I'm Ian. I comment on what a woman wears rather than what she says or does. It's so much easier...

Thank you for that reply, Steven Herrick - tis a small person indeed that needs to resort to making fun of someone's appearance.

It's an even smaller person who relies on appearance over substance.

It's all moot anyway, since it looks like Gillard's supporters are deserting both her and the Party she's done so much damage to.

I hope the incoming Government has the good sense to run a proper Commission into the corruption that is endemic within Unions and hence within the Labor Party, since so much of that party is dominated by former and current union officials.

Such a commission might be the only chance that working people have of getting proper committed representation, because it's sure that the pigs who own the trough at present will never allow anything to get between them and it.

Agree with your sentiments, Craig Minns. Labor is nothing more than an avenue for union thugs to climb the political ladder. Corruption is rife in unions. I know first hand what some corrupt union leaders do; much more than what Thomson is alleged to have committed. A commission will highlight the utter corrupt and entrenched union corrupt culture. That Gillard escaped the corruption charges with her former boyfriend does not clear her from those accusations. Gillard understands Thomson and all other union leaders associated with misappropriation of funds. They come from the same union culture. What amazes me is that we still have a significant number of citizens supporting corruption by voting to keep the current Labor mob (ie union thugs). Even Abbott is looking good standing next to Gillard. Abbott’s best chance of winning the next election is Gillard, Shorten, Arbib (disappeared for a while), Bitar, Thomson, et al. As a former Labor supporter, I’m dying to vote this treacherous Labor mob into oblivion.

Sorry Raine but I take umbrage at you besmirching Unionism and union leaders in general terms. I accept you may have had bad experiences and I accept that. But as in all areas there are some bad eggs but in most cases in my long period as a public servant I found union reps helpful and supportive often against self seeking managers and general administrators.

And how do I know? Well because I was a union rep and in fact for a time Chair of the particular branch in which I was employed. The role by the way is gained by secret ballot, is unpaid and requires individuals who take on those roles to not only continue to meet their work requirements, but also to often sacrifice time in evenings and weekends meeting the needs of the union role. I did not get paid one cent, other than having train fares covered to and from meetings. And those union offciials I worked with I would trust my life with, such was the commitment they were prepared to show on behalf of those they represented, often indirectly threatened by management and occasionally seriously falsely accused of indiscretions later proven fictitious but aimed to intimidate and neuter those who were showing the backbone to stand up to at times illegal but hidden work practises.

I could tell you stories friend that would make you cringe regarding abuses and dirty tricks played by those protecting their higher positions and using nepotism to surround themselves with their cronies and intimidation to rid those who would dare question their actions. I lost friends pensioned off on psychological grounds following years of facing false allegations only to see the matters dismissed at The Industrial Court perhaps two year after such abuse, and the Department verbally criticised but walking away as winners.

I realise in some unions there are people who are paid officials and abuse the system. I know many more managers that do likewise but are better hidden. It infuriates me the way both sides of politics have demonised unionism, using the bad behaviour of a few to justify generalised abuse of unionism as a whole I would trust the average union official over the average manager, politician, journalist et al any time. And that comes from some very broad experience.

Criticise union leaders practising illicit actions with my blessing. They are shameless betrayers of their membership. But to criticise the majority of unionists and officials in general terms is totally unjust and degrades the efforts of many honourable and selfless people.

Ron, at present there are two major unions who have former top-level officials facing police action over fraud and theft of the property of union members. One of those unions has several former officials in Government office, as well as the son of its supposedly "honorary" President. That particular union, the AWU, was proud to announce that all of its office holders had been "re-elected unopposed" recently. That union is also in control of one of the strongest factions within the ALP and is directly responsible for Gillard's job as PM, despite Gillard's role in the fraud perpetrated against the union, which has been known by Ludwig (who appointed Gillard's boyfriend Wilson) to his job as well.

I used to be a member of that union, back in the early 90s. I saw the sort of "representation" it provides when I was working at the North Goonyella mine construction site. A crane winch cable broke and a man had a concrete kipple land on him, causing horrendous crush injuries. I, along with everyone on site, expected a stop-work meeting to be called and the site shut down pending investigations of that and other plant. Lots of senior AWU people showed up, but no stop-work happened, just a tour telling everyone to keep working, everything was taken care of. I have no evidence that was a corrupt action, but in over 30 years working in manufacturing and construction I've never seen that before or since. There were several other serious incidents on that job, none of which prompted any kind of union action.

Then there is the HSU and the execrable Thomson and Williamson, another triumph for unionism, with both of them being defended at every step by the PM and former union officials who are now ALP ministers.The whistle-blower Kathy Jackson claims to have been offered a seat in Parliament shortly after the Thomson rort was brought to light to buy her silence. The ACTU , CPSU and other major unions bodies have remained completely silent, both on the Thomson rort and the Gillard ones, in a show of mute support. Why do you think that might be?

I would like to see unions made to be as accountable as business, with similar financial disclosure and transparency. Drop the pretence that the dodgy lawyers and spivs in charge have any kind of solidarity with the working people that form the bulk of the collective or that they have any commonality of interest. Remove the free ride from union job to Parliamentary seat by removing the ridiculous union control of ALP caucus through unrepresentative control of proxies that do not reflect any real voters.

First of all though, have a proper enquiry into the extent of corruption and jail those who refuse to cooperate until they change their minds. Now is the perfect time to do it, with the manufacturing and construction sectors already slow, thus minimising damage from the inevitable disruptive protest strikes that corrupt union officials will arrange. The white collar union sector, being employed principally in government, can strike to its heart's content and nobody will notice much. It has to be done and the longer it is deferred the worse the damage will be to the ALP.

I am not a conservative voter, I am a working man who has always voted ALP, up until the last Qld election and the last federal one. I have proudly paid my fines, because I stood by my conscience on both occasions. I could not bring myself to support the LNP, but I was presented with an ALP that was in many ways a much worse option. I don't regret my decisions.

Ron, you are so busy being defensive you don't seem to realise we're on the same side of this issue.

I'm not "attacking unions", I'm attacking those at the top of them who misuse them for personal and political benefit. The hard-working union reps at the frontline have my respect, even if I find it a bit weird to think of union reps mediating disputes between managers, or even of managers being in the union in the first place.

There's no scapegoating here, just a desire to see the unions acting as they should - as representatives of the workers to management and doing it as efficiently and transparently as possible. Why do you find that so confronting?

Is it age that makes older people tend to think alike ? I would plump for a 5 year term for fixed term elections. This would make the maximum time in the Senate 10 years. However one would need to be sure that the influence of part politics is substantially reduced. To my mind, this could be accomplished by removing from the political parties the opportunity to dictate whom their candidate will be.
Appoint a committee of "eminent persons" in each State to whom application to stand in an election would be made. This committee would have, as a basic tenet, the surety that the candidates chosen would have demonstrated an ability to govern rather than be puppets which toe the party line.
Thus we electors would have a better chance of electing a government which puts governance well before petty party politics.
That, surely, would be an improvement on the crassness of what we now have !