I've been giving a lot of thought to the centrality of the Australian Workers' Union Workplace Reform Association Inc overnight.   It's the key to the whole affair.   So I thought I'd spend a bit of time looking at it today.

Sandi is from WA and has personal experience in applying for the incorporation of an Association under the same laws that applied for Ms Gillard.   Here's Sandi's note.

In the 90s I set up an association under the Associations Incorporation Act 1987 and Association Incorporation Regulations (1988) in WA.   I was required to attach, in addition to the objectives and any rules of the proposed association: (Fact Sheet 2)

1) the names, street addresses and contact details of five founding members of the association

2) a signed copy of the minutes of the meeting that authorised the set up of the new association

3) a copy of an advertisement announcing the intention to set up the association in a newspaper available locally

I have only seen reference to 3) anywhere in all that has been published about the phoney association.

Questions are now being raised about a letter sent by Gillard to assure the commissioner of the proposed association's bona fides.

Where the commissioner declined to register an association, any request for review was required to be addressed to the minister responsible, not the commissioner (Fact sheet 1)

Questions:

1) Did the minister accept two rather than the required five founding members?

2) Did the minister waive the requirement for a copy of the minutes authorising the set up of the association?

3) If the answer to questions 1) and 2) is yes then

4) Why?

The Theiss deal was struck in March, 1992. The application for incorporation of association is dated 22 April 1993 (editor's note Sandi, it's actually 1992, that's a very important difference).

The government of WA changed from Labor to the Liberal/National Coalition in February 1993. My experience (four times) is that it takes at least six months to fully effect the changeover. Therefore, the appeal to the (new) minister may well have benefited from a quick flick in the throws of transition. If it was sent in error to the commissioner it should have been passed on to the minister's office. (Sandi the 1992 application means it was a Carmen Lawrence minister, that's probably very significant.)

Perhaps the minister, rather than the commissioner, should be requested to produce Gillard's letter.

Sandi has attached a number of fact sheets to her note.   Here are two of them.

Fact sheet one

Download WA Associations introduction fact sheet

Fact sheet two

Download Wa associations applying fact sheet