All federal departments and agencies are being asked to disclose every contact with any trade union for any reason for the past decade to identify “potential areas of exposure” to the royal commission into union corruption, a leaked document reveals. The document includes a specific question about “allegations of wrong-doing by former ministers”. The Australian Council of Trade Unions says the sweeping information-gathering exercise proves the Abbott government wants to use the royal commission as a “taxpayer-funded political witch-hunt” and that it contravenes long accepted practice that departments do not provide ministers with briefs and documents relating to decisions by previous governments, their ministers and their advisers. “This is a clear abuse of power by the government, because it is effectively saying to federal departments there is no legitimate basis for them to interact with a union about anything, that any interaction is somehow suspected of corrupt purpose, ACTU assistant secretary Tim Lyons said. It is as if they are waging a war of extermination against unions.” He said the ACTU had sought legal advice about the document. Read more: theguardian/world/2014/jul/27/disclose-contact-unions-royal-commission-federal-departments
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 07:37:26 +0000
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