Workplace Express
26 November 2008 1:58pm
Six days before the start of his trial for refusing to attend an ABCC interview, the Commonwealth DPP has dropped its charge against the CFMEU's (construction division) Victorian senior vice president Noel Washington.
The head of IR at Slater & Gordon, Marcus Clayton, who is representing Washington, confirmed to Workplace Express that he'd received a letter from the office of the CDPP this morning advising that it had withdrawn the charge.
He said the CDPP, as was typical in such circumstances, did not give reasons for its decision.
Washington was facing a possible six months jail for allegedly breaching s52 of the BCII Act, and the union's national secretary Dave Noonan received the news while marching to Parliament House in Canberra as part of series of nationwide protests coinciding with the trial, which was set down in the Melbourne Magistrates Court for Tuesday and Wednesday. He announced it to cheering building workers.
The charging of Washington had become a flashpoint for the strained relationship between the union movement and the ALP over the Government's decision to keep the ABCC and BCII Act until January, 2010.
The VTHC secretary Brian Boyd predicted a turn-out of 30,000-to-40,000 at next week's planned Melbourne rally alone.
Noonan said it was too early to decide whether next week's protests would go ahead, though the unions' Rights on Site campaign would continue until the ABCC and BCII Act were gone.
Slater & Gordon's Clayton told Workplace Express that he could "only speculate" why the CDPP had withdrawn the charge six days before the trial.
He said Washington's counsel, Robert Richter QC, had told the court that he would argue that the prosecution was an abuse of process, and that the ABCC's former deputy Nigel Hadgkiss would be required to attend to give evidence.
Asked whether the dropping of the charges would encourage more people to breach the BCII Act, the CFMEU's Noonan said that "bad laws would be broken". With more than 100 people already "dragged" to appear before the ABCC, there could be more who decided that the principle of fighting unjust laws outweighed the prospect of jail, he said.
Washington was the first person to be charged under s52 of the BCII Act.
26 November 2008 1:58pm
Six days before the start of his trial for refusing to attend an ABCC interview, the Commonwealth DPP has dropped its charge against the CFMEU's (construction division) Victorian senior vice president Noel Washington.
The head of IR at Slater & Gordon, Marcus Clayton, who is representing Washington, confirmed to Workplace Express that he'd received a letter from the office of the CDPP this morning advising that it had withdrawn the charge.
He said the CDPP, as was typical in such circumstances, did not give reasons for its decision.
Washington was facing a possible six months jail for allegedly breaching s52 of the BCII Act, and the union's national secretary Dave Noonan received the news while marching to Parliament House in Canberra as part of series of nationwide protests coinciding with the trial, which was set down in the Melbourne Magistrates Court for Tuesday and Wednesday. He announced it to cheering building workers.
The charging of Washington had become a flashpoint for the strained relationship between the union movement and the ALP over the Government's decision to keep the ABCC and BCII Act until January, 2010.
The VTHC secretary Brian Boyd predicted a turn-out of 30,000-to-40,000 at next week's planned Melbourne rally alone.
Noonan said it was too early to decide whether next week's protests would go ahead, though the unions' Rights on Site campaign would continue until the ABCC and BCII Act were gone.
Slater & Gordon's Clayton told Workplace Express that he could "only speculate" why the CDPP had withdrawn the charge six days before the trial.
He said Washington's counsel, Robert Richter QC, had told the court that he would argue that the prosecution was an abuse of process, and that the ABCC's former deputy Nigel Hadgkiss would be required to attend to give evidence.
Asked whether the dropping of the charges would encourage more people to breach the BCII Act, the CFMEU's Noonan said that "bad laws would be broken". With more than 100 people already "dragged" to appear before the ABCC, there could be more who decided that the principle of fighting unjust laws outweighed the prospect of jail, he said.
Washington was the first person to be charged under s52 of the BCII Act.
