Judges and other officials – such as tribunal members and royal commissioners – must not only be impartial, they must also appear to be impartial.
Dyson Heydon, commissioner for the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption leaves the Royal Commission offices in Sydney on Friday.
Joel Carrett/AAP
In the jargon of the moment, Dyson Heydon – the royal commissioner who has been putting trade union officials and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten on the spot – finds himself struggling with the sniff test…
Commissioner Dyson Heydon during a hearing of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption in Sydney.
Jeremy Piper/AAP
Tony Abbott’s leadership ratings and his standing as preferred prime minister have improved, but only to the point where he is roughly at level pegging with Bill Shorten.
University of Canberra Acting Vice-Chancellor Nicholas Klomp and Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics.
Bill Shorten has emerged from the royal commission with wounds that are not mortal for his leadership but serious enough to set it back.
AAP/David Moir
Bill Shorten’s appearance at the royal commission has not only damaged him but diverted a good deal of attention from the signs of division and tension at senior levels of the Abbott government.
Bill Shorten in 2006, as Victorian branch secretary of The Australian Workers’ Union.
AAP/Andrew Brownbill
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten failed until the last few days to declare that a labour hire company paid for his full-time campaign director in the run-up to his election to parliament in 2007.
Bill Shorten is facing a challenging winter recess.
AAP/Lukas Coch
When Bill Shorten was asked by the Royal Commission into union corruption to appear before it, he said he wouldn’t be commenting on allegations about his time as an Australian Workers Union official until he gave evidence.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten was forced to ask for his testimony to the royal commission on union corruption to be brought forward in the wake of media stories about union deals.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Bill Shorten’s July 8 appearance before the royal commission into union corruption is crucial for his credibility and has major implications for his leadership.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has sought an early appearance at the royal commission.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
In an effort to deal with the political fallout of his union past, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has asked the royal commission into union corruption to bring forward his appearance to July.
Labor leader Bill Shorten will appear before the royal commission into trade union governance and corruption.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Bill Shorten will give evidence at the royal commission into union corruption, which is probing the conduct of the Australian Workers Union, of which he is a former Victorian and national secretary.