On Tuesday I wrote an article on Kathy Jacksons continuing attempts to delay Federal Court proceedings by once again failing to show up for court.
Jackson failed to front Federal Court yet again to as she is currently in hospital for psychological treatment according to her lawyer Philip Beazley.
Whilst I do not like to make light of mental illness, this all seems frighteningly convenient and there isn’t a lot of people buying the Kathy Jackson version of the truth any more.
In fact in many of the comments on my previous articles on Jackson many have predicted that she may attempt to claim a mental illness to seek criminal convictions. I can also tell you that the feeling amongst most in the media room from the main stream media on the day she was due to make her first appearance was that she would claim to be in a psychological facility.
Mr Beazley claimed that Jackson was not in a fit condition to provide him with legal direction. However the affidavit he produced himself seemed to contradict that claim.
Firstly Beazley seemed to have secured enough legal direction to produce an affidavit with claims of death threats and a suicide attempt that in my view is highly unlikely given her behaviour of attention seeking at the time which was based around the time she was pointing the finger at Craig Thomson.
Also in the affidavit were claims to put before the court of breaches of process, claims that one would assume Beazley had been provided with direction to pursue. Who was providing Beazley with these directions if not Kathy Jackson?
Justice Tracey has suppressed much of the affidavit from publication.
It would be interesting to see what has been suppressed as it may contain even more legal directions from a client who is supposed to be too ill to provide direction.
Jackson shows the strain of struggling with stress… and shopping
If Jackson is indeed ill, I hope she recovers quickly, certainly before her case resumes in court again. After all this matter has dragged out for more than 18 months and now we see what is yet another breach of court orders in what appear to be desperate attempt to delay the inevitable.
If she is, as most suspect, making claim of a mental health condition for self-preservation, then this is doing a monumental disservice to those who suffer from mental health issues. If this is the case it is made even more shocking by the fact that she is from the health industry.
Acting for the HSU National Office, Mark Irving rightly complained that it was
“quite extraordinary and unacceptable behaviour”
to have had a statement from a doctor for two weeks prior to dumping it on the court at the last-minute.
So let’s think about this doctor’s statement that was available well before everybody wasted their time and money travelling to court, some from interstate.
It is a doctor’s report that was written on the 20th September, and claims that Jackson is an inpatient and would be in no condition to appear before a court.
Sources claim that the report itself, which has been suppressed, is vague and the only thing it seems to be specific about is when Jackson is expected to be well again, which it claims will be 15th January 2015, giving Jackson’s lawyer a reason to attempt to delay proceedings until February 2015.
That is a remarkably precise prediction from a doctor that seemed so vague regarding her actual condition in his statement that it has resulted in the Courts call for a signed affidavit from him. Just how does one put a time frame on a mental health condition? After all it’s not like the flu.
So what is the significance of the 15th January?
When the doctors report was written there was no dubious extension to the Trade Union Royal Commission reported. Back then it was thought that the Royal Commission would have been over two weeks prior to the 15th January 2015.
Considering that there are further sections of HSU Acting National Secretary Chris Brown’s witness statement that are still suppressed that Jackson has sought to avoid cross-examination on, having a doctor claiming illness until the Commission is complete would be rather convenient.
There is also the matter of the $600K worth of improper credit card spending that has been made public since she last appeared before the Commission. This could have possibly seen Jackson subpoenaed to reappear once again, if it weren’t for a handy doctor’s report.
Justice Tracey referred to Jacksons breaches of court orders as inexcusable stating
“I am conscious of the many inexcusable failures to comply with the court’s orders. It’s a matter that I have taken very seriously,”
The court is now seeking the aforementioned affidavit from Kathy Jackson’s doctor before the matter is before the court once again on the 5th November. Justice Tracey has expressed the need to see a sworn affidavit from Jackson’s doctor rather than just a statement. This could see Jackson’s doctor facing questions regarding his diagnosis on the witness stand.
Jackson is using every trick in the book to avoid being held to account for her actions.
Another example is her letter to Tony Abbott in July, linked below. Most dismissed this as just another rant to grab some positive media spotlight by trying to say she was still attempting to clean up the union. However there is the view that there may be a more sinister motive.
If the HSU was deregistered it would then cease to exist. What this would mean is there would be no union to seek civil damages from Jackson for her crimes, and no union to push for criminal investigations into her time at the union. Jackson may be basically using this as a last-ditch effort to pick up a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card.
To Kathy….. Love Tony and Eric xx
From Abetz’s response it would seem that Jackson’s wishes would be granted if the government can be seen to be acting on a recommendation of the Royal Commission.
However, deregistering the union would seem to be a rather drastic action for very little when we look into it, as most of the branches of the HSU are running smoothly and completely hassle free.
There are some ongoing issues with the Number 1 Branch which still has some factional infighting going on, however the members are currently being looked after far better now than they were with the Jackson/Bolano team running the show at the branch.
Kathy Jackson it should be remembered was involved in two branches, HSU East which was shut down and put into administration making it no longer a concern, and the Number 3 Branch which has gone forward in leaps and bounds since the non-factional Craig McGregor became Secretary.
Jacksons two pages of non-specific waffle that many suspect were written by her partner, the Tony Abbott appointed fair Work Commission VP Michael Lawler, offer nothing in terms of evidence to support the action that the letter seeks, nor has anything of note been exposed by the Royal Commission aside from Jacksons own alleged widespread fraudulent activity.
Personally I can’t see Tony Abbott or Eric Abetz being willing to stick their necks out so far as to grant this favour to save Kathy Jackson, nor can I see the Royal Commission seeking to have further questions raised over its integrity by recommending the HSU be deregistered.
That would be seen by many as corruption at the highest levels.
Kathy Jackson wants us to do what?
For those who may be concerned about Jackson’s mental status, there is hope. Despite being apparently unable to provide legal instructions to a lawyer, she has been able to summon the ability to file a claim for Workers Compensation.
It was reported in The Australian by Pia Ackerman and Brad Norington, who has been leading the way in main stream media coverage of the HSU matters, that the claim is for 80% of her last salary which was when she was Executive President of HSU East, before that branch of the union was shut down by a Federal Court and an administrator appointed. This could see Jackson collect approximately $230K per annum in compensation.
Jackson, it seems, has suddenly two years later decided that there is a buck to be had in a workers comp claim. Perhaps spurred on by the claim made by her right hand man Marco Bolano who has been living on the workers comp gravy train since early last year, proving once and for all that being seemingly unemployable can also be rather profitable.
Just like Jacksons new claims Bolano’s are also related to mental health related to stress.
Bolano you may remember was apparently so incapacitated that he was able to fly back and forth between Sydney and Melbourne, do numerous press interviews, appear at a Royal Commission, and attempt to physically intimidate members of the press and witnesses at the Royal Commission into exactly that kind of behaviour by union officials.
For those who are suffering from stress and are seeking help rather than profit, please follow these links to contact Lifeline or perhaps Beyond Blue for support.
For those who think that Jackson should now be treated with kid gloves, consider comparing her plight with that of Craig Thomson.
When Craig Thomson made his parliamentary address there were many who spoke publicly of their concern for his mental health. Kathy Jackson was not one of those, instead she continued to attack him like a demented Rottweiler.
Thomson never once tried to use mental health as a defence and instead chose to fight the allegations and continues to do so with his matter currently on appeal.
On the other hand we have Kathy Jackson whom virtually everybody who has followed the case believes is not really ill and who rather than fight allegations against her has used all manner of excuses to avoid scrutiny. We have seen numerous breaches of Federal Court orders, we have seen the Royal Commission accused of an ambush as she flees the witness stand, we have seen her throw up her past sex life just to avoid cross-examination, and now the mental health claim.
Kathy Jackson is making a mockery of the legal system in this country, and it’s about time someone had the guts to end it.
At want point do the members have justice?
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I am furious that Ms. Jackson has resorted to such appalling tactics in order to avoid prosecution.
I suffer from mental illness (a diagnosis that remains active). Her behaviour does little to advance the cause of getting proper recognition for the plight of those who suffer real mental illness. Rather, it further stigmatises it as a entity – exploited by charlatans for personal gain, thus demeaning it’s significance as an issue in the community.
Jackson’s behaviour serves only to further isolate those of us who battle every single day against this insidious disease.
If Kathy Jackson is mentally ill, then Mile Cyrus must be a Jehovas Witness.
Compo? When I worked for a state workers’ comp outfit, anyone who was warm and breathing was hounded into taking any feasible job. The way they treated injured workers was so bad that I could no longer be part of it and resigned. I can’t imagine how Bolano can still be on compo and swanning around looking so on top of everything.
This is a test of our legal system. As soon as the first article was published about her illness, everyone knew the path this would take.
If this works, then what does it mean? Will all and sundry just walk off into the sunset thinking ‘Oh well’, we tried and there is nothing we can do and no matter what we try, it will fail or be too expensive or will the fight continue or can it continue?
The members need to make a decision. Someone with a high profile should put pressure on and ask why, if everything gets shut down or if it looks like going down that path.
Craig Thomson being charged, found guilty (Which is BS) and hopefully wins his appeal was the main target to bring down the government. If anyone could keep it running, it could be him, but I doubt he would considering what the MSM did to him and how they would turn it around.
He could front the media and demand an investigation, put questions, pressure people. After the media conference, then just walk off and not answer questions or only answer questions he wants.
We can’t let this stop, if it does then there should be outrage from all & especially the HSU members. They should rally in the streets and demand justice.
LLL, it usually depends where you are on the economic tree. Like everything in life, it’s not what you know, it’s who.
A study should be done on how many crimes have had ‘mental illness’ as a defence? Then look at who had money? Who knew whom? and who didn’t.
It believe the statistics would be very revealing on who got off, got a slap on the wrist, was either refused the defence or got a serious jail term.
I know quite a few politicians over the years have claimed this ‘Mental illness’ defence and walked away.
I don’t want to disrespect anyone. Mental illness is a serious issue and people should be supported as much as possible, but to see it used by so many in high places when all of a sudden they’ve been found to being caught up in something is an outright disgrace.
Well banistersmind,I`m beside you there in your thinking with only one addition
Since when one is being “calculating” been a mental health disorder?
Your Cyrus/JW analogy is unbeatable though.
You are absolutely correct on every detail, Peter. Jackson and her partner Michael Lawler continue to destroy the credibility of Australian legal processes. There is no doubt that she is being protected by powerful people with a vested interest in flouting the law. Not only has she stolen large sums from the HSU for her personal gain, but she has cost the taxpayers millions of dollars more when you consider the expense of the fraudulent Fair Work investigation of Craig Thomson and the the time and money spent by the police forces of two states in actions taken against him. Add to that the cost in time and money of the mainstream media in its extraordinarily superficial so-called “investigations” of Thomson and their constant persecution of him for over 5 years.
It is time for mainstream journalists to examine the contradictions in the case against Thomson, re-evaluate his speech to Parliament in 2012 and apologise for their errors in believing Jackson’s false allegations in the first place. The mainstream media have consistently tied Thomson to Williamson despite clear evidence that they parted company on moral issues long ago. The case against him has been built on false allegations and the repetition of what are clearly demonstrable lies by the media.
Peter, your own impeccable investigative work on this case over many years has produced documentary evidence of Jackson’s guilt, Lawler’s corrupt behaviour and the strong likelihood that Thomson is innocent of the allegations made against him. The Sydney Morning Herald has never explained how what they printed as a facsimile of Thomson’s credit card statement came to have his name spelled incorrectly. There is something drastically wrong with the Australian media when it ignores clear evidence of one person’s crimes and keeps on repeating what are obviously egregious errors about the alleged guilt of another.
This whole case raises issues about the conduct of the media and the law itself.
As a sufferer of mental illness for over 35 years (as a survivor of CSA) I am completely appalled by the behaviour of this woman. I am not saying it is totally impossible she is suffering from MI, but it seems highly unlikely. Her behaviour appears extraordinarily calculated and the MI all too convenient.
Many people with a genuine mental illness strive to do “the right thing” and face the consequences of their behaviour, even when their illness (such as DID) means it is not possible for them to be aware of the crime.
Apparently MS Jackson is one of the LNP’s “lifters” though – if our PM’s “heroine” comment is anything to go by? Does this mean they suggest we emulate such “heroic” behaviour? Perhaps they meant “lifting” from those less well-off? M.Scott Peck had a different word for this sort of thing in “People of the Lie”, he called it evil.
What MS Jackson’s dishing up at the moment is only adding to the significant, and sometimes unbearable, level of misunderstanding and stigma that MI sufferers must deal with in their daily lives.
I suppose being a greedy lying bitch could be called mental illness but I doubt it.
My understanding of the law relating to mental illness as a defence against prosecution, and it may be incorrect, is that it would have to be shown that the mental illness existed at the time the offences were committed. I haven’t seen claims by Kathy Jackson that she was mentally ill between 2004 to 2011. She was admitted I think in 2012, but this appears to have been related to the acute stress she was labouring under at the time she went to the police. I think it would be very difficult to claim mental illness during the time period I mentioned. There will be no medical record of it, nor contemporaneous concerns expressed by colleagues. So, I think that she can and will be charged for offences that have been committed in this time frame. One thing we do have LOTS of press records for are Kathy’s state of mind during the 2012 onwards period. None of them suggest an individual with a thought disorder or psychosis. As well, there are the transcripts of her TURC appearances which again do not show an individual suffering psychosis. And you pretty much have to be psychotic to get “out of jail free” as you say, except you usually wind up in a mental institution. If you’re not really psychotic doctors won’t want you there. Suffering acute anxiety and depressed mood are not enough to keep you out of court (as the cases of Michael Williamson and Peter Slipper have shown).
There is no doubt that her behaviour particularly at the last tranche of hearings was unedifying and aggressive, but this only reveals her baseline personality under stress, and not evidence of a serious mental illness.
I think those showing concern that she will get off on the basis of mental health issues need to have more confidence in the fact that the psychiatric profession and law enforcement agencies know full well how those seeking to desperately avoid sanction will behave, and this is why Justice Tracey has insisted on sworn affidavits from treating doctors. Yes she will try all outs, of course, but I don’t believe it will work.
Michael Lawler may well be calling all favours in, (he may have potent reasons of his own so to do, but seems to be in a world of trouble himself) but I believe Justice Heydon has demonstrated himself to be a man who will not brook judicial interference.
I’d say the LNP have been workshopping how to spin the coming PR disaster for some time. It will be exercising quite a few minds who want to remain free of allegations of corrupt processes, considering what has been happening to the LNP at ICAC in NSW.
Further to my last post those interested might like to read the following link. It is useful to understanding how mental illness intersects with the legal system.
http://www.lawhandbook.org.au/handbook/ch03s01s04.php
Well im nuts and never have Done anything like Jackson has.
Cathy should be locked up for contempt of court as well as her legal representive.
Who should know better .
All the people she has caused to be blamed for simular miss deeds should be let off now and be paid massive compensation for the trouble caused by an aledged mad woman as she is claiming to be .
Disgusting person. She has no shame
Hi Duchy, thanks for the explanation and the link, great info.
In regard to Jacksons letter to the Pm and A/G, is it possible that she may have some sort of disociative disorder, as in the way she refers to all the crooks and corrupt activity, not including herself in any way.
I knew a woman who acted that way and suffered from that disorder. Cheers.
Russ, I haven’t seen any evidence that she was dissociating, but I think she has some pretty unhelpful personality traits. One is arrogance that she thinks she is able to avoid sanction by influencing powerful others, and this trait is bound up in her manipulative behaviour. She seems to have an overdeveloped sense of entitlement, to the detriment of others. It will be interesting to see what her doctor’s affidavit will say (possibly only portions will be revealed, unless the doctor/s are cross examined), but it is worth noting that there is a difference between psychosis and personality disorders. Of course personality disordered individuals, even normal individuals, can still have acute psychotic episodes, especially under stress and if they are using illicit substances, which is commonly seen by all accounts. But psychotic episodes are treatable and often self limiting in any case.
My premise is that Kathy Jackson had an intact enough personality to function for many years as a Union branch secretary, so it is unlikely she would have been affected by a serious mental illness at the time the alleged offences occurred. Her mental health issues seem to have been brought on by the acute anxiety of being involved in the corruption of HSU, the imminent exposure of this that was starting from 2010 onwards by others, and her taking the gamble that joining the “whistleblowing ” fray would somehow help to get her off her own wrongdoing. It was a pretty big gamble, but stealing is stealing, it is wrong, and the pattern of her behaviour was repeated and entrenched. Her emails/statements to the TURC show clearly she understood that stealing is wrong, as she showed extreme concern that she would be viewed as a hypocrite (her own words). She knew she did the wrong thing, that’s why she feared exposure and resorted to the bad behaviour she did (attacking lawyers, the judiciary, reporters) then tried all other avenues by avoiding presenting to court. She knows what’s coming and I’d say she is very stressed at the moment, as anyone in her position would be, and probably is better off for her own safety to be in a mental health unit, because she may well be at risk of suicide, at least in the short term. I imagine it would be pretty difficult for her lawyers to be getting any sense out of her at the moment, especially if she is still in complete denial of the problems she is facing.
One of fascinating things about watching her appearances at TURC and reading the transcripts, as well as the emails, is the amount of evidence it provides about her mens rhea and her maladaptive coping mechanisms. We don’t often get to see this so clearly as members of the public. But her public downfall from her stated position of innocence was also a gamble she took, so she will have to come to terms with that as well.
I feel sure her doctors will be trying to resolve her acute anxiety for her. In the end facing the music and putting it behind her is the only way she can move on.
Cathy Jackson Should have a guardian appointed for her by the Guardianship board of the Mental health unit to represent her in the court room as medical evidence of her aledged psychosis and causes her sanity at the time and if unable to go to jail over her condition a term of sentence should be served in a mental facility. If she proves to be normal ? then the maxim term of jailing for her actions be used as a deterrent to other fraudsters.
I wonder how long it will take Michael Lawler to don the life jacket and jump for his life?Then we will see her wheels falling of in quick order, I’m surprised she has not fled back to Greece yet
Duchy, Thanks for the excellent reply, psychology fascinates me.
What do you make of her exposing the Barrister as a former conquest and ‘charity shag’?
Was that just an attempt to emasculate him legally, exert her dominance etc, or more an attempt to soften his line of cross examination?
If it wasn’t just an attempt to avoid robust examination, could she have been implicitly putting all of the other “notches on her bedpost”, on notice that she would expose anyone else who didn’t toe her line.
She certainly appears to be a protected species in legal terms, I cant think of any case in living memory where the defendant choreographed the court case as she has been able to thus far.
Russ, I don’t know what goes on in Kathy Jackson’s mind, but the “charity shag” affidavit, her behaviour in cross examination by Mr Irving, and her speech outside afterwards suggests she wasn’t really that disturbed about the affair of 20 years ago, but was just trying to avoid a cross examination that she knew would be revealing and damaging.
To resort to such a tactic shows lack of insight into how the legal system works. Justice Heydon handled the situation with aplomb. There was a childishness to the tactic that raises serious questions about her own self image, and her view of what others find acceptable behaviour. It was destined to do her more harm in the eyes of the court of public opinion. It is surprising that her legal advisors allowed her to proceed with it, but I guess they take instructions, and I imagine from her public utterances that she could be a pretty robust client. That might explain why she has been through so many lawyers, many would not be able to continue in such a relationship.
Truly well developed adult personalities face up to their responsibilities. It is child like behaviour to lie, obfuscate, blame others unfairly, and take other people’s belongings. These aspects of her personality to me suggest she has not fully made that transformation from child to adult. And I suspect these are deeply ingrained personality flaws that will not be correctable at her late stage of physical adult life. Which of course will lead her, and those close to her, to continue to suffer personal distress. I feel terribly sorry for the unhappiness and embarrassment her children in particular must be facing seeing all these details aired.
It’s all rather sad, really, for those of us who like to see people flourish happily together in a harmonious and respectful way.
Duchy, Thanks again for the information, it truly fascinates me how peoples minds work.
I agree that it it really is quite sad, but my true sympathy goes to Craig Thomson and his family.
No matter what happens to Jackson, even if she admits deliberately stealing and lieing, in the court of public opinion, noone can unring the gong against Craig.
People cant ‘unhear’ things and no matter how stupid, some people will remain convinced that Craig was the crook and Kathy was Saint like, amazing really.
For some reason this statement reminds me of some other people currently in “public life”.
I find that a little disturbing.
All this psychoanalysis is out of place. Obviously her only mental illness is extreme anxiety at the thought that she’ll be off the gravy train and exposed for the crook and liar she is. The only treatment she’s entitled to is a long rest in the slammer.
Lefty, It may well be out of place, but she sure is a complex beast. To me, she seems to live in a parallel universe, causing the endless vilification and excoriation of Craig Thomson over alleged, minor salary padding, whilst she was ‘going for the doctor’ on the Unions accounts, 100 times the amount she alleges Craig used.
I agree she should get a room without a view, but I’m guessing there are a lot of ‘charity cases’ in high places who want to keep her quiet.
I cant wait for the next chapter of this saga. Under Crooked Tonys’ new system, she get a knighthood, for services to charity, who knows.
You could well be right, Lefty, but my hunch is that she started pilfering and getting away with small amounts and, finding it easy enough, she went on to bigger amounts until it was blatant big theft and fraud, by which time she was in a parallel universe with admirers and supporters in very high places who seemed to provide bullet-proof protection. Like the gambler who starts taking a few bucks from the till and ends up cooking the books for hundreds of thousands.
Amendment to last comment – should be addressed to Russ – as much as I’m delighted to be called Lefty, I’m not used to it 🙂
Cheers LeftLeaningLifter,
I was just being economical with my typing. The libs have introduced a tax on wasted letters.
When Jackson does get to the bluestone College, My tip is, shell throw her leg over all the officers , assett strip the prison budget and turn the recreation room into a red turbo spa.
Any takers?