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| publication bans = | litigation = | awards = | url = | blank_label = Commissioner | blank_data = | blank1_label = Inquiry period | blank1_data = | blank2_label = Constituting instrument | blank2_data = | blank3_label = | blank3_data = | website = | notes = }} The Health Services Union expenses affair was an Australian political scandal that concerned criminal activities associated with the financial affairs of the Health Services Union of Australia (HSU), between 2006 and 2007; and the Health Services Union "east branch" (HSUeast) between 2006 and 2011.〔 Following regulatory and administrative investigations, criminal trials and a subsequent appeal, on 15 December 2014 Craig Thomson, a former national secretary of the HSU and a former Labor politician, was found guilty in the Victorian County Court of thirteen charges of theft, and later convicted and fined 25,000.〔〔 Other charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception were dismissed on appeal. His conviction followed an appeal against a conviction and sentence in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on 25 March 2014 when Thomson was found guilty of 65 charges of fraud and theft for using Health Services Union funds for personal benefit; and sentenced to twelve months imprisonment, with nine months suspended over two years. Thomson was initially released on bail;〔〔〔〔 and the conviction and sentence subsequently overturned on appeal.〔〔 In October 2013, Michael Williamson, a former national president of the HSU, a former general secretary of HSUeast, and a former union and Labor right-wing factional power broker, pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud totaling nearly 1 million from HSUeast, one charge of fabricating invoices and another charge of recruiting others to hinder a police investigation. An earlier independent report commissioned by the union detailed that companies associated with Williamson and his family had allegedly fraudulently received more than $5 million from HSUeast in the period from 2006 to 2011.〔 In the NSW District Court in March 2014, Williamson was sentenced to sevenandahalf years of imprisonment; with a nonparole period of five years. civil proceedings against Thomson and Williamson were pending. == Background == The Health Services Union (HSU) was officially formed in 1991 by the amalgamation of the Hospital Employees' Federation (HEF) and the Health and Research Employees Association (HREA). The specialist trade union had around members working in all areas of healthcare across Australia as at 2013. The membership of the union includes doctors, nurses and allied health professionals such as physiotherapists and radiographers, ambulance officers, clerical and administrative staff, managers and support staff in the health and aged care sectors. The HSUeast branch, covering New South Wales, Victoria, ant the Australian Capital Territory, was controversially formed in 2010, following years of factional fighting between leadership teams from the HSU New South Wales, HSU Victorian No. 1 and No. 3 branches. Thomson started his career representing hospital and ambulance workers in New South Wales as an industrial officer for the HREA. He became head of the HREA Industrial Department. He was subsequently elected to the position of Assistant Secretary. In 2002, Thomson was elected as the national secretary of the HSU.〔 After a seemingly successful career in the union movement, Thomson was endorsed as Labor's candidate for the federal seat of Dobell on the NSW Central Coast and won the seat at the 2007 federal election.〔 He was re-elected as the Member for Dobell in 2010, representing Labor. Williamson rose to prominence as an official of the HSU, representing the interests of low-paid workers in the health sector in New South Wales and then Australia. Williamson was general secretary of HSU NSW branch, later to become HSUeast, serving in this role between 1997 until June 2012. He was elected as the inaugural national president of the union in 2003 until October 2011. During his term as national president he controversially merged the NSW and two Victorian branches of the union to create HSUeast.〔 He was elected as the national president of the Australian Labor Party, serving between 2009 and 2010; and was a vice president of NSW Labor. Williamson was also a vice president of Unions NSW until April 2012. He was a member of the national executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU);〔 a trustee of First State Super; and a non-executive director of SGE Credit Union, a credit union for NSW Government employees. Following Thomson's move into politics, his successor as national secretary was Kathy Jackson, a protege of Williamson.〔〔 Jackson rose through the ranks of the HSUeast branch and its predecessors in Victoria, and was aligned with Labor's moderate Unity faction. Jackson's former husband, Jeff Jackson, was general secretary of the Victorian branch of the HSU, that had been placed into administration in 2009 by the Federal Court after tensions between factional parties could not be resolved.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Health Services Union expenses affair」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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