Michaelia Cash is a goose and ministerial office is beyond her
Wednesday, 30 May 2018
Some people improve in their jobs.
Michaelia Cash is going backwards.
She doesn't learn.
She seems to think screeching at people will make them comply with her.
She is lined up against the AWU. She chose to pick this fight with them.
If you can't beat Shorten's AWU for operating outside the law you should give the game away.
But Cash isn't just failing at proving the AWU's foibles.
She's allowed the accusations of operating unlawfully to be turned back on her.
When most people get a subpoena they comply with it.
The obvious reason to fight it is if you have something to hide.
Cash is spending our money to hide whatever it is that'll embarrass not us - but Michaelia Cash.
Cash has watched too much Gillard. It's rubbed off on her.
Resign Michaelia, you can't be trusted.
The Federal Court has issued a subpoena requiring Jobs Minister Michaelia Cash to give evidence in the Australian Workers Union (AWU) raids case.
Key points:
- Senator Cash asked the Registered Organisations Commission to consider investigating donations from the AWU to GetUp
- Her staffer later admitted tipping off media to AFP raids on the AWU offices
- The AWU has gone to Federal Court to try to prevent the documents seized in that raid from being examined by the ROC
Court documents show the court is ordering Senator Cash to appear in Melbourne in August, after the union asked for orders to be made requiring the Minister to give evidence.
But Senator Cash has instructed her lawyers to fight that subpoena, so that she is not forced to give evidence.
The AWU wants the court to throw out an investigation by the Registered Organisations Commission (ROC) into donations by the union to activist group GetUp.
Senator Cash has faced fierce criticism after her staffer, David De Garis, tipped off the media that raids by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on the AWU's Sydney and Melbourne offices were imminent.
The Minister has maintained she was unaware of Mr De Garis's actions, and Mr De Garis quit soon after.
The trial is listed in Melbourne from August 1 to 3, and the subpoena said Senator Cash must attend.
"I have issued instructions for the subpoena to be set aside," Senator Cash said today.
"I do not intend to play the court process out publicly."
The media adviser for the Fair Work Ombudsman, Mark Lee was also embroiled in the saga.
He was due to take up a position in Senator Cash's office, which never happened after the leak allegations were aired.
Mr De Garis, Mr Lee and ROC official Christopher Enright have also been called to give evidence.
AWU national secretary Daniel Walton said the union still believed the raids and investigation were unlawful.
"We think it's vital the court is assisted by the evidence of witnesses who we believe are relevant to the issues in the case. That is why we sought subpoenas," Mr Walton said in a statement.
"If we are to understand exactly what happened then we believe the testimony of these individuals is critical."