2GB

SUBJECTS: Craig Thomson Saga

E&OE………

Ben Fordham: Christopher Pyne, good afternoon. 

Christopher Pyne: Ben, how are you going? 

Fordham: Happy Easter.  Thank you.  I know I’ve caught you on the hop.  I just called during the news to break this news to you.  What do you think? 

Pyne: Well, what’s important is that the entire report is released to the public because the ACTU today decided to take the very serious action of expelling the HSU from the ACTU.  Now, when they did that they used the word corruption to describe what’s been going on in the HSU.  The head of the HSU said today said they person who is the subject of the Fair Work Inquiry Report is Craig Thomson.  The Government relies on Craig Thomson’s vote to remain in power.  If the ACTU thinks that it’s good enough to expel the HSU why isn’t it good enough for the Labor Party to expel Craig Thomson from its ranks?  If it doesn’t do so the Prime Minister is not prepared to take action, but the ACTU is prepared to take action. 

Fordham: He was sounding almost a little bit smug today, Craig Thomson about this whole thing saying, “oh well, the news from the Commonwealth DPP,” I’m paraphrasing, but what he was kind of saying this is what we’ve been hoping for all along, almost as if he’d been exonerated by this which is not at all the result of this.  But today, or this afternoon with the news we’ve just revealed courtesy of Paul Boungiorno of Channel 10, it’s not looking so rosy for him. 

Pyne: Well, Fair Work Australia has mismanaged this process from the very beginning.  It’s taken over three years.  They prepared evidence for the DPP, which they say is not in the form they needed in order to be able to continue and now it’s basically been sent back to Fair Work Australia to be fixed up.  Many people think that Fair Work Australia has either been involved in an institutional go slow to protect its political masters or is just utterly, completely incompetent.  Either way it isn’t good enough. 

Fordham: Why do we have to wait six weeks before this report is tabled before a Senate committee? 

Pyne: Well, we shouldn’t have to.  The truth is that can be released immediately that report.  It can be released to the Senate committee at any time and then the Senate committee can publish it.  This is just another delaying tactic if they decide to take six weeks before they release it publicly. 

Fordham: And then of course the big question mark is what is in the report keeping in mind that in Fair Work Australia there are big question marks over them, so I wonder how hard they’ve gone on the whole thing?  We will find out.  You have a great Easter. 

Pyne: Same to you Ben. 

ENDS