From 1992 until around April 1995 Bruce Wilson was the branch secretary of the AWU Victorian branch.

Branch Secretary is a paid, full time job.  

With the merger of the AWU and FIME there was a change of office holders in April 1995 and Wilson was moved to a new custom-made job as boss of the AWU's National Construction Branch.

Bruce immediately started making arrangements.

In February 1995 Bruce Wilson and Ralph Blewitt set up a new bank account called the Construction Industry Fund.   The two signatories were Wilson and Blewitt.

Timing will be very important in understanding why Wilson left the AWU under a cloud.

This is a part of the CBA's file on the establishment of the Construction Industry Fund by Wilson and Blewitt.   Note their AWU credentials and titles used to identify them in the application.   The AWU National Construction Branch would have had its own authorised bank accounts, this Construction Industry Fund was not a part of that authorised structure.   It was another secret account.

It looks like Bruce sensed a bit of danger.   On 12 April, 1995, a cheque for $46,550 from the AWU Workplace Reform Association was paid into the new Construction Industry Fund.

Here's the cheque

And the first statement from the account.

So to summarise up to June, 1995.

Wilson learns he is to lose the Victorian Branch Secretary Job

HIs new job will be AWU National Construction Branch head

He will lose control of the legitimate Victorian AWU bank accounts

He sets up a new slush fund with Blewitt, with a bank account title that's a bit like the official Construction Branch in the AWU

Money started to go in to the Construction Industry Fund from the AWU-WRA

The next post will analyse Wayne Hem's role and the trigger that led to Wilson being reported to police and sacked from the AWU - and all of that was in mid-July when the $5,000 went into Gillard's bank account.