Craig Thomson facing 19 new charges as lawyers plead for more time

Lawyers for Craig Thomson have requested more time to fight allegations he misused union funds to pay for prostitutes and pornography as it emerges the embattled federal MP is facing 19 fresh charges.

Thomson appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court for a brief hearing on more than 100 charges of fraud allegedly committed while he was national secretary of the Health Services Union.

A filing hearing in February heard Thomson was facing 154 fraud-related charges.

The court was told on Wednesday that 19 new charges had since been added.

Thomson's lawyer Paul Galbally said the defence needed more time to prepare for the case.

"There's some 25 volumes of material and over 140 witnesses at this stage," he said.

The court granted Thomson, 48, an adjournment until July 1 when he will face a committal mention in the same court.

It's alleged that between 2002 and 2008, Thomson used union credit cards to spend more than $27,000 on prostitutes, pornographic films, flights, accommodation, meals and cigarettes, in a total of $42,000 he's accused of stealing or dishonestly obtaining.

Read more at The Age

Craig Thomson MP was arrested on 31 January this year.

This quote is from the ABC's PM program on the day of the arrest.

CHRIS MCARDLE: He was told about one charge of an alleged offence in 2002. I mean, what were you doing in August, 2002? And he has to remember that one.

Some of these 149 charges are for $12 and $15. He's actually being criminally charged with having bought an ice cream. True. Bought an ice cream is one of the charges.

Craig Thomson  in court on February 6 this year

"What was disappointing about today was it became clear that not only was last Thursday wrongly done by the police, but after 18 months in relation to investigating this matter they still don't even have witnesses that they are able to produce for us in terms of some of these issues that are here," he told reporters.