- December 20, 2015 12:00am
- The Sunday Mail (Qld)
THE union with which Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is affiliated is in financial turmoil, with auditors warning there is significant doubt it can continue as a going concern.
The Queensland branch of the Australian Workers’ Union, which backs the Premier’s Labor Forum faction, suffered a $1.4 million loss last financial year due to dwindling membership.
The union’s liabilities in Queensland now exceed its total assets by
more than $9.5 million, according to auditor Alex Fraser of accountancy
firm Hanrick Curran.
“The union may be unable to realise its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business,’’ Mr Fraser said.
The union’s financial crisis was worsened by the exit of 11,467 members from the Queensland branch in just 12 months.
Adding to the union’s woes was the discovery of 12,119 members now classified as unfinancial.
The union has been bleeding members since disclosures of wrongdoing at the Royal Commission Into Trade Union Governance and Corruption involving sweetheart deals, ghost memberships and fraudulent accounting.
Controversy flared after evidence showing lowly paid workers were underpaid millions of dollars in an agreement sanctioned by the AWU when federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was its chief.
The AWU was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in secret side
deals to enhance the financial and political power of the union.
One of the companies, Cleanevent, employed workers to clean The Gabba and the Gold Coast’s Cbus Super Stadium, according to a spokesman for the Federal Department of Employment.
The national membership of the AWU has plunged 13 per cent to 92,789 in the last 12 months, according to figures tabled in Parliament.
Despite the parlous financial settings, union chiefs in Queensland still managed to splurge more than $100,000 on boardroom lunches, campaign functions and donations to the ALP and Labor candidates last year, financial statements show.
Queensland branch secretary Ben Swan could not be contacted yesterday. But in one operating statement he blamed a slowdown in infrastructure for declining membership.
He said this was made worse by the Campbell Newman government’s restrictions on the automatic payments of union dues by public servants.
“There has been a decrease in membership due to the former government’s legislative prohibition on public service entities facilitating payroll deductions for membership dues,” Mr Swan said.
“Membership also decreased due to the demobilisation of significant construction projects in Queensland.”
Ms Palaszczuk declined to comment.
“The union may be unable to realise its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business,’’ Mr Fraser said.
The union’s financial crisis was worsened by the exit of 11,467 members from the Queensland branch in just 12 months.
Adding to the union’s woes was the discovery of 12,119 members now classified as unfinancial.
The union has been bleeding members since disclosures of wrongdoing at the Royal Commission Into Trade Union Governance and Corruption involving sweetheart deals, ghost memberships and fraudulent accounting.
Controversy flared after evidence showing lowly paid workers were underpaid millions of dollars in an agreement sanctioned by the AWU when federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was its chief.
Barristers assisting the inquiry made no submissions of any criminal or unlawful conduct by Mr Shorten.
But
they advised criminal charges be considered against his successor as
head of the Victorian branch, Cesar Melhem, who has vowed to fight the
allegations.
One of the companies, Cleanevent, employed workers to clean The Gabba and the Gold Coast’s Cbus Super Stadium, according to a spokesman for the Federal Department of Employment.
The national membership of the AWU has plunged 13 per cent to 92,789 in the last 12 months, according to figures tabled in Parliament.
Despite the parlous financial settings, union chiefs in Queensland still managed to splurge more than $100,000 on boardroom lunches, campaign functions and donations to the ALP and Labor candidates last year, financial statements show.
Queensland branch secretary Ben Swan could not be contacted yesterday. But in one operating statement he blamed a slowdown in infrastructure for declining membership.
He said this was made worse by the Campbell Newman government’s restrictions on the automatic payments of union dues by public servants.
“There has been a decrease in membership due to the former government’s legislative prohibition on public service entities facilitating payroll deductions for membership dues,” Mr Swan said.
“Membership also decreased due to the demobilisation of significant construction projects in Queensland.”
Ms Palaszczuk declined to comment.
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