The AWU Scandal - The property purchase - Slater and Gordon fees written off

The AWU Scandal - Blewitt has released the property purchase file - it starts with the Power of Attorney

The AWU Scandal - someone at Slater and Gordon was taking an intense interest in the Kerr Street purchase

The AWU Scandal - The property purchase - Slater and Gordon fees written off

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

One of the features of Ian Cambridge's affidavit is the inclusion of a couple of letters to Ralph Blewitt about the purchase of 51 Kerr Street Fitzroy.

The notes that Cambridge had were incomplete but included the bill of fees and disbursements. I noted when I first read Cambridge's affidavit and the attachments, the day after I first spoke to Bob Kernohan and before I recorded the interview that 2UE would not allow to be played, that the fee for Slater and Gordon's work had been declined. I thought then that it would have required a partner's authorisation to write off that money.

That's why I wrote to Miss Gillard last year and asked her whether she had authorised the firm doing that work for free. I received no answer.

Now, thanks to Ralph Blewitt's release of this file to me we don't need to write to the PM, we can see in the answer in the complete file. Here it is.

Posted at 08:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

Comments

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

Ok ...so Julia declined a fee for the second lot. She puts two lines in her dollar signs? So who declined the figures above hers. They only put one line through their dollar signs?

Posted by: ????? | Wednesday, 10 October 2012 at 08:37 PM

Michael,

Congrats again, terrific evidence.
Shame nothing came up in Parliament, but perhaps more in The Age?\

Hope Bob is safe and you too, please take care.

Posted by: Liz of Vic | Wednesday, 10 October 2012 at 08:45 PM

Is this what they colloquially refer to as a 'smoking gun'??

Get ready Gillard because Karma is "a-comin'"

The Australian people are waiting for their chance to be judge, jury and executioner all in one.. and not before time.

Heartfelt congratulations to Mike, Bob, EVERYONE else who has not let this story die, and now Ralph for finally making good on his promises.

It is a brave move - very brave - and whatever he had done in his past will not be forgiven by these documents but one must take the first small steps towards redemption and we must thank him for it.

Posted by: Callan Election | Wednesday, 10 October 2012 at 08:50 PM

It is interesting to me that the internal process followed was ' Authority to write off bad debt'. The term bad debt has both legal and accountancy / tax implications. You can w/off debt for all sorts of reasons, BUT to write off as a bad debt would indicate that collection processes had failed.
Was this "bad debt" claimed as a business expense?

Posted by: steve of glasshouse | Wednesday, 10 October 2012 at 09:05 PM

At last, I think we really do have the smoking gun. Julia Gillard wrote off the fees that every firm handling conveyancing charges to their clients.

There is definitely something wrong with the way in which this was written off.

Posted by: Maggie1954 | Wednesday, 10 October 2012 at 09:33 PM

Michael,
congratulation - this is, if my counting is correct, 100th entry in the "The AWU Scandal" series, almost all of them containing a document of some nature.
If you ever need a copy of any of them, just let me know. Have all of them saved :-)

Posted by: Bob K. | Wednesday, 10 October 2012 at 10:04 PM

Hey Posted by???????? thats my question also - whose handwriting is on the paper work. also no signature used to sign off on appropriate pages, WHY?? i can wait, just keep it coming...

Posted by: betty | Wednesday, 10 October 2012 at 10:07 PM

Never known a Lawyer to do anything for nothing.

Posted by: John Greyhair | Wednesday, 10 October 2012 at 10:14 PM

Liz of Vic........don't get your hopes up about questions asked in parliament. Today the Speaker Anna Burke refused the question regarding the Elect Trades union house purchase to be asked.

Posted by: Bazza | Wednesday, 10 October 2012 at 10:58 PM

Theft and misaapropriation in Slater & Gordon - someone call the police! The name Julia is all over the specimens.

Posted by: ABC journalists are in denial | Wednesday, 10 October 2012 at 11:20 PM

ooops found two more words on two more pages that are similar - Julia and declined, again who is Olly????

Posted by: betty | Thursday, 11 October 2012 at 12:42 AM

Steve has raised a very good point with regard to the write off of the debt.

He is correct that "bad debt" is specific terminology relating to debt where collection procedures have been put in place, and have failed to get a response. Reasons for the bad debt would include a "skip". In normal practice (I am not talking about a law firm) all efforts are made to collect a debt that is outstanding, including the use of a collection agency.

Also, bad debts that have been written off, can be written back into the ledger if the client actually pays the account, or even part pays the account.

This particular debt is being written off because "the fees are declined". This is a very highly unusual reason, and at the very least the accounting department of Slater of Gordon should have been querying that reason for the write off. It was never a bad debt from an accounting point of view.

Posted by: maggie1954 | Thursday, 11 October 2012 at 08:01 AM

Maggie1954
If a man today said "smoking gun" he would be accused of sexism and perhaps even of being un-Australian. Maybe we should settle for the 'boomerang is coming back'.

Posted by: John Greyhair | Thursday, 11 October 2012 at 08:08 AM

@John

one would need to have a mind totally in the gutter to consider "smoking gun" as sexist!!... and no "boomerang" does not fit the description.

We are looking for those things that point to the smoking gun evidence. Think murder, not your pants!!

Posted by: maggie1954 | Thursday, 11 October 2012 at 10:17 AM

Maggie1954
That is the second time in two days on two different sites, that I have heard the word 'murder' mentioned.
I find it disturbing.
Are some people aware of more than they are saying?Has there really been a murder or a suspected murder?

Posted by: ????? | Thursday, 11 October 2012 at 10:47 AM

Matter raised in the Senate yesterday by Senator George Brandis. I emailed him and thanked him. Asked him to keep pushing to get the truth out there. He replied and said his colleagues will do everything they can to get to the truth. Yippee, a Senator with a conscience and a belief in the truth. How is that for some positive action?

Posted by: Anastasia | Friday, 12 October 2012 at 04:02 PM

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

Posted by: |

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Your comment could not be posted. Error type:

Your comment has been saved. Comments are moderated and will not appear until approved by the author. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

DATE	EVENT/DOCUMENT
1990	Julia Gillard becomes a Partner at Slater and Gordon and is in the Industrial Relations Department of law firm
20-08-91	Letter to Bruce Wilson from Julia Gillard concerning a vacancy at the AWU
1-05-91	Julia Gillard brought her property at 36 Phillip Street, Abbotsford Vic property settled in July and she borrowed $40,000 from Slater & Gordon for the deposit and the rest from Westpac bank
6-03-92	Advertisement appeared in the paper for Incorporating the Workplace Reform Association - Theiss may have used it for reference

17-03-92	Locals concerned the Accident and Death Fund was being used to buy property and office equipment with the funds they paid into the fund.
18-03-92	Boulder fund suspended
15-05-92	Bruce Wilson and Julia Gillard go to a meeting with the miners in Kalgoorlie
18-05-92	AWU announce it is taking over the fund at Boulder paper article
13-02-93	Contract of sale signed by Bruce Wilson
13-02-93	Purchase of 85 Kerr Street Fitzroy by Julia Gillard and B Wilson who attended the Auction
13-02-93	blewitt-getting-his-addres.html Purchase of 85 Kerr Street Fitzroy by Julia Gillard and Bruce Wilson who attended the Auction
15-02-93	Letter to Slater & Gordon about the 1/85 Kerr Street sale
15-02-93	Ralph Blewitt is appointed Western Australian Branch Secretary in the week 15 to 19 February
16-02-93	Olive Brosnan and Heidi chasing up the Power of Attorney - notes
17-02-93	Olive Brosnan makes this further note regarding Heidi, a sales person with the Real Estate firm GA Thomson. Note that Heidi returns the call and says that she will let Olive Brosnan have the original Power of Attorney (when she gets it?) and will need a certified copy in return
22-02-93	Slater and Gordon acknowledges that it has received the Contract of Sale, Section 32 Statement and the Power of Attorney from GA Thomson.
23-02-93	Olive Brosnan certifies Power of Attorney
3-03-93	A memo from Sylvia to Olive Brosnan about the application for the loan for Ralph Blewitt and the Kerr Street property
4-03-93	Letter/fax from Hewitt & Company stating Ralph Blewitt Wages Ref VB/CS
9-03-93	Memo to Olive Brosnan from Sylvia about the loan approval and the return of the chq for $500 from Ralph Blewitt’s personal account
10-03-93	Letter from Slater & Gordon addressed to Ralph Blewitt explaining mortgage details Page 1, Page 2, Page 3
10-03-93	Memo Julia Gillard wants details of penalty interest rates
12-03-93	Memo to Julia Gillard from Olive Brosnan about penalty interest rates
17-03-93	Memo of fees for house - Bill of costs
18-03-93	Letter to Ralph Blewitt requesting Cheque for $67,772.30
18-03-93	The cheque for $67,772.30
22-03-93	Settlement date for Kerr Street purchase
23-03-93	Land Transfer document
31-03-94	Dawesville project costs
Aug-Sept 94	Julia Gillard went on holidays while Bruce Wilson organised house renovations
Aug-Sept 94	Interview with Slater & Gordon about the Renovations
6-02-95	New bank accounts for Construction Fund
17-02-95	AWU-FIME amalgamate (2 Victorian Branches)
12-04-95	Cheque from AWU WRAI account $46,550
27-04-95	Cheque for $15000 - $10 000 for K Spyridis and $5000 cash
30-06-95	AWU went back to central funding arrangements
25-07-95	Letter from Robert Smith (AWU) to Ian Cambridge and Steve Harrison about the unknown AWU bank accounts
27-07-95	Letter to the National Executives about the freezing of the accounts
2-08-95	Union National Finance committee meet to discuss what was going on start of investigations into the frozen accounts
4-08-95	Bob Smith wrote to Ian Cambridge to say the AWU was going to charge Bruce Wilson
10-08-95	Ian Cambridge visits QC Richard Kenzie from Maurice Blackburn for discussions to fix it (get union money back)
14-08-95	Internal Review into Julia Gillard’s involvement of the AWU -WRA and she is put on restricted duties
14/15 Aug 95	Other Joint secretaries of the Unions paid out the signatories of the accounts - hand writing on the cheques Link 1 Link 2
16-08-95	Bruce Wilson redundancy cheque $55,204
17-08-95	Letter to stop the cheques Ian Cambridge
17/18 Aug 95	All accounts were closed bar 2 general and grants accounts and redundancies given out
18-08-95	Affidavit - Bill Ludwig - Bruce Wilson get sprung
11-09-95	Julia Gillard interviewed by Geoff Shaw, Peter Gordon and Nick Styant-Browne at Slater and Gordon - It’s recorded and she goes on leave of Absence until May 96 (WA AWU-WRA not yet discovered by AWU yet)
31-01-96	Ian Cambridge addresses AWU Qld Branch meeting
3-04-96	Ian Cambridge talked with Commonwealth Bank - Diary entry - Discovery of Workplace Reform Association INC. WA branch
6-05-96	Discovery of Accounts in AWU name by Ian Cambridge letter from Commonwealth Bank
7-05-96	Fax from Com bank listing the accounts in the AWU name - for Ian Cambridge
1-06-96	Newspaper article about Joe Trio and the AWU fraud article from sometime in 1996
3-06-96	Ian Cambridge received bank records after the discussions with the bank back in April Ian Cambridge spoke to AWU Officials in Perth and they never heard of the Workplace Reform Association Inc.
5-07-96	Diary entry Ian Cambridge - spoke to Branch Official Russell Frearson about the $400,000 going through the account
31-07-96	Geoff Shaw Slater & Gordon General Manager gets Subpoena to supply all documents relating to purchase of 1/85 Kerr Street
13-08-96	Court proceeding where Geoff Shaw is to produce the documents from the Subpeona Link 1, Link 2
6-01-97	Memo from Investigating Detective Dave McAlpine about the AWU fraud
6-02-97	Memo to fraud squad from Theiss stating they hadn’t been defrauded Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4
17-02-98	Memo fraud squad about Theiss - Ralph Blewitt said Theiss auditors required that the WRA needed to be Inc.