the union and who was I to qu estion him. Bill LUDWIG , the AWU Federal President, then stood up and from then on I was officially gagged and unable to speak further at the Convention. I thought to myself that I’m not going to get any answers about my claims and thought more rorting i s going on th an what I originally thought with the Victorian Branch’s finances.
76. At the convention, a proposal was a lso highlighted that a new branch would be created called the ‘Construction Branch’ . I t would be national arm of the union which would cover all the states. I believe that the reason Bill
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LUDWIG set this branch up was to protect his own position and his control over the organisation. He would be able to do this as the Construction Branch would have allocated a certain amount of votes which wo uld be able to affect the National Executive.
77. After the convention, the issue of the National Construction Branch is raised at the next meeting of the AWU National Executive and it was voted in. At the meeting, the names of the people who would f ill those positions were announced. WILSON was named as the National Secretary of the Construction Branch, Helmet GRIES S was appointed as an Organiser coming from a Victoria Branch Organiser’s position. Mark BARNES was appointed an Organiser from Victori a, Jim COLLINS, who is now deceased, is another. All the office staff from Victoria, such as Jill WATSON all went across to the Construction branch. I think Mark BUSBY was the President. I believe that Bill LUDWIG pre -determined the positions on the Con struction Branch.
78. WILSON was required to forfeit his Victorian Branch Secretary position as he was now the Secretary of the Construction Branch. The Victorian Branch secretary position was endorsed by the national executive and Bob Fredrick SMITH was appo inted into the position .
79. Bob Fredrick SMITH is a bit older than me, say 64, he came from the FIMEE union and he later went and won a seat in the upper house of Victoria. I think the seat was Chelsea province. WILSON was also required to forfeit his posit ion as Secretary in Western Australia and as a result BLEWITT replaced him.
80. The Construction Branch effectively took over the Victorian AWU office premises, which was located in Drummond Street, Carlton. The Victorian AWU office moved to 685 Spencer St reet, Melbourne.
81. After the convention I was appointed a full time paid position to organise workplace enterprise bargaining with the FIMEE organisation. I was appointed by Steve HARRISION who was the National Secretary of the FIM EE organisation as there was paid employee position to be filled. I was working out of the Spencer Street, Melbourne, FIMEE office.
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82. Whilst at the FIMEE I was still campaigning against WILSON. He didn’t like me because I kept at him to get to the truth about the financial misman agement of the Victorian Branch.
83. In August 1994 I sent a circular to all AWU -FIMEE officials putting them on notice that I intended to head a team to contest the AWU Victorian Branch elections which were scheduled to commence in March 1995. Also in March 1995 I announced that I would be contesting the position of AWU National President opposing Bill LUDWIG for this position.
84. Not long after this , I was talking at a meeting of Shop S tewards and after the meeting, Bill the Greek came up to me and shook my hand and told me that Bruce and I should get together.
85. Bill rang me at my office and said to me that Bruce would like to meet me. We organised to meet at a Thai restaurant in Fitzroy Street, Brunswick. I later found out that the restaurant w as near the Kerr Street property.
86. I attended at the restaurant at I met with Bruce WILSON and Bill the Greek. When I arrived, WILSON thanked me for coming and he said to me hopefully we can work something out so all the infighting can stop. I told him th at it was probably futile now because of the amalgamation and the elections have been put on hold. I told him that I going to run for the president’s position for the AWU general Victorian branch.
87. Bruce asked me how much I was out of pocket. I told him a pproximately $14,000.00. I know this to be the amount because it was approximately $6,000 per mail out for 15,000 members. At the time I had done three mail - outs up to that point. I kept receipts at the time because everything went through my bank accou nt and I declared it in my tax as electoral expenses. At this moment, I do not have records of any of bank accounts or my expenses that I occurred. My accountant Tony ZANCA at the time may have some documents which I provided him to complete my tax.
88. In order to fund these expenses I obtained a personal bank loan with the Commonwealth bank for $20,000.00. It is normal practice to fund your own election campaign and it is illegal to use member s’ money to fund your own campaign. During a campaign, you m ay have a raffle or sell t -shirts and try to raise money to fund your campaign, or you may receive donations from Statement of Robert John KERNOHAN Page 14 of 29
friends. In my case, any money I received, such as a donation from a friend of mine Rick THOMAS of app roximately between $2,000.00 and $3,0 00.00, all went through my bank account. All activities were totally divorced from AWU legitimate bank accounts.
89. After I told Bruce the amount I spent the figure didn’t surprise him at all. Bruce told me that he would reimburse some of it. Bruce tol d me that he had a “slush fund”. The slush fund didn’t surprise me because most unions and factions in parties have slush funds or ‘election funds ’ as they were also known.
90. Slush funds are funded normally by payroll deductions by people who intend to st and in elections. They are totally independent to authorised AWU funds.
91. After Bruce told me about giving me the money, I said to him that it would go part of the way to recouping some of my losses as the elections were now scheduled two years away. Br uce told me that he would give me $6,500.00. I don’t know how he arrived at the figure.
92. Bruce asked me how I wanted the money, “cash or cheque”. I told him “cheque”. I told him this because everyt hing goes through my bank account. Bruce told me that h e would see me in the morning and contact me at Spencer Street. Bill did not say much, Bruce did all the talking. I got up and shook both their hands and left the restaurant.
93. The next morning at about 9:20 am, I got a call from Bill the Greek and he to ld me that they were out the front and if I could come down. I knew at the time that both WILSON and Bob SMITH didn’t like each other and I wasn’t surprised that they didn’t want to come up to the office. I believe that the reason why they didn’t like eac h other was because there was no cooperation between SMITH and WILSON to settle the political conflict between them due to the amalgamation.
94. I went downstairs and both WILSON and Bill the Greek were standing at the front door. The meeting took no more th en 30 seconds. WILSON gave me the cheque and when he handed it to me the cheque was folded in half. I unfolded it and noticed that it was already filled out to “ Bob KERNOHAN” for six thousand five hundred dollars.
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95. I saw the cheque also had the name “AW U Members ’ Welfare Account”. I asked WILSON why it has the AWU on it as I thought it was odd at the time that the slush fund had the AWU name. WILSON told me that it was because that’s what they call the slush fund. He also said it was for taxation exem ption. I thought at the time the name suggested that they were looking after member s’ welfare and didn’t think about it any further. I also know that unions similar to churches have tax free status.
96. After this occasion, I never sighted nor spoke to W ILSON or Bill the Greek personally again.
97. Later that afternoon I deposited the cheque into my own bank account. I put it into my personal account because it was money to reimburse me for my expenses for my election campaign. I later submitted this amount to the tax office as an electoral donation. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 15 ’ is a copy of the cheque dated 6 April 1995.
98. I believe that the photocopy of the cheque is the cheque I was given by Bruce WILSON. I obtained a copy of the chequ e as it was included in the documents that I was served with for the matter in the Federal Court in Sydney. I believe that the cheque contains the signature of first Jim COLLINS and second Bruce WILSON.
99. In approximately March 1995, I nominated for the AWU Victorian Branch Joint Presidents and Organiser position. I had good support of the AWU members at the time and I was the only one who kept the members informed of the amalgamation process. At the close of nomination, I was told by the electoral commission that I was unopposed.
100. On the 30 June 1995 I was elected the AWU to both the positions of Branch President and Branch Organiser. Bob Fredrick SMITH retained his position as the AWU Victorian Branch Secretary and Bill SHORTEN was elected a membe r of the AWU Victorian Branch Executive and became an AWU Victorian Branch Organiser. I recall that also on the Victorian Executive were Richard STOMPS, Sam BEACHEY and Ben DAVIS. Most of the others on the executive came from the “FIMEE” organisation and I had never met them before.
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101. On the national level, Bill LUDWIG retained the President’s position, Steve HARRISON and Ian CAMBRIDGE were Joint Secretaries. Bruce WILSON retained the position of AWU National Construction Branch Secretary.
102. When I commenced as the Branch President, I heard from people that the national Construction Branch was running at a loss and overall, the AWU was heading into bankruptcy. I tried to discuss this with Bob Fredrick SMITH but I wasn’t in the inner sanctum. The people who were in the inner sanctum were, Bob Fredrick SMITH, Terry MUSCAT, Bill SHORTEN, Cesar MELHAM and David CRAGG. I would say that I wasn’t in the inner sanctum because I didn’t fit in and SMITH knew I wouldn’t cop any deals with people that were being invest igated.
103. At that time I also heard from David CRAGG that there were problems with the AWU Victorian Branch accounts. I heard that there were about 10 or 12 accounts at the time and this was surprising to me because I didn’t understand why a branch of the u nion would need so many accounts.
104. I also heard from David CRAGG and from others that there were irregularities with the accounts and they had frozen accounts and the accounts appeared to be dodgy. He also told me that WILSON will not cooperate and not ex change signatures on the Victorian Branch accounts. By not exchanging signatures it means that WILSON would not relinquish control over the bank accounts.
105. I went again to SMITH to discuss what CRAGG had told me. His words to me were that it looks like t here is evidence of fraud and that he will not rest until these bastards are in jail. Now reflecting on those words I think that he was just saying this because he knew that the stand I would take was that everything would be done by the book.
106. As a President in the normal course of events I would be entitled to see the branch books, however, I didn’t ask to see them because tensions were running high between myself and SMITH and would have denied me access anyway. Having the title of ‘presiden t’ would mean nothing if at the end of the day you didn’t have the numbers on the executive. As SMITH had the numbers and I didn’t, it would have been a futile exercise for me to ask for the books.
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107. In August 1995 I heard from David CRAGG that Bruce W ILSON had resigned from the National Construction Branch following an investigation into an election slush fund bank account operated by him in Victoria. By investigation I mean an internal union investigation conducted by Ian CAMBRIDGE. It was also reported i n the newspapers at the time.
108. I once again approached SMITH to talk about it but I got stonewalled by SMITH and he did not share any information about what was happening with WILSON. Apart from what I was told by CRAGG and what I read in the media, I did not know any further details of the investigation of WILSON.
109. It became common knowledge at the time the war had broken out between CAMBRIDGE and Steve HARRISON. I found out that HARRISON was supporting SMITH to deal with WILSON and to keep it quiet and CAMBRIDGE wanted a police investigation.
110. I approached SMITH again about this war and he told me that CAMBRIDGE wanted to destroy the union by bringing in the police. I said to him isn’t that his position as he told me that he wouldn’t rest until all these bastards were in jail. SMTH didn’t answer me and treated me with contempt.
111. I started to become more and more isolated at the branch and less peopl e were talking to me. I wasn’t given up to date information because they knew I would oppose any deals to t ry and cover this up. The stuff with WILSON was never really discussed, not even at branch executive meetings. At that point I didn’t know that WILSON had resigned.
112. I had a conversation with Terry MUSCAT at the office tea room he told me that WILSON was g one and that he had resigned because of the internal investigation within the union about the accounts controlled by WILSON. MUSCAT also told me that Bill the Greek had also resigned. I asked him what’s going on with the Construction Branch and he told m e that Bill LUDWIG wanted to keep the Construction Branch going and that Mark BUSBY was installed by the National Construction Branch Executive as the Secretary.
113. On a different occasion, Terry MUSCAT told me that that CAMBRIDGE was getting more and more in volved in the internal investigation. There was also a feud with Steve HARRISON who was the Joint National Secretary and Statement of Robert John KERNOHAN Page 18 of 29
CAMBRIDGE. CAMBRIDGE wanted to get to the truth and HARRISON was supporting SMITH in the cover up of WILSON.
114. In approximately Septem ber 1995, I was walking through the reception area of the Spencer Street AWU branch office in West Melbourne leaving to go to the ACTU for a meeting. I saw that there were three people standing at the reception window. At the time there was a sliding w indow in which people would speak to the girl at reception. These three males looked like Construction workers with ‘bib and brace’ overalls. One of the three individuals was yelling out, “we want to be paid we haven’t been paid” to the young girl at rec eption.
115. Just as I was about to leave the reception area I saw Terry MUSCAT come to the reception area. At that time I didn’t know who the males were or what the yelling was about apart from, “not being paid”.
116. I went to the ACTU meeting and about an hour a nd quarter later I returned to the office. I went to see Terry MUSCAT because it was still on my mind about why these people were yelling at the young girl at reception. I asked Terry what all the notice was about and he told me to follow him.
117. I followe d him into Bob SMITH’S office and Bob SMITH and Bill SHORTEN were already there as I walked in. Terry MUSCAT said to me that WILSON was up to a lot more then operating dodgy bank accounts. He had authorised in the name of the AWU house renovations to a p rivate property which was Julia GILLARD’S, the girlfriend of Bruce WILSON, and that they haven’t been paid.
118. I knew of Ms. GILLARD back then only in passing at ALP conferences. Bill SHORTEN knew her better than me and he told me that WILSON and GILLARD was an item going back to 199 2. I remember that Bill SHORTEN told me on numerous occasions that he despised GILLARD because of her links to the Communist Party.
119. In the meeting, MUSCAT also told me that the builder’s name was “Con” and that WILSON would nor mally pay them by cheque and that they were looking for WILSON but he was gone. MUSCAT told me that they had gone to the Drummond Street office but it was all locked up and t hey couldn’t get in there. He also told me that Con had done work previously for WILSON, Statement of Robert John KERNOHAN Page 19 of 29
some of that was done of the Drummond Street property and GILLARD’S property.
120. SMITH told me that he paid them out of union funds and that I shouldn’t worry because the account would be forwarded onto GILLARD who will be required to reimburse the union. I asked SMITH why did he paid them and he said that he had to because if he didn’t, they would not have left, and the only way they could have got them to leave would be by calling the police.
121. I asked SMTH how much money are they owed and SMITH tol d me $17,000.00. Normally that would have horrified me but given what was going on at the time with WILSON, I saw that as incidental.
122. I accepted the explanation of Bob SMITH and Terry MUSCAT that th ey had fixed the problem and that the union was going to recover the money from Ms . GILLARD . I never saw any paperwork and I didn’t see the cheque that was written out to pay Con. I was not a signatory to any of the AWU Victoria Branch accounts because they never asked me to be. This is probably because I wo uld have questioned a lot of the cheques that would have been written out.
123. I think that they only told me because I had seen Con yelling at the counter and they knew that I would ask questions about what was going on. That was the impression that was left on my mind when I walked out of the SMITH’S office.
124. In October 1995, I remember reading in the newspapers that a minister of the Victorian Parliament Phil GUDE made a speech in Parliament and referred to the AWU paying for renovations on Julia GILLARD’S property by WILSON with AWU money.
125. Shortly after the Phil GUDE speech in parliament I recall that I had a meeting with Terry M USCAT and Bill S HORTEN at the union office about this allegation. I asked Terry if the money had been paid back to the union by Ms. GILLARD as SMITH had told me. MUSCAT told me that the money had been paid back by Ms. GILLARD and that it had been all a misunderstanding. At the meeting Bill S HORTEN said words to the effect that , “the books had been balanced”.
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126. I continued to spend less and less time in the office as I started to feel isolated so started to work more and more from home.
127. Sometime in 1996 I was called by a young lady who was working for some solicitor in Melbourne and she asked to meet me. I met her in the f oyer the next day and she gave me approximately 300 documents. When she gave me the documents I remember her saying, “consider yourself served”. I took the documents home and started to go through them.
128. When I read the documents I was stunned. I was se rved with a subpoena to attend the Federal Court in Sydney for a mention hearing. I was one of 20 defendants listed on the documentation and the AWU executives were the applicants. I was served because of the $6,500.00 cheque made out to me by WILSON fro m the Members ’ Welfare Account.
129. The documentation included affidavits for both CAMBRIDGE and LUDWIG. It also included photocopies of cheques that related to the bank accounts in question, the conveyancing details for the purchase of the Kerr Street proper ty and the redundancy payments given to six people, WILSON, Bill the Greek, Marie MURRAY, Jim COLLINS , Mark BARNES and Ralph BLEWITT . It also contained copies of an Association set up in Western Australia by Ms. GILLARD for health and safety. It laid bar e the whole sorry saga of the fraud perpetrated by WILSON. I was just horrified and couldn’t believe it. When I realised the extent of what was going on felt sick in the stomach.
130. I rang Ian CAMBRIDGE straight away and told him the genesis of the $6500. 00 and that it was reimbursement for election expenses incurred by me. I told him that I provided WILSON with receipts and he reimbursed me with a cheque. I also told him that I was going to the police to report the matter.
131. I think it could have been the next day, I was upset and I went into Bob SMITH’S office and he was alone at the time. I told him that a lot more has been going on than I have been made aware of and I’m the President. I told him that my name is now linked to all of this and that I hav e spoken to CAMBRIDGE about it. I also told him that I would be going to the police. SMITH seemed gobsmacked, I think I caught him unawares that I had been
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served and knew exactly what was going on. He didn’t respond at all and I just turned around and walked out.
132. I recall that I also approached and had a conversation with Bill S HORTEN, Ashley COX and Sam BEACHEY in the passageway outside the general office area. When I approached them, I was still upset and trying to get over what I was served. I stated telling them what I discovered when I was served the documents that they were paid out redundancy payments. I told them that it was a bloody disgrace that they received redundancy payments whilst they were internally investigated for fraud.
133. I t old them that there was also is a house was sold two weeks after WILSON received the redundancy payment. I also told them that until I was served with these documents, I knew nothing and that there was an enormous effort of covering these things up. I to ld them that that there was a court order about getting the redundancy payments back and nothing had been done about it.
134. SHORTEN cut me off, not in a nasty way, and he said words like, “Bob think of your future. There’s been a pay out, we are just all movi ng on.” I said to SHORTEN, “what sweep it under the carpet like everyone else seems to have”. SHORTEN put his hand on my shoulder and responded, “Bob think of your future.” He said, “If you pursue this, a lot of good people will get hurt and you will be on your own. Look Bob, you’ve been lined up to take a safe labor seat of Melton in the Victorian Parliament.”
135. That was the truth, I was lined up for the seat because it was common knowledge amongst my peers and Senior Ministers of the ALP such as Robert RAY and factional operators such as Stephen CONROY , Bill SHORTEN, Christopher HAYES and David FEENEY that that was going to happen.
136. During the meeting Ashley COX and Sam BEACHEY looked stunned and they didn’t comment at all, they just remained silent.
137. I walked away shaking my head. I felt devastated and I couldn’t believe what I heard Bill SHORTEN say in front of Ashley COX and Sam BEACHEY. I knew right then when I walked away that I’m not going to go into the Victorian Parliament because it would hav e had that caveat on it. By that I Statement of Robert John KERNOHAN Page 22 of 29
mean a condition that if I was going to be pre -selected for Melton, I would need to do what everyone else was going and that’s covering it up.
138. Within half an hour of the conversation I went back to my office and I rang the local police station and was transferred though to St Kilda Road Police. I think I was put through to the detective who eventually interviewed me Detective TURNLEY.
139. I arranged a time to go to St Kilda Road Police station and I met up with Detective TUR NLEY. He seemed to know what I was talking about and he seemed to be aware of the allegations of fraud within the AWU. Sometime in March 1996 Detective TURNLEY took my statement. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 16 ’ is a copy of that statement .Th e statement is unsigned and contains a photocopy of Detective TURNLEY’s business card. I have read the statement and it appears to be the statement I made to Detective TURNELY in March 1996 .
140. By this stage, I heard by chit chat that a lot of people were aw are that I was going to the police. Once the word had got out that I was making noises and that I was going to the police, those people that were supporting SMITH, which was nearly everyone in the AWU Victoria Branch , things got worse with. I think peopl e knew that I wasn’t just making threats that I was following up on what I had said that I was going to do and I would not just go along with the cover up.
141. Over the next few days I knew that attitudes towards me started, ‘firming up’. My own instincts tol d me that the silent treatment and people going out of their way to give me an ‘elbow’ or a ‘nudge’ in the corridors, that things had definitely changed. I felt that I was being bullied and it started to affect me. My health was also starting to deterior ate and I didn’t know how to deal with it because I was on my own.
142. I can’t be 100% sure but either just before or maybe after I went to the Police, I received an anonymous phone call at home and I coped a tirade of abuse calling me a “rat” and a “traitor”. There were a few of those types of calls.
143. After receiving these abusive calls I bought an answering machine for my home so I could my screen calls.
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144. About a day or so after my discussion with SHORTEN I walked into my office and noticed that it was trashed . There were files all over the place and they were strewn all over the floor. My office was normally unlocked and it had a half glass wall which meant that you could see into my office from the corridor. So anyone who walked passed could see in and see what had happened.
145. No one seemed concerned about it and at that point no one was talking to me so it could have been anyone. I knew that it was message to me so I just walked out and left. I didn’t say anything to SMITH or any others because it was quit e obvious to anyone who walked passed my office that it was trashed and no one bothered to talk to me about it.
146. From that point on I started to work entirely from home. I felt that if I continued to go into the office I would be coaxed into a fight and I am not a fighter. Any phone calls I had to make I would make from my home and I used my home as a base. I went to any meetings I had from home.
147. At that time my relationship with people like SMITH and SHORTEN was beyond repair. The only person who contin ued to speak to me and he would come out to see me was Terry MUSCAT. I told Terry about my office and the threatening phone calls and he told me that he knew that my office was trashed because he had seen it. I knew that Terry was in the SMITH camp but I also know that he was concerned about me and my health. He did visit me a couple of times at home because of the friendship I had with him.
148. As the issues with my health were all new to me I went to the doctor for treatment. They put me on anti -dep ressants; I think they were called ‘Avanza’. I wasn’t used to going to the doctors and before this I had hardly ever had the need to see them. My sleeping got worse and nothing seemed to work so the doctors put me on strong sedatives. These also didn’t seem to work. I was never a heavy drinker prior to these issues, but because of this, I started to drink.
149. In late March or April, 1996, I went to Sydney to stay at my brother’s place. I took sick leave from work and prior to leaving, I had my sister rang the union office to tell them I was going on sick leave. I asked my sister to ring because I didn’t want to talk to anybody because of the way I was being
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treated. The way I was treated was the main reason why I was on sick leave. I spent two month s with my brother and I felt safe with him because I was interstate and so far away from the office.
150. The way I was treated within the AWU had spread to the ALP. I rang Stephen CONROY whilst on leave to see if I had any support in the ALP and left messages for him to ring me back. He never got back to me. I knew I was getting the silent treatment from there also.
151. When I returned from Sydney I continued to work from home. I continued to do my job and I was making sure members were getting servic ed. I continued to campaign to get the truth, as I knew it, to the members. I did this by telling members what was going on within the union such as the WILSON bank account and the buying and selling of a property with union money.
152. I know this antagonise d all of those seeking to cover this up. When I would attend places to speak to members, after the meetings, members would come up to me and tell me that they had heard things about me and that I am a “spoiler” and that I am fabricating things. I would e xplain to them the truth of what had happened and that I had gone to the police and now there is a police investigation about the matter.
153. I continued to see doctors about my depression. I was not well. I was isolated and continued to take anti -depressants and sleeping tablets. I also continued to drink.
154. In February, 1997, it all came to a head and I just lost it and had a break down. I went into a real dark place and the depression got to me. I was conveyed to the Melbourne Private Clinic by ambulance an d I spent almost four weeks there being treated for chronic stress and depression. I can say that the chronic stress and depression was as a result of me being victimised, harassed and bullied by people from the AWU.
155. I tried to commit suicide on one occ asion but thankfully I didn’t succeed. That was all documented with my doctor at the time. Since that first occasion in 1997 I have returned to the Melbourne Clinic at least eight times to be treated for the same issues.
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156. After I came out of hospita l, I never returned to work and I didn’t work from home either. I lodged a work cover claim for chronic anxiety and stress related issues stemming from bullying in the workplace. My claim was accepted straight away and not challenged at all. I am still o n work cover today.
157. I continued my campaign to expose the corruption that had occurred within the AWU. I did that by contacting media outlets and telling them my story. Because of my campaign, there was quite a bit of publicity generated.
158. In early, 1999 , I was living 3 Kinloch Street, Melton, and I had been living there since 1993. On day I went out to check my mail and found a match box wrapped in brown paper. I opened the box and found three bullets. The bullets were brass and from my limited knowle dge of bullets, they looked like ‘22’. At that time, I thought that it was because of my campaign against corruption in the AWU.
159. I became worried about the bullets and for my own safety but my anxiety levels were already ‘maxed out’. Now when I think a bout it I think it was placed there as a warning to me to keep my mouth shut. My experience in the union has taught me that if they want to get payback, they can get outsiders to do that sort of thing. My private address and phone number was known to the AWU and it was no secret where I lived because I would have union officials over to my house regularly. My address was also placed on AWU documents.
160. I didn’t go the police because in my opinion at the time it was more of the same. If I went to the polic e it would attract further publicity and I would only make myself a further target. I threw the bullet in the bin.
161. I had another bullet in the mail box and that happened approximately six weeks after the first one. On this second occasion, I found an emp ty casing lying in the bottom of my letter box. I thought at the time ‘more of the same’. I thought it was just another threat and to ‘get used to it’. I threw the casing in the bin. I did not notify the police.
162. Apart from the bullets, I would also rec eive ‘hate mail’. I would say I received about four or five pieces of hate mail while I was living at Melton.
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The hate mail stated things like, “we know where you live” and some were just abusive stating, “you’re a fucking cunt”. Just general hate.
163. Some of the hate mail was put together like how kids would with glue, it was quite shabby. I treated the hate mail as ‘par for the course’ meaning that it didn’t surprise me because my name appeared in newspapers and I was pretty critical of the union at the time. To be honest I can’t say if the letters were written from within the union or external to the union.
164. In approximately July, 1999, I left home at about early evening, alone, and I walked to High Street in Melton to a teller machine to get some money out. I withdrew $200.00 from the machine and as I turned to walk away I was putting the money in my pocket and I saw a red Commodore screeching to a halt in front of me. Three people hopped out of the car and the driver stayed in the car. Within a couple of seconds they all raced towards me and I was elbowed to the face and I fell to the ground. To the best of my knowledge all three started kicking me while I was on the ground. I took the foetal position to try and protect myself and I remember t hat they were not just kicking me they were jumping on my back as well.
165. While this was happening I heard them saying, “keep your fucking mouth shut”. Stop talking to the press you grub”. I don’t know how long this went on for but I remember someone yelli ng, “someone’s coming” so they all jumped back in the car and drove off. I didn’t witness them getting in the car or driving off I just heard it.
166. I dragged myself to my feet and I walked home. I was in a lot of pain. The next morning I went to the Melto n Police station and reported the matter. I gave them a statement. The statement was a lot more detailed about the matter then what I’m saying now. A detective also took photos of my injuries. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 17 ’ is a copy of t he statement I gave 31 July 1999.
167. The police organised for me to be taken to my GP and my GP advised me that I need to go straight to hospital. I took a taxi from my GP and I went to the Western General Hospital. I was in hospital for two days and then I was transferred to the Melbourne Private Clinic. I stayed in the clinic for four weeks before I was fully mobile again and on my feet.
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168. The incident really shook me up and I was a bit of a wakeup call for me. By that I mean that it is now serious stu ff and one step further and they could of killed me. My injuries were severe bruising and lacerations across my back, arms, ribs, face and arms.
169. There was no question in my mind that this was related to my public campaign to expose the corruption wi thin the AWU. There was no doubt who was behind it because of what they said to me as I was being attacked. I believe that the AWU is involved somehow even though I don’t know who exactly did it. It was not a robbery because there was no attempt to take my money even though I had just left the ATM. The police never arrested anyone for this incident.
170. At that time my contact with anyone from the union was zero. I had only received a couple of letters from Bob SMITH about the appointment of a ‘return to w ork coordinator’ for my work cover.
171. In 2001 I was approached by a Liberal member from State Parliament Geoff LEIGH. He was aware about the allegation I made about Julia GILLARD and he asked me whether I would make a statement and I agreed. I made a state ment to Geoff LEIGH and then he tabled it to State Parliament.
172. After he tabled it in Parliament, the next day, I was verbally threatened by an unknown person out the front of my house. He told me, “keep your fucking mouth shut”. I thought I was going to get another kicking but there was a guy across the road mowing his lawn that could see us. The guy just walked off.
173. I contacted LEIGH and told him what had happened and he told me to go straight to the police. I went to the Flemington police and they took it pretty serious which I was glad. They took it a very comprehensive statement about what had happened.
174. As a result of my statement to the Flemington Police, the police re -opened the investigation i nto the AWU however approximately 12 months later, I received a letter from the Victorian Police indicated that these matters were extensively investigated previously and no new information has come to light and the file was closed.
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175. In my statement to the Flemington Police I also mentioned then then ALP Senator Robert RAY and Stephen CONROY in relation to union election campaigns being run from the Victorian Federal Parliamentary Offices. Due to the fact that Robert RAY was a Federal Senator at the time, I was contacted by the Federal Police to provide further statement. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 18 ’ is a copy of the statement I gave to the Federal Police dated 31 August 2001.
176. On or around 8 August 2002 I received a letter from the Victoria Police of the same dated. The letter informed me that no further action would be taken in relation to the allegations of fraud against Bruce WILSON and Ralph BLEWITT. Annexed to this statemen t and marked ‘ RJK 19 ’ is a copy of the letter dated 8 August 2002.
177. In August 2010, I drafted and signed a statutory declaration before a member of the Police at the Castelmaine Police station dated 1 August 2010. Annexed to this statement and marked ‘ RJK 2 0’ is a copy of the statutory declaration. I drafted and signed this document because at the time I was concerned that Julia GILLARD could be elected Prime Minister of this country at the 2010 Federal election. I thought given what I knew about her involve ment in the corruption that occurred in the Victorian Branch of the AWU in the early to mid -90s, I believe that the public had a right t o know about these matters and in my opinion they were not completely investigated.
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Robert John KERNOHAN
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