Bill Shorten, Cesar Melhem and the need for union reform
Today’s Australian newspaper has an excellent assessment of the Trade Unions Royal Commission, Bill Shorten and the need for trade union law reform.
As Judith Sloan writes, “…when the royal commission got under way, no one even predicted that the Opposition Leader…would be called to give evidence…
“The fact Shorten has now been cleared of any criminal or unlawful behaviour — given the current suite of laws — does not mean that what he did was ethically right.
“…One of the extraordinary things is that so many of these former union officials don’t think they did anything wrong. Cesar Melhem, who took over from Shorten at the AWU and is now a Labor member of the upper house in Victoria, argued on the weekend that a secret side-payment to the union was fine because it was really members’ money.
“Unfortunately, that doesn’t explain the secret bit or the need for bogus invoices: training and research that were never undertaken, advertising space that was never used, ball tickets for balls that were never attended…
“There is an almost complete lack of accountability when it comes to union officials using members’ dues. To the extent that misuse becomes evident, there are few sanctions save in the most egregious cases…
“There is a need for broader law reform, including consideration of introducing US-style anti-racketeering laws…
“The government should not miss the opportunity to clean up the mess — for the benefit of union members and the public, more generally.”
For the full Australian article (unfortunately behind their paywall), see Bill Shorten: ‘Cleared’ not same as ethically right .