Update from the "Trusted Sauce"
Kathy Jackson's reaction to the arrest of Craig Thomson

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Duncan

Congratulations and well done Micheal for all that you have done.Hopefully Gillard by end of week and then Slipper for good measure.Is it true mate that since she has called an election then a by-election cant be held.

JC

Well, you did the right thing all the way through too, Michael. Must feel like vindication week with this and the Faine apology.

Well done to both you and the dees.

maca

Great news indeed. one down and one step closer

Donny

Did Julia know the Thompson was going to be arrested before she called the election. I smell a rat

Paratus

Question-did the PM know about this before yesterday? If so how? It is too much of a coincidence. With the election date announced, it's unlikely that a by-election will take place-unless...

Dennis Thompson

Well done Victoria Police Fraud Squad, officers of your high standards helps to restore our faith in law enforcement. Also thank you Victorian Coalition Government for not following the Labor government tradition of covering up for maates. And you must be congratulated too Michael, thank you all.

Max 1

The arrest of Thomson means that Chief Commissioner Ken Lay, and the Fraud & Extortion Squad have done more to restore public faith in the integrity of the Victoria Police than anyone in memory.

Gillard's authority and reputation is in tatters. She has been totally discredited as being in any way fit for even being in parliament let alone PM.

The spill-over effect will send shock waves through our political system and precipitate a bi-partisan approach by a humiliated ALP Caucus, a Coalition government and the others to end corruption.

geoff

FORMER parliamentary Speaker Peter Slipper risks losing millions of dollars in retirement benefits if he is convicted of using his government Cabcharge card to tour restaurants and wineries.

When he retires, Mr Slipper can expect to receive a yearly pension of about $157,000 for the rest of his life.

However, if he is found guilty of the alleged fraud, Mr Slipper is likely to lose everything besides a refund of his superannuation contributions (without interest).

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/slipper-faces-pension-dilemma-20130109-2cgua.html#ixzz2JWG0sXhU

So, I guess the same could be said about Craig.

Allan Cox

I'm sharing your emotions, mate; well done and, Katarina, thank you for sustaining your man and your two lovely children during the arduous times of 'our' battle to reveal the truth. And again, thanks Michael.

Truth_Will_Out

"The sub judice rule and contempt of court" - "The sub judice rule regulates the publication of matters which are under consideration by the court. Matters are considered to be sub judice (Latin for 'under judgment') once legal proceedings become active." - http://www.out-law.com/page-9742

Does it mean comments regarding the accused must cease, now?


Maureen Yourell

Congratulations Micheal. You never gave up. Gives the rest of us some sort of justice. We need more people like you. If you were my son I would be so proud of you. From a grandma.

Maxine M.

Yes obviously the slight opening of Labor's pandoras box! Royal Commission???

Puzzled

Apparently the "line was crossed"... 150 times.

Fantastic work Michael, congratulations.

Harry Won A Bagel

Thank you Michael, and the Vic Police. You have made my day.

Now I am satisfied they have done the job they are paid to do without fear or favour.

Allan Cox

Donny | Thursday, 31 January 2013 at 02:12 PM

Donny, my nose a yours are tuned to the same stench; my thoughts exactly.

Donkey Hote

Hi Michael, congratulations.

Your resume has been accepted and you are now officially a representative of the public voice and democracy.

Sorry but this is a heavy load to lift. That said you have enormous public support, you will continue to face much opposition but your credibility, balance and public interest will see you through.

Your faith in the Victorian Police force is vindicated which is refreshing for all Australains.

Williamson tick, Thomson tick, Wilson next, then Gillard. I fear she might resign or get pushed. Alternatively, she might hang in and take down the entire barrel of rotten apples.

What a choice? All of which are delicious.

Your good fortune will continue and your future is secure.

kaylene

a caller on 2GB (who is a cleaner in Canberra) said the arrest was news last week around the traps...maybe just preempting ?

Liz of Vic

Michael, Congratulations to you and The Princess and the family, Always believe you, never had any doubts at all.

You deserve all the credit and more!

Helen

Guess what, Tony Abbott was told that now he can't comment by one of the press club. They are guilty of cover up of the pm's bad judgement. T A did very well.

geoff

Re the calling of an election.
I'll stand corrected but no writ has been issued and the election date can be changed to any time up to September so technically no election has been called so there could be a by-election held if there was a vacancy. One for the legal eagles.

vicki

Yippee!

Up The Workers!

The motto of the Victorian Police Force is "Uphold the Right".

The motto of Juliar and the Left seems to be: "Uphold the Wrong".

The good guys won this battle.

Now for the war...

Peter Gilmour

Thank you Michael and everybody else involved in bringing these cases out in the open, you have always been about what is honest and decent here in Australia and I for one am right behind you all the way.

Albert1

We must not overlook the role of Senator George Brandis SC who relentlessly pressed the NSW Police to take action in the Thomson matter. I am sure that without him the matter would have drifted away in to "too hot/hard" basket.

Retired lawyer

Fantastic work by Victoria Police Fraud Squad (and their NSW counterparts) to Tenez le Droit!
Marvellous work by you Michael. Thomson is now entitled to have his day in court and once again Australia is indebted to you Michael for your indefatigable pursuit of justice.
Where would we all be without your courageous efforts on so many important fronts?

Extreme Centrist

Thompson is innocent until proven guilty.
He can still sit in parliament until he gets 1 year on the top, bankrupted, yada yada yada.

Surely the Prime minister can make an unfounded captains call and drop him.

Alice

Congratulations to the Victoria Police and all involved in this investigation. I'm sure the HSU members who were ripped off by Thompson will thank them too.Thank you Michael too for all your hard work for justice.

No wonder Julia did what she did yesterday. She obviously knew what was in the air.

One down two to go.

Jeff of FNQ

geoff @ 02:15 PM

As Thomson was elected post 2004 he superannuation benefits differ from those of Slipper.

http://www.finance.gov.au/superannuation/parliamentary-superannuation/new-parliamentary-superannuation-arrangements.html

Mike W

Sometimes satisfaction is pure bliss but someone making your day is just pure heaven. After years of investigation it took the cilivian authorities to do something about it. FWA report should have been enough in the first place.

We don't always give the wloppers the credit they deserve but in this case about the state of Victoria I'm very glad to be a citizen in this state. Commmissioner Ken Lay is a copper with good high moral standards & those standards are just what we need, Good policing.

The Vic Police are thowing a party & everyone is invited, " WELCOME TO THE PARTY MR THOMPSON ".

Sebonis

I hope this is just the entre before the main course.

spannerweb

Support the Vic Police send a compliment via their website to the fraud squad and management for supporting them.

Mike W

Gillard asked who is Michael Smith, well take a good Julia Gillard because his is just over your shoulder. look to the left then look to the right, keep looking because sooner than you think your about to get a real good look at Michael Smith.

How sweat it is.

johninoxley

Micheal, is that a bigger smile on your photo. Thanks to all for getting it this far.

Lynda Dowling

May I also congratulate you Michael for a job well done. Keep up the great work. We appreciate everything that you do in these grubby matters of crime and corruption.

cynic

Is that all of your really wonderfule news from last week?

!!!!

I hate going to the supermarket but today I skipped there - yippeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!

Michael there must be a God!!!

John from the Bay

geoff @ 02.31
I'm no legal eagle, but that is the way I read it. Guess the Electoral Commissioner will have to decide.

Isabell

Heartfelt thanks to our boys and girls in blue. Today, faith in our legal system has been restored. Like many, many hard working and law abiding citizens, we were beginning to think that we had no-one to turn to as our country and it's democratic processes were being systematically ripped out from under our feet. I feel today that we have clawed back some justice. No-one, including the lawmakers, are above the law. God bless each and everyone that has upheld that law.

Toni

Thank YOU, Michael. You fought bloody hard for this.

Up The Workers!

Now we know what Michael was so excited about 2 weeks ago.

Congratulations to Michael, and also to the investigators at Victoria Police and their well-respected Commissioner Ken Lay.

I couldn't see the same thing happening under either of Ken Lay's 2 A.L.P.-appointed predecessors.

I just hope now that the prosecutors are up to the task and that the Federal Attorney General's Department is NOT given the opportunity to successfully "lose" any further incriminating documents concerning A.L.P. figures.

Jeff of FNQ

Whilst Thomson has been arrested by the NSW Police on behalf of the Victorian Police he is still being investigated in NSW (Strike Force Carnavon) so may face arrest again by the NSW Police in the near future.

Davo

Hey, Michael..... Now that all your good work is starting to pay off, and a date is set for the election, would you consider running for the senate? I'd reckon you could easily get in. Any thoughts?

Arch

I read somewhere - think it was Andrew Bolt via a post from Michael Smith News that a strong case in Law can be made for the Prime Minister to suspend a bi - election because she has already named the date of the Federal Election.

Now the truth of yesterday becomes apparent.

Jeff of FNQ

His lawyer was just interviewed on ABC24 and blames it on the hung Parliament. Says if he was an ordinary back bencher where the Government had a 6 or 7 seat majority we wouldn't be having this conversation as he wouldn't be subject to investigation.

Abel Tasman

Thank God for that.

The past few years I thought I was resident in Zimbabwe,where respect for law and order had vanished and was thus required to vote with my feet yet again,somewhat difficult, now being well past my three score and ten, to move to a more honest and decent society.

Well done guys.Michael,Ralph and Bob and the many others who have brought respect and adherence to the law back to Australia. Now, to persuade my four adult children to again respect our laws and police,a difficult undertaking it has been these past few years with the so visible evidence of corruption.

John M

One must wonder if Juliar knew prior to the official announcement regarding the arrest

mummybloggermel

@Dave..
Yes what a brilliant idea, Michael Smith should run for the senate..how about it Mike?

GrumpyOldWoman

Watched Tony Abbott at the National Press Club today and his grin from ear to ear when told of Thomson's arrest was something else. One down one to go. Yay!!! It will be interesting to watch Gillard from now on especially given Richo's pasting this morning. (Not that he is a pure as the driven snow either). Wonder if someone is running a book on whether the election will actually be held on 14 September. Will she drop another bombshell and change the date to suit her purposes? She is not to be trusted.

Wilhelmina Taylor

Have emailed the Victorian Police, congratulating them on today's outcome.

Fingers crossed that justice will prevail for all concerned.

Wilhelmina Taylor

Listened to the interview with Craig Thomson's lawyer. He did mention (I think) that it was all over $300.00 - that is all. I want to know what part Tony Abbott played in all of this. Maybe Tony pretended to be Craig?

Wilhelmina Taylor

Listened to about 2 minutes of our PM being interviewed re Craig Thomson.
Sure she said she was not up with the latest happenings - but feel she knew of this before today - hence the quick possible date for the next Federal Election.
Until such time as she visits the GG and names a firm date - a by - election could still be held?

Keith F

Congratulations Michael and also Kathy Jackson. In one respect I hope Gillard faces the voters resulting in a massacre at ballot boxes and the demise of her squalled band ex union officials and Labor lackeys.

TdeF

On what basis did Julia Gillard state repeatedly that she had "complete confidence" in Craig. This was a blatant lie from our Prime Minister.

She also denied flatly to Andrew Bolt that she had any evidence boat people had drowned, until we all saw them drowning on National TV. Then she blamed Tony Abbott.

Has this woman ever told the truth about anything? How do Labor politicians justify backing such a liar.

Lorraine

To those of you suggesting Michael should become a politician I would like to pay Michael a big complement and say that he is doing a far better job and will go on to do greater things outside politics! Thank you Michael for all that you are doing for the benefit of all Australians.

CHAFF BAGG

STAY AWAY FROM POLITICS MICHAEL.

YOUR TALENT AND ABILITY HAVE BEEN NOTED BY QUITE A FEW PEOPLE

Daily Reader

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CjjLe_YzNM

This should be Michael Smiths song, awesome!!

Bob Ko

If you want to express your prise and compliments to the Victorian Police, you can do so on this webpage:

http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=11933

They do deserve an appreciation, and not jsut for Thomson case.

Rob

1 down,1 to go indeed Michael.
This is the beginning of the end.
Bob K is right,history in the making.
Enjoy the ride folks.

Not on the Left

If this ends in a conviction for Thomson, Gillard must be prepared to take considerable responsibility, after all, she has given him full support all along. Also, her party took Thomson on for pre-selection despite advice from Labor people in NSW to steer well clear of him; that he could bring them trouble down the track with his "allegedly" crooked history.

But of course Gillard only takes credit for all the good things; if things go pear-shaped, it's all someone else's fault, in this case the opposition and that "misogynist" Mr. Abbott.

David

Mike, When the time is right, start your own party and make sure Kathy Jackson is in there. I'll vote for you guys. We need to restore the faith in the political system and it needs a fresh start with people of unquestionable integrity. Labour is as corrupt to the core and I have my concerns with the Libs also.

bewildered in the bush

I have just now emailed both the Vic & NSW police to thank them. As a long-time member of the HSU, & a worker in the healthcare field, I am especially grateful to them both. This is truly a day I thought would never come. I worked damn hard for my money, how dare Thompson waste it like that!

I remember being told by Greg Combet when our nursing home staged a walk-out to protest the dumping of staff. We went out on the street to protest, everyone honked their horns in support. Unfortunately, that’s all we got. Combet informed me, (I was union rep at the time, trying to save two single mother’s jobs) that we were “A dime a dozen” just before he jumped back into his shiny new BMW & sped away. The two women were sacked; there was nothing I could do. They were my friends.

Earl

To Arch at 3:50pm today the AEC FAQs have the following” What is a by-election?
If a Member of the Legislative Assembly resigns or dies, an election is held to determine his/her replacement. A by-election will only be held if the vacancy occurs less than three years and six months after the first meeting of the Legislative Assembly following the previous general election.”
Similarly, if a council member resigns or dies, an election is held only to fill the vacancy. A by-election does not have to be held if the vacancy occurs in the 12 months before general elections are due.”.
Current Labor was sworn in on 14 Sept 2010 so 3 years 6 months not up until 14 March at earliest (if I’m reading this right). If Thomson’s arrest today was such a big surprise to Gillard then there must be someone, or a splinter faction, menacing her with a threat to resign and thereby bring on a by-election or 2. Gillard has shored up her stay in the Lodge by announcing the election and if the threat went ahead could waste time arguing that since election date has been set by-election doesn’t need to be held until she is past the 3 years 6 months (14 March) clause. Now the big question is who are the faceless men and women pressuring Gillard and is their only power a threat of a by election. Why not just cross the floor on some crucial votes – or is that their backup plan? Who knows the independents might finally be growing a back bone – held together by the usual dishonest motivation of self preservation – since they know their time is up anyway.
Anyway link to AEC is http://www.ntec.nt.gov.au/ElectionsAndReferendums/ElectionFAQs/Pages/default.aspx#ElectionFAQ3

Earl

Sorry, too many screens open at once and too excited to think rationally!! The correct info from the AEC on by elections is available at http://www.aec.gov.au/elections/supplementary_by_elections/overview.htm and the relevant point is: "with a general election pending, the Speaker has declined to issue a writ in order to avoid the need for two elections within a short period of time". So there could be an argument that a 14 September election is "close" enough to preclude the need for a by election. My other point re wondering if some other person/faction is playing the threat of resigning stands. Again apols for the confusion.

Maggie1954

Following on Earl's point.... could that someone who might be threatening to resign by chance be Robert McClelland?... I am just guessing here....

The only other person who might contemplate resignation is Peter Slipper. However, I doubt that Slippery will want to resign at this point in time.

Concerned Senior

Earl ...Thursday 10:25pm - - Your quote "If a Member of the Legislative Assembly resigns or dies, an election is held to determine his/her replacement. A by-election will only be held if the vacancy occurs less than three years and six months after the first meeting of the Legislative Assembly following the previous general election.”

The Lower House is elected for THREE years and the above quote says "three years and six months" there seems to be some disconnect there, as never would the parliament reach the "three years and six months" stated. The Senators are elected for 6 years but can always be replaced without a by-election.

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