- The Guardian
- Issue #2110
I have appointed Geoffrey Watson SC to investigate alleged criminal wrongdoing raised in public reporting. He will report back to me as the National Secretary of the Union. Mr Watson is a former counsellor assisting at the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption and a Director of The Centre for Public Integrity. He is among the most respected barristers and investigators in the country. Mr Watson’s review will inform the future actions of the Union.
We need to do more than look at the past, we also need to strengthen the union for the future.
So, in addition to this investigation, I am appointing Susan Halliday AM and Michael Paynter to review the Union’s governance arrangements. Ms Halliday is an independent practitioner and compliance expert. She is a former Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner, a ministerial appointment to the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce, and was the inaugural chair of Victoria’s largest professional regulator. Mr Paynter is a governance expert who has represented employers, government agencies and other clients in the construction industry for over 40 years. This team will provide recommendations to me about actions we can take to improve the union’s governance, including its policies and processes.
With Ms Halliday’s expertise, in addition to her broad-based review of our governance arrangements, I have explicitly asked her to look at opportunities for us to ensure women in the Union are well represented. Sometimes tough times give you an opportunity to do important things for the future. We all back our sisters in the Union and I want to see that continue and improve.
