Saying sorry for the Craig Thomson lies: Opposition Leader Bill Shorten backs Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s calls for apology
- 9 HOURS AGO FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Fraudster ... disgraced former MP Craig Thomson / Picture: Gary Ramage Source: News Limited
LABOR will support a Coalition move making the Federal Parliament offer an unprecedented apology to those HSU officials former MP Craig Thomson singled out in his speech proclaiming his innocence.
The government had hoped to wedge the Opposition over the motion, but Manager of Opposition Business Tony Burke has confirmed it will have its backing.
“We are deeply, deeply offended by what happened,” Mr Burke told reporters in Canberra.
“We’re not going to play some game,” he said.
“They’ve put forward a resolution, we agree with the words of it and I expect it will be dealt with pretty quickly.”
Prime Minister Tony Abbott will today call on the parliament to issue the apology on behalf of all MPs to the people accused of corruption by the convicted fraudster and disgraced former Labor MP.
The extraordinary move was flagged in a notice of motion tabled last night by the leader of the house Christopher Pyne.
PM Tony Abbott and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten in Question Time. Source: News Corp Australia
An apology and statement of regret would also be issued to all HSU members for the theft perpetrated by the former Labor MP, who was found guilty of illegally using his union-issued credit card to pay for a range of personal activities including the services of prostitutes.
It is believed to be the first time in the history of the parliament that it will be asked to issue such an apology.
The motion will call for the parliament to issue a statement of regret for Thomson’s speech, to “apologise to those individuals named in the speech against which egregious falsehoods were made; and the members of the Health Services Union, some of the lowest paid workers in Australia, for the spending by Mr Craig Thomson of $267,721.65 of union members’ funds on his re-election campaign and further private expenditure not authorised by the union.”
It is likely the apology would also be extended to Mr Abbott for Thomson’s claim during the speech that he was “unfit to be an MP”.
The former HSU officials covered in the apology would include Kathy Jackson and HSU official Marco Bolano.
But not all MPs are entirely happy with plans for the apology.
Opposition health spokesmwoman Catherine King wants Mr Thomson himself to say sorry.
“No one likes the actions of Craig Thomson or any corrupt union official and frankly he should apologise to those union members,” Ms King said.
Labor MP Kelvin Thomson said he hadn’t seen the motion, but he voiced some concern for the precedent the apology would create.
“We’re not all accountable for the actions of all our parliamentary colleagues let me say, they’ve all got to answer for their own actions,” Mr Thomson told reporters.
“I wouldn’t like to be held accountable for the actions of quite a few on the other side of the political fence.”
When asked if Craig Thomson abused parliamentary privilege in hindsight, the Victorian MP said it would seem to him that he did.
Thomson is facing the possibility of being jailed by the parliament, with the privileges committee set to re-open an investigation into whether he misled the parliament with his speech. He was found guilty by a Victorian court of ripping off the HSU when he used a credit card to visit prostitutes.