The trade union royal commissioner has dismissed an accusation of bias by saying he “overlooked” a connection between the Liberal party and organisers of a fundraiser he agreed to speak at, but Dyson Heydon has not been so forgiving of others for not fully reading documents.
On Monday Heydon answered critics – who had accused him displaying a clear appearance of bias by accepting the speaking invitation for the Sir Garfield Barwick lecture – and told the royal commission his “understanding at all times” was that the dinner was not a fundraiser.
Heydon released a number of email exchanges between himself and the organisers of the lecture, including some that clearly spelled out the connection between the Liberal party and the event organiser, but said he “overlooked the connection” when he received a reminder email about one year later.
However, in his own interim report released in 2014 Heydon criticised union witnesses for giving similar reasons.
On one incident involving the former Australian Workers Union official Ralph Blewitt, Heydon wrote: “Ralph Blewitt claimed that he did not read the rules before lodging them. That could well be true. But even if it is true, it is no defence.”
Heydon also criticised the former prime minister Julia Gillard for being at least “careless” in potentially failing to notice the issues in an application lodged by Blewitt.
“If she knowingly permitted Ralph Blewitt to file the application, with all its falsehoods, she would have either failed to notice or deliberately ignored the requirement for an association to exist before it was incorporated, and the substantive considerations underlying that requirement,” write Heydon.
“If she had failed to notice these matters, she would have been careless.”
In another instance Heydon criticised Leah Charlson, senior legal officer of the CFMEU, who had “raised doubt” during her testimony that she had read a key document.
“Ms Charlson was a highly professional and experienced solicitor. It is most unlikely that the 11 March 2014 document would have been provided to Ms Charlson, with its serious allegation about file alteration, in a manner which would have led Ms Charlson to be unaware of its contents on the date she received it.”
Tony Abbott has accepted Heydon agreed to speak at the Liberal party event, but said Heydon did not know it was a fundraiser and had the government’s support.
“It has never been disputed that this was a Liberal party event,” Abbott said during question time, reading from an explanation Heydon had given at the royal commission earlier on Monday in which he revealed an email in April 2014 inviting him to give the lecture and his understanding that “it was a Liberal party event, organised by one of the lawyer branches of the Liberal party NSW division”.
But Abbott also said that “after Mr Heydon became aware it was a Liberal event he withdrew, after he became aware it was a Liberal badged event he withdrew.”
Heydon did not withdraw until 13 August 2015.
Lawyers for the ACTU on Monday flagged they may seek to have Heydon disqualify himself. On Monday afternoon Heydon said if they are instructed to go ahead with it they must lodge written submissions by Thursday afternoon for a hearing on Friday morning.
