New original documents from WA in 1993 tell more of the Wilson/Gillard AWU story
Friday, 12 December 2014
This post is largely background information to provide context for some important new documents I've received today.
Until today there has been one very important missing link in my understanding of what went on in the AWU, Slater and Gordon and proceedings in Western Australia's Industrial Relations Commission in September, 1993.
Thanks to our reader Dean who went on our behalf to the WA State Archives we now have the complete file in the matter of Mick Baker v Ralph Blewitt.
It's a fascinating expose of the inner workings of the AWU WA Branch and its interactions with its solicitors Slater and Gordon.
On 23 September 1993 the President of the WA Industrial Relations Commission heard Mick Baker's application for orders that Ralph Blewitt's decision to sack him be overturned. The matter was listed for hearing on 17 November 1993. In between lots of evidence was discovered by the parties, I now have it and I'll publish it for you.
I've interviewed Ralph Blewitt on the record about what went on at the time and I'll publish that audio interview with him too.
Baker had lost his job. He was in a very good position legally to be compensated, he had plenty of witnesses and helpful documents. He was all set to go with his lawyer briefed, ready for action and present at the court-room as the court was brought into session.
But Baker didn't turn up for the hearing. His application was discontinued on the grounds that his lawyer could not contact him to receive further instructions. Something made Mick Baker just cop his sacking sweet and disappear.
We'll try to find out what - or who - made him decide it would be in his best interests not to go to court or talk to his lawyer that day.
First - a timeline.
On 2 May 1991 Bruce Wilson was appointed Secretary of the AWU WA Branch after a coup d'etat in which secretary VJ Keenan and President Joe Isherwood "resigned".
That coup had a legal advisor, Julia Gillard.
In April 1991 Gillard was in Perth and spent at least one day providing advice about the rules of the AWU to help engineer Keenan's removal and Wilson's elevation. Here is an extract from her 11 September, 1995 departure interview from Slater and Gordon.
On 10 September 2014 Gillard gave evidence about this matter under oath at the Royal Commission
On the evidence above, Gillard provided legal advice to an AWU organiser, a relatively lowly paid unelected employee who had no authority to incur costs in a matter like this. The advice, on her own admission, related to the means by which he might depose an elected official he had been "stalking", the legally appointed AWU Branch Secretary.
The minutes of the 2 May 1991 meeting above show that Keenan was given a paid job as part of the deal. Joe Isherwood left his job as President on the same day and he was replaced by the now deceased Glen Ivory. This Federal Court judgement tells the Ivory/Isherwood/Wilson/Blewitt story, it was an expensive and protracted legal proceeding - it's also a fascinating read, more about it soon.
The first day of the two day Executive meeting concluded that this:
Here's a link to the Einfeld Order referred to above.
It appears that negotiations to finalise Keenan's orderly departure might have continued that night.
On 3 May 1991 the Executive meeting continued for its 2nd day - Keenan got an official portrait painted, expenses approved, appreciation for a lifetime of service and acknowledgement of the high regard he was held in. Isherwood had to make do acknowledgement of his contribution.
On 20 August 1991 Gillard gave this very detailed written legal advice regarding the effect of the rules of the AWU in another dispute over removing/replacing officials.
So by August 1991 there are several examples of Gillard providing detailed advice about the AWU's rules and its interactions with various industrial relations laws. She also demonstrated her willingness to provide formal legal advice to advance the interests of Wilson (an unelected and then relatively junior employee of the union) over the interests of the elected official office holders.
We will pass over the late 1991 developments about Dawesville, pass over the 1991/92 AWU WRA Inc and pass over the purchase of Kerr Street for the purposes of this post.
On Friday 3 July 1992 the WA Branch Executive again met, the minutes record Wilson's move to the Victorian Secretary role.
Also in those minutes is a record of Joe Isherwood's removal from the union and the Branch's decision not to pay the legal fees he incurred while he was President.
Those minutes refer to a Federal Court action brought by Glen Ivory which sought to overturn Isherwood's election as President. It's pretty rich that Wilson and his team were prepared to do that to Isherwood - read the judgement from the Federal Court here. Ivory wanted Isherwood's job and Ivory was supported by Wilson in this court action. The end result was that Ivory's application to the court was unsuccessful, he lost, Isherwood won, but by the time the Decision was delivered the coup d'etat was complete by other means, Isherwood was gone and Wilson and his mates decided the AWU would not pay his legal bills. Nice blokes. Lucky Bruce had Julia.
On 12 November 1992 the Executive met again. Wilson got an extra 3 months in Melbourne
Hidden away in those minutes was this report about the AWU WA branch solicitors (Slater and Gordon ie Gillard) updating the union's rules.
On 18 February 1993 the WA Branch Executive met (power of attorney time), the minutes are here.
Wilson was by then permanent Victoria Branch Secretary, so the first order of business in the WA Executive meeting was this:
Having been invited to attend, Wilson formally resigned and Blewitt was on that day formally appointed as WA Branch Secretary.
Ralph Blewitt had by then been acting WA Branch Secretary for 7 months. He tells me he did exactly as Bruce Wilson told him to do during the whole of his time as Secretary, both acting and after his formal appointment.
The last point noted in the February 1993 meeting was this heated exchange with Mick Baker, the Secretary of the WA Mining Division of the AWU - the significance will become clear shortly.
Blewitt says that it was around the time of this meeting, 13 February 1993, that Wilson handed him the notorious Power of Attorney to sign, in Perth, without Gillard.
On 22 March 1993 the Kerr Street purchase settled - it required a Power of Attorney.
On 10 June, 1993 the AWU WA Branch's new rules prepared by Ms Gillard were officially endorsed by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission
Deputy President Acton noted:
I listed this matter for hearing on 9 June 1993 in Sydney. On that
occasion Mr R. McClelland, solicitor, appeared for the
AWU and Ms J. Gillard,
solicitor, appeared for the AWU, WA Branch.
At the hearing Mr McClelland provided a revised S.202 agreement, which
was executed on 8 June 1993 and which it was intended be substituted for the
agreement earlier lodged in the Registry,
and took the Commission through its
contents. Ms Gillard then tendered an affidavit of Ralph Edwin Blewitt,
Secretary of the AWU,
WA Branch and Mr McClelland tendered an affidavit of
Michael George Forshaw, General Secretary of the AWU.
You'll find all the details here. Ms Gillard could transact that complex matter with Blewitt in person, even though he was in Perth, she was in Melbourne and the matter was heard in Sydney. But she couldn't complete a simple property purchase in his name without creating a Power of Attorney for her boyfriend Wilson.
That brings us to mid 1993. Wilson was in Kerr Street, renovators were in Abbotsford, wads of cash were in bib and brace overalls and some apparently very pissed off AWU officials were getting fired up in Perth.
In October 1993 Ralph Blewitt sued certain union officials in the AWU WA Branch for defamation after they'd produced flyers calling his leadership into doubt.
Download Blewitt defamation file 1st batch
Download Blewitt defamation 2nd batch
Download Blewitt defamation 3rd batch
Until today there has been one very important missing link in my understanding of what went on in the AWU, Slater and Gordon and those WAIRC proceedings commenced in September 1993 by Mick Baker.
Thanks to our reader Dean who went on our behalf to the WA State Archives we now have the complete file in the matter of Mick Baker v Ralph Blewitt.
It's a fascinating expose of the inner workings of the AWU WA Branch and its interactions with its solicitors Slater and Gordon.
On 23 September 1993 the President of the WA Industrial Relations Commission heard Mick Baker's application for orders that Ralph Blewitt's decision to sack him be overturned. The matter was listed for hearing on 17 November 1993, in between lots of evidence was sought out by the parties and I now have it and I'll publish it for you.
I've interviewed Ralph Blewitt on the record about what went on at the time and I'll publish that interview with him.
Baker had lost his job. He was in a very good position legally to be compensated, he had plenty of witnesses and helpful documents. He was all set to go with his lawyer briefed, ready for action and present at the court-room as the court was brought into session.
But Baker didn't turn up for the hearing. His application was discontinued on the grounds that his lawyer could not contact him to receive further instructions. Something made Mick Baker just cop his sacking sweet.
We'll try to find out what - or who - made him decide it would be in his best interests not to proceed.
More soon.
And look out for my second instalment after Hillbilly's piece on Gillard's state of mind in 1992, once you see the documents in order the story becomes crystal clear.