Jeremy Stoljar's observation that union officials who break the law should face the possibility of bans (as company directors currently do) is, to quote Basil Fawlty, in the category of he "bleeding obvious".

Counsel Assisting the Trade Union Royal Commission Jeremy Stoljar SC has spoken to The Australian ahead of his opening address to the Commission this morning at 10AM.

He raised the prospect of adding banning orders to the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act, similar to those used against company directors who abuse their position. “A well-resourced union can just pay the fine, and also paying a fine penalises the members, not the official who ­actually did the wrong thing,” he said. “It’s not the union members, it’s not the unions themselves, it’s some union officials.

“It can come down to that proposition that some union leaders disregard their legal obligations and duties.”

He highlighted a $43,000 fine ordered this week against the CFMEU and two of its Victorian officials — including one who had previously been fined for similar conduct — for stopping work at a Melbourne apartment development in an ­attempt to force the developer to sign an enterprise agreement. “It just doesn’t seem to be having much impact,” Mr Stoljar said. “If you actually have these banning orders, that might be one way of addressing what ... seems to be one of the problems at the heart of all this.”

The public hearings resume on Monday with an examination of the Electrical Trades Union’s NSW branch, and the Transport Workers Union in May. The CFMEU is expected to be examined in June.

A police taskforce involving officers from the Australian Federal Police, NSW, Victoria and Queensland is conducting investigations on behalf of the royal commission, with its work likely to prompt referrals for charges when the commission reports.

Be good to get a quote from Bill Shorten today.