Illustration: Ron Tandberg. In an interview with Fairfax Media, Senator Abetz said his office had received information from union officials about corruption and dubious dealings. Some even contacted his office to welcome the royal commission, he said. ''Some trade union officials have sent emails that express their concern but, might I add, some are also fully supportive and are basically of the view that this will help rehabilitate the reputation of the trade union movement.'' Labor and union sources also confirmed that well-known figures within the movement have either provided information already, or were seeking to talk to the government. Notable among them are figures immersed in the ongoing controversy around the disgraced Health Services Union (HSU). People connected to other unions have privately told Fairfax Media that they will testify to the royal commission if called.

The willingness of former comrades to open up about the darker corners of the movement is in sharp contrast to the Howard government's Cole royal commission in the early 2000s that probed the building unions and industry. Supporters of the Cole inquiry complained of a ''code of silence'' from union officials and activists. The labour movement, with its emphasis on collectivism, traditionally takes a dim view of people who show what they regard as disloyalty, dubbing them ''rats''. While corruption in the building industry is an important focus, the scope of the new inquiry is much broader. It specifically targets five Labor-linked unions at a time when the ALP - the Victorian right in particular - is splintered and racked with factional infighting, including the HSU. It will also probe slush funds linked to those unions, as well as corruption. Critics, including opposition workplace spokesman Brendan O'Connor, have slammed the inquiry as an abuse of process and a ''witch hunt''. ''This is a government using, disproportionately, the powers and resources of the state to attack the alternative government party. That is to me an absolutely unconscionable act by a government.

''To think of all the challenges we have in this nation, to use millions and millions and millions of taxpayers' dollars to use the state in this way to attack its political opponents is frankly outrageous.'' But some union figures have welcomed it, including engineers union head Steve Purvinas who has called for a ban on slush funds. Senator Abetz said some union figures had provided ''confidential information'' on allegedly corrupt and questionable dealings. ''The view from officials who got in touch,'' he said, ''was that there needs to be genuine review for them to move forward.'' Health Services Union leader Kathy Jackson was ostracised by her former comrades after highlighting concerns about corruption in the HSU that led to convictions against former leaders of the union Craig Thomson and Michael Williamson, a former ALP president. Ms Jackson, a former senior figure in the ALP, said she was preparing documents for the royal commission.

She said at the HSU ''people have not learnt from their mistakes'' and the malaise was not confined to the criminal activities of Thomson and Williamson. But Fairfax Media is also aware that the new leadership of the HSU, which is aligned with Labor leader Bill Shorten, is keen to put its case to the government ahead of the commission. The five unions in the terms of reference all have strong links to the Labor Party. Most are part of the party's right-wing faction, the dominant group and the source of most of its MPs, including Mr Shorten. Before entering Parliament Mr Shorten headed the Australian Workers Union.