Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s relationship with a former union official and fraudster came back to haunt her over the weekend with the revival of a 17-year-old union slush fund scandal involving Gillard’s former flame Bruce Wilson.
Gillard fell for the alleged conman as an industrial lawyer and partner at law firm Slater and Gordon, where she represented the then Australian Workers Union state secretary between 1992 and 1995.
The central allegations of the scandal are that Mr Wilson had ripped off a union fund that Ms Gillard had set up for him, hiding away union money that he then placed in special accounts, allegedly set up by Gillard, and misused those funds to buy a house and help renovate Gillard’s house.
While Gillard has consistently denied any knowledge of or role in the alleged scam, her involvement has been questioned again following the story’s resurrection in The Australian newspaper on Saturday with new revelations that an investigation into the accounts led to her dismissal.
An interview on Sky’s Australian Agenda revealed a very defensive Prime Minister as she fired up against The Australian’s Paul Kelly and refused to address allegations against her.
Gillard made it clear that she would not comment on the issue, saying she did nothing wrong and questioning the validity of Kelly’s queries.
But when the story was first reported in 2007, Gillard told The Sunday Telegraph she was in love with the man who had broken her heart and threatened to destroy her political career.
“These matters happened between 12 and 15 years ago,” Gillard told former Sunday Telegraph political reporter Glenn Milne. “I was young and naive.”
“I was in a relationship, which I ended, and obviously it was all very distressing. I am by no means the first person to find out that someone close turns out different to what you had believe d them to be. It’s an ordinary human error.
“I was obviously hurt when I was later falsely accused publicly of wrongdoing. I didn’t do anything wrong and to have false allegations in the media was distressing.
“The whole thing has taught me some lessons about life, generally, and [about] the slings and arrows of public life, in particular. I think that I have emerged a stronger person as a result.”
The scandal has once again raised tension as leadership speculation continues to cloud the Labor party.
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Video: Gillard in heated exchange over her past
