Thomson case in public interest: FWA

17 Oct 2012, 7:23 pm   -   Source: AAP
Fair Work Australia's general manager says the case against embattled MP Craig Thomson is strong. (AAP)

Fair Work Australia's general manager says the case against embattled MP Craig Thomson is strong. (AAP)

Fair Work Australia's general manager says her advice on court proceedings against MP Craig Thomson is that it has a reasonable chance of success.

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Fair Work Australia (FWA) has rejected federal MP Craig Thomson's assertion the case against him for the alleged misuse of union funds will fall over.

FWA has launched civil action against Mr Thomson alleging he breached workplace laws 37 times and misused almost $500,000 when he was national secretary of the Health Services Union (HSU) from 2002 to 2007.

The suspended Labor MP faces fines of up to $450,000 if the court finds, amongst other things, he spent thousands of dollars of union funds on prostitutes.

Mr Thomson has maintained his innocence and says the case won't go anywhere.

His legal team argues parts of the FWA case exceed a two-year time limit under statutes of limitation.

"But part of us would really like to have the entire thing exposed for what it is - without substance," his lawyer Chris McArdle told ABC radio on Wednesday.

"It is a series of false allegations.

"He is particularly innocent of having paid people to have sex with him by using other people's money or using his own money."

FWA general manager Bernadette O'Neill told a Senate estimates hearing she was aware of the statute of limitations issue and that even if the investigation had concluded when first flagged in 2009 the time limit would have been exceeded.

But Ms O'Neill said she had obtained legal advice and considered it when deciding if it was in the public interest to commence proceedings against Mr Thomson.

"I've formed the view that we have reasonable prospects of success," she said.

Mr Thomson said earlier this week FWA had been politically pressured to lay charges against him.

Ms O'Neill rejected the claim.

The investigation was like a "one-in-100-year flood" in terms of workload for the investigators, Ms O'Neill said.

She said it was not conducted "quickly, expertly and professionally" as it ought to have been.

"That won't happen again," she said, adding a KPMG review into the matter had been accepted and implemented, with a new section responsible for oversight of registered organisations.

Ms O'Neill said the legal fees for the HSU investigation had hit $1.3 million, without taking into account the internal cost of FWA.

The legal bill does not include the cost of proceedings filed in the Federal Court this week.

The case is set down for a directions hearing on December 7.

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