How has Cesar Melhem avoided prosecution over alleged crimes in Victoria?
Sunday, 11 August 2019
Victoria's Office of Public Prosecutions is arguably more powerful than any court of law.
The OPP and its Solicitor for Public Prosecutions decide which criminal cases will be tried in court - and which cases won't.
The Trade Union Royal Commission referred what appeared to be solid charges against Cesar Melhem to the:
- Victorian Commissioner of Police and Director of Public Prosecutions of Victoria in order that consideration may be given to whether he should be charged with and prosecuted in relation to possible corrupt commission offences concerning Cleanevent Pty Ltd contrary to s 176(1)(a) and/or (b) of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) (Volume 4, Chapter 10.2)
- General Manager of the Fair Work Commission so that consideration may be given to whether to institute proceedings against him for breaching his duties as an officer in relation to his dealings with Cleanevent Pty Ltd contrary to ss 285 and 286 of the FW(RO) Act (Volume 4, Chapter 10.2);
- Victorian Commissioner of Police and Director of Public Prosecutions of Victoria in order that consideration may be given to whether he should be charged with and prosecuted in relation to possible corrupt commission offences concerning Thiess John Holland Pty Ltd contrary to s 176 of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) (Volume 4, Chapter 10.3);
- Victorian Commissioner of Police and Director of Public Prosecutions of Victoria in order that consideration may be given to whether he should be charged with and prosecuted in relation to possible false accounting offences concerning Thiess John Holland contrary to s 83 of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) (Volume 4, Chapter 10.3);
- Victorian Commissioner of Police and Director of Public Prosecutions of Victoria in order that consideration may be given to whether he should be charged and prosecuted in relation to possible corrupt commission offences concerning ACI Operations Pty Ltd contrary to s 176(1)(b) of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) (Volume 4, Chapter 10.5);
- Victorian Commissioner of Police and Director of Public Prosecutions of Victoria in order that consideration may be given to whether he should be charged with and prosecuted in relation to possible false accounting offences contrary to s 83 of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) (Volume 4, Chapter 10.8);
- General Manager of the Fair Work Commission so that consideration may be given to whether to institute proceedings against him for breaching his duties as an officer in respect of his dealings with Winslow Constructors Pty Ltd contrary to ss 285, 286 and 287 of the FW(RO) Act (Volume 4, Chapter 10.8);
- Victorian Commissioner of Police and Director of Public Prosecutions of Victoria in order that consideration may be given to whether he should be charged with and prosecuted in relation to possible false accounting offences concerning BMD Constructions Pty Ltd contrary to s 83 of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) (Volume 4, Chapter 10.9);
- General Manager of the Fair Work Commission so that consideration may be given to whether to institute proceedings against him for breaching his duties as an officer concerning BMD Constructions Pty Ltd contrary to ss 285, 286 and 287 of the FW(RO) Act (Volume 4, Chapter 10.9); and
- Victorian Commissioner of Police and Director of Public Prosecutions of Victoria in order that consideration may be given to whether he should be charged with and prosecuted in relation to possible false accounting offences concerning A J Lucas Pty Ltd contrary to s 83 of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) (Volume 4, Chapter 10.9); and
- Victorian Commissioner of Police and Director of Public Prosecutions of Victoria in order that consideration may be given to whether he should be charged with and prosecuted in relation to possible false accounting offences concerning Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd, contrary to s 83 of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) (Volume 4, Chapter 10.10).
You may have read that Melhem faces trial in September over matters raised at the TURC:
A Victorian Labor MP will face court next month for serious misconduct and for selling out the interests of low-paid workers from his time as head of the Australian Workers Union.
State upper house MP Cesar Melhem will face a September civil trial for the alleged wrongdoing that boosted his own power base within the union while failing his duties as a union official.
A successful prosecution of Mr Melhem would be the first major scalp of the federal Coalition government’s Registered Organisations Commission [ROC] since the May federal election. The union cop was to be disbanded if Labor had been elected.
The case stems from evidence revealed in the 2014 and 2015 trade union royal commission and from Mr Melhem's time as Victorian secretary of the AWU.
But Melhem faces only civil actions - not criminal.
And all of the matters at trial are commonwealth, not state (it's worth noting that had Labor won the federal election, the Registered Organisations Commission would have been wound up and Melhem's matter no doubt dropped as a result).
The most serious matters alleged against Melhem related to secret commission payments and false accounting to cover those payments up. But those alleged crimes are crimes against Victorian state law, with Victoria Police and Victoria's Office of Public Prosecutions deciding whether or not to pursue Melhem.
And Victoria Police and the OPP have decided not to.
The Victorian OPP asks two questions in deciding whether or not to proceed with a prosecution:
Is there a reasonable prospect of conviction?
Is the prosecution in the public interest?
This extract is from the OPP's Prosecution Policy document:
Whether it's the Red Shirts, the disparity in the treatment of Shorten and Pell, the decision to lay no charges in The AWU Scandal - or allowing Melhem (and Bill Shorten) to walk away scott-free from a range of offences uncovered at the TURC, Victoria's the place to be if you're a union/Labor official or mate with something to hide.
And who decides what's in the public - ie your - interest?
The OPP and its staff.
Behind closed doors.
The Labor/union way.