And now to a story that did not make the front page-at least not in the Age and Sydney Morning Herald and was missing from many ABC TV primetime bulletins.

And this is a saga that shows The Australian in much better light.

We're talking of course about the union royal commission, which last week was one the biggest shows in town:

SANDRA SULLY: Tonight, in the hot seat, Julia Gillard's former boyfriend faces the music at the union's Royal Commission. — Channel Ten, Eyewitness News, 12th June, 2014

ADAM WALTERS: The former strong-man of the Australian Workers Union recently attacked a photographer but today he was targeted outside the Royal Commission into union corruption. MAN: That's what you've done, you took money from the worker. — Channel Seven, News, 12th June, 2014

The story has allegations of

Fraud.

Corruption.

Political slush funds.

And lying to a Royal Commission.

And tangled up in the middle of it is former Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, who in the 1990s was lover and lawyer to this man, Bruce Wilson.

He's a former boss of the Australian Workers Union in Victoria and a man who could be charged with fraud, according to counsel assisting the royal commission.

On Friday, Wilson's evidence to the commission was front page news in The Australian and the Telegraph.

But it was nowhere to be seen on the cover of these Fairfax papers.

And amazingly it was missing entirely from the previous evening's 7pm bulletins on ABC TV in Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin.

The day before, when evidence was given about wads of cash being handed to Ms Gillard to fund her home renovations ... ABC TV's 7pm bulletins in three of those capitals also failed to report the news.

While in Sydney it was down the bottom of the bulletin just before the sport.

The Australian's Hedley Thomas has been leading the charge on this story for a couple of years.

The ABC has done little and has long been accused of refusing to investigate.

And it was under attack again last week.

ANDREW BOLT: The ABC has run absolutely dead on the Julia Gillard slush fund scandal, absolutely dead. It's been not a story, it's been terrible. The rare time say, in Melbourne, the 774 presenter Jon Faine, has ever talked to reporters covering it , it has been to yell at them and heckle them ... — 2GB, Nights with Steve Price, 10th June, 2014

Up till now, perhaps, one might have given the ABC the benefit of the doubt.

But with sensational evidence being given under oath last week to a Royal Commission there is surely no justification for ignoring it.

And all states had a TV package they could have run on the 7pm News on both nights. Here's Thursday's from Rebecca Barrett:

REBECCA BARRETT: Mr Wilson told the inquiry he didn't pay for Julia Gillard's renovations in the early 1990s and can't recall paying anyone to deposit $5,000 into her account. INQUIRY QUESTIONER: You certainly don't deny it, do you? BRUCE WILSON: I just have no recollection of it. INQUIRY QUESTIONER: So it might've happened; you just can't remember one way or the other? BRUCE WILSON: Yes. — ABC News, 12th June, 2014

So how on earth did ABC news directors in four capital cities think this was not a story?

The ABC told Media Watch :

The 7pm news rundowns are not centrally controlled. We rely on the eight State and territory editorial teams to put together programs for their local audiences. We are comfortable with the breadth and depth of coverage given to the Royal Commission — Sally Jackson, Media Manager, ABC News and Current Affairs, 16th June, 2014

Well, we don't think that's good enough.

ABC Radio certainly covered the story extensively ... and so did 7.30

But this should have been a big story for the ABC's flagship 7PM bulletin. It has no excuse for not covering it.