Shorten grilled over donation to campaign

Bill Shorten. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Lukewarm in Parliament, floundering in the polls, outed as a backroom knifeman in a recent TV documentary, Bill Shorten needed to put on a dazzling performance at the royal commission into trade union corruption yesterday - and above all counter the perception he cannot be trusted.

So his much anticipated appearance before the inquiry could hardly have started more badly, with the Australian Opposition Leader forced to admit he failed to declare a A$40,000 ($44.654) company donation to his 2007 parliamentary campaign until a few days ago. It had been expected Shorten would be questioned mainly about potentially unsavoury deals struck with companies by the Australian Workers Union (AWU), which he led before entering Parliament. The revelation relating to the payment by a labour company, Unibuilt, was a bombshell.

The Labor leader corrected the oversight, he said, after spotting mention of it in royal commission documents while preparing to give evidence.

He rejected a suggestion by counsel assisting the commission, Jeremy Stoljar, that he had waited to see whether the donation - used to pay the salary of a campaign director for his tilt at the safe Labor seat of Maribyrnong - would emerge at the inquiry before disclosing it to the Australian Electoral Commission. Shorten's performance is being closely watched by the federal Government, which the Opposition has accused of waging an "A$80 million witch hunt" against Labor and the union movement.

However, Prime Minister Tony Abbott had troubles of his own yesterday, with his main rival, Malcolm Turnbull, giving a speech seemingly designed to distinguish himself as a moderate in the debate on counter-terrorism. Addressing the Sydney Institute on Tuesday night, the Communications Minister said it was important "not to overestimate" the threat posed by Isis [Islamic State]. That view is in marked contrast to Abbott's, with the Prime Minister calling Isis a "death cult" and warning Australians the group is "coming to get" them. Turnbull, who is believed still to nurture prime ministerial ambitions, has also voiced a less hysterical line on the ABC's decision to allow a one-time terrorism suspect, Zaky Mallah, into a live studio audience.

For Shorten, it was an uncomfortable day in the witness box. At the same time that he received the donation from Unibuilt, the commission heard in Melbourne, the AWU was negotiating an enterprise bargaining agreement with the company. Shorten, who led the union's Victorian branch before becoming national secretary, said he was not involved in those negotiations. He angrily dismissed a suggestion by Stoljar that he had used his position as national secretary "to gain an advantage for yourself, namely a full-time campaign worker".

The Labor leader was also asked about allegations the AWU struck a deal with a cleaning company, Cleanevent, which left workers paid wages below award levels. Shorten negotiated that agreement. His grilling will continue today.