More allegations ... suspended Labor MP Craig Thompson leaving his home / Pic: Gary Graham Source: The Daily Telegraph
SUSPENDED Labor MP Craig Thomson faces bankruptcy and possible expulsion from parliament amid new claims he spent another $2000 on prostitutes.
In a further setback for the government, Fair Work Australia yesterday filed civil charges in the Federal Court alleging Mr Thomson misused hundreds of thousands of dollars in union funds.
Senior legal sources said the federal MP could be liable for fines of about $200,000 - and face a massive legal bill of a similar amount - if found guilty of breaching industrial laws on about 130 occasions.
The Labor Party, which had earlier picked up a legal bill of about $300,000 for the embattled backbencher, last night confirmed it would no longer pay his legal expenses.
But the government will continue to accept Mr Thomson's vote on key legislation and to fend off censure motions in the parliament.
Just a week after former speaker Peter Slipper was forced to resign over lewd text messages, the industrial umpire detailed a series of fresh cash transactions by Mr Thomson to pay for escort services while he was Health Services Union boss.
These involve withdrawals totalling $1700 from automatic teller machines on three separate occasions in April and June 2006.
They were allegedly used to pay for escort services from The Boardroom of Melbourne, Young Blondes/Confidential Models Escorts and Miss Behaving, according to FWA's 194-page statement of claim filed in the Federal Court yesterday. Mr Thomson has denies the claims.
The alleged payments for escort services form part of more than $100,000 in cash withdrawals by Mr Thomson when he was HSU national secretary from 2002 to 2007. These are in addition to about $6000 in payments for prostitutes paid on a union credit card in his name.
But there could be worse to come with Victorian and NSW police close to finalising separate criminal investigations into Mr Thomson's alleged misuse of union funds.
The court action comes less than a week after Mr Slipper was forced to resign from his office, weakening the government's grip on power.
Mr Thomson has sat on the cross-benches since late April but has consistently voted with the government and is regularly seen around parliament with his ALP colleagues.
FWA general manager Bernadette O'Neill said the claim was based largely on the findings of a three-year investigation into Mr Thomson but also included the additional allegations in relation to cash withdrawals.
"I have not taken this action lightly. I am satisfied that it is in the public interest to pursue the allegations in the documents filed in the Federal Court today and consider that there is a reasonable prospect of success," Ms O'Neill said. "If successful I will be seeking the imposition of pecuniary penalties relating to each of the 37 alleged contraventions where penalties are available.
"I will also be seeking orders requiring Mr Thomson to pay compensation for losses allegedly incurred by the HSU by reason of the alleged breaches of general duties, should they be proven."
Mr Thomson, who has held his Central Coast seat of Dobell since 2007, said he would "continue" to maintain his innocence.
"While I am disappointed, I am not surprised that Fair Work Australia has decided to go ahead with its claims," he said. "Clearly FWA has felt pressured into responding this way given the political process which it is part of.
"Naturally I will vigorously defend these claims which are based on a totally discredited Fair Work Australia report."
Last night, Labor Party sources confirmed they would not be prepared to pay any more of Mr Thomson's legal fees, saying they would adhere to a motion passed on May 18 by the party's finance committee.
That motion said the NSW branch of the Labor Party "will no longer provide financial assistance or any other legal expenses for Craig Thomson".
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has declined to comment on the charges against Craig Thomson or whether he should stay in Parliament as she arrived in India for a three-day visit.
"I'm not going to comment on a matter that's before the courts and I'm also not going to war-game a lot of hypothetical questions about a matter that's before the courts," she said.
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