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Issue No. 266 | 03 June 2005 |
An Act of Faith
Interview: The Baby Drought Industrial: Lies, AWAs and Statistics Workplace: The Invisible Parents History: Bruce�s Big Blunder Politics: All God's Children Economics: Spun Out International: Shakey Trials Legal: Civil Distrubance Review: Crash Course In Racism Poetry: You're Fired
Broken Hill Confronts "Choice" Soaring Mercury Sparks Walk Off Education Stands Up To Howard Assault
The Locker Room Parliament The Soapbox
Remembering Workers In Cairns Bad Law Fair Go For Injured Workers A Question Of Choice Galahs Up The Cross National Solution Bomber�s Classic
Labor Council of NSW |
News Hadgkiss Makes History
Nigel Hadgkiss made the admission to a Senate Estimates Commission while refusing to rule out attacking civil liberties in pursuing the Howard Government�s anti-worker agenda.
In an extraordinary admission, Hadgkiss admitted there had only been one successful prosecution arising from the $66 million Cole Royal Commission - and that there was no intention to launch any more. He also repeatedly refused to rule out using covert tactics such as secretly recording building workers. CFMEU construction national secretary John Sutton says the revelations should concern all Australians. "At $66 million, this has to be the most single most expensive prosecution in Australian legal history," Sutton says. "The Cole Royal Commission is the basis of the current legislative attack on building workers - based on a myth of union lawlessness in the industry. "By Mr Hadgkiss' own admission, the grounds for treating building workers as a special case have no legal foundation. "Of even more concern is that in order to promote the Howard Government agenda, Mr Hadgkiss is prepared to turn a blind eye to basic civil rights and secretly tape workers. Laws coming into effect on June 22 will add to Mr Hadgkiss' powers and allow him to also suspend a workers' right to silence during interrogation. "What all Australians need to understand is that these laws, once established in the building industry, will be spread across the economy to all workers," Sutton says Hadgkiss also admitted the Taskforce had spent $287,000 in legal costs during a failed prosecution on Smith Plant Hire. The Taskforce also spent 12 months investigating the case and was also forced to pay the union's costs.
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