We know that the Victoria Police have sought from the Federal Court of Australia all the documents and like material contained in the courts files on matter number 2082/96.

The Court has written to the Victoria Police Fraud Squad.

Download Document2013-02-19-110009

If you navigate to the Federal Court of Australia website you'll be able to interrogate its database through the Commonwealth Courts Portal.

You'll find this information about 2082/96

By expanding the Court Events and Orders hyperlink, you'll be served up this information.

There were a hell of a lot of hearings between 1996 when the matter was first brought before the Industrial Relations Court of Australia, then when it merged with the Federal Court of Australia in 1997 through to the "finalisation" or discontinuance or who knows what happened on 17 May 2002.

Bill Shorten became the National Secretary of the AWU in 2001.   He should have a good explanation for what instructions he gave to the AWU's lawyers about the disposition of this matter, and what efforts he made to get the members reunited with their money.

Maybe he'll be so good as to refresh his memory on this blog.   I'll try to ask him tomorrow - but if you're on Twitter and you follow Bill, perhaps you'll let him know.