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March 8th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says the workplace watchdog is morally obliged to co-operate with police investigating the Health Services Union.
But Workplace Minister Bill Shorten says Fair Work Australia is entitled to do its job independently and without political interference.
The Australian newspaper has reported Fair Work Australia (FWA) has told Victorian police it won’t assist in an investigation of the union, formerly headed by Craig Thomson, who is now a Labor MP.
FWA has investigated alleged financial irregularities in the HSU, including claims Mr Thomson misused union credit cards for cash withdrawals and prostitutes between 2002 and 2007.
Mr Thomson strenuously denies the allegations.
FWA is now examining responses from Mr Thomson and other union figures before deciding on whether to take civil action or refer its evidence to prosecutors for possible criminal action.
Victorian police are investigating HSU’s Victoria No.1 Branch.
A by-election loss for Labor in Mr Thomson’s seat could bring down the Gillard minority government.
Mr Abbott told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday the workplace watchdog appeared to be “engaged in protecting the government”.
“I call on Fair Work Australia to co-operate with the police investigations and I demand that the prime minister state where she stands on this,” he said.
“If members of the public were to act in the same way they may be liable to prosecution themselves.
“Yet here we have a law enforcement agency of the commonwealth (FWA) … refusing in an absolutely unconscionable way to cooperate with police.”
Mr Shorten told reporters in Canberra the legislation which made the industrial umpire independent and governed its relations with other entities had been introduced by Mr Abbott in 2001.
“We kept the laws that he introduced which preserved the independence of Fair Work Australia,” Mr Shorten said.
“It just happens the conservatives have a case of political amnesia.”
Mr Shorten said the coalition could not on one hand criticise the government for interfering in the FWA inquiry while on the other hand calling for interference.
“The opposition is half pregnant on the question of Fair Work Australia,” he said.
FWA general manager Bernadette O’Neill said in a statement that as a statutory officer she could only use her powers and functions for the purposes prescribed by industrial laws.
“It would be inappropriate to voluntarily disclose information obtained through the exercise of a statutory power or function in aid of some other unrelated exercise (such as a police investigation),” she said.
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