Roc chief was not politically motivated in probe into union donations to GetUp, court told

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A lawyer for a federal watchdog defending the legality of an investigation into Australian Workers Union donations has argued there is “no smoking gun” amid claims of political motivation.

A legal challenge was due to wrap up in the federal court in Melbourne on Friday with lawyers from the Registered Organisations Commission (Roc) and the union outlining their closing arguments over six hours.

The union has sought to quash the Roc’s investigation, arguing it was politically motivated and unlawful.

It cited the decision by members of then-employment minister Michaelia Cash’s staff to leak news of impeding raids to the media.

The commission’s investigation was prompted by Cash’s referral concerning donations made to GetUp in 2006 and 2007 when the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, was the union’s national secretary.

The union’s lawyer Herman Borenstein QC urged Justice Mordecai Bromberg to find that the commission never had the power to investigate the donations.

He argued that when the commission was set up it was not given express powers to review historical matters.

Borenstein said the Roc’s executive director Chris Enright could not have been satisfied there were reasonable grounds to launch the investigation.

The commission’s lawyer, Frank Parry SC, argued there was “no smoking gun” that impugned the motives of Enright.

He criticised the union’s arguments: “Allegations that a member of the public service has responded as Mr Enright has by engaging in behaviour [such as] ... lying to his superiors and commencing a politically motivated investigation apparently to keep minister Cash happy, are very serious allegations,” he said.

The case had appeared to be “since day one, about impugning Mr Enright”, he said.

Parry said Enright’s phone call to the minister’s office, in August 2017 was “unremarkable” and not in keeping with some “broad conspiracy theory”.

The hearing was told the employment department had actually suggested he contact the minister’s office.

Cash, who was later demoted to the small business portfolio amid controversy about the raid leak, denied in court she wrote to the Roc in a bid to damage Shorten, saying she was concerned about the potential misuse of union funds.

Senate estimates hearings in February heard that the taxpayer-funded legal bills for Cash and the commission have already topped $800,000.