Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie says FWC expert panel member Tim Harcourt is still playing politics despite being counselled by tribunal president Iain Ross that some of his public comments are inconsistent with the Commission's code of conduct.
Kathy Jackson's lawyer has succeeded in staving off the HSU's bid for a $700,000 summary judgment against her for now, with the Federal Court ordering him to provide more medical evidence of her condition.
The Fair Work Commission has held that a Victorian water authority made a "further claim" that contravened its enterprise agreement when it removed a policy providing for employees' personal use of its cars.
The HSU has told the Federal Court that bank records it has obtained while pursuing its $700,000 civil claims against national secretary Kathy Jackson reveal that she has incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional unauthorised spending, but the union might allow "other authorities" to pursue the sums on its behalf.
The impact on public sector bargaining of the implied constitutional limitation on Commonwealth interference with state governments is still not well enough understood, according to long-serving CPSU Victoria secretary Karen Batt.
The Fair Work Commission has granted right of entry permits to a union branch secretary who initially failed to disclose that his previous one had been suspended for three months after an altercation with a union member, and to an organiser who visited 90 sites after his last permit expired.
A Federal Circuit Court judge has slammed a barrister who said she was too "busy" to file written submissions in an adverse action case, criticising her conduct as "contemptuous" of his orders and "discourteous" to the court. He also said her involvement in another case might require investigation by "relevant authorities".
