History will record that the largest criminal organisation in Australia was protected by the first woman prime minister of Australia. This is going to be a big month for Julia Gillard's reputation. Starting as early as Tuesday, she is likely to be called as a witness by the Royal Commission into Union Corruption. Then, on September 24, her political memoir will be launched.

Was Gillard a success or failure as prime minister? Many, perhaps most, Australians have already have made up their minds. Many would think that by becoming the first woman to reach the leadership, and forming a government that survived three years, she made history and is by definition is a success. But there is a big difference between history and success. The accumulation of facts – as distinct from mere opinions or gender solidarity – is not going Gillard's way.

Illustration: Simon Bosch

The factual tide is flowing against her. Gillard's name will always be associated with the word "fraud". Frauds committed not by her but by others she supported. There is also a direct correlation between Gillard's actions as PM and the brazen contempt for law that has broken out across the construction industry, with national economic ramifications. Disruptions such as those on the Barangaroo building site in Sydney last week, which included a young woman being described by a CFMEU official, using a loud hailer, as "a f***ing slut* because, as a staff member of the Fair Work Building Commission, she had dared to come onto the building site. Or the "accidental" fire that shut down the Barangaroo site. Or the organised crime group that infiltrated the project.

The Gillard flow-on is evidenced by the 150 active investigations of fraud, intimidation and criminality currently under way, with the majority directed at the CFMEU. It is evidenced by the use of "safety" by CFMEU official to go onto building sites to extract funds from workers. (One CFMEU official even took an EFTPOS machine while on a "safety" inspection.) It is evidenced by the flying squads of CFMEU goons who go into cities, mock the police – who are deserving of mockery – and shut down dozens of building sites in a display of power. It is evidenced by the collusion of big companies with the CFMEU to pad the cost of major infrastructure and building projects.