Yesterday in Federal Court the HSU sought to have a legal guardian to manage Kathy Jackson’s affairs given she claims to be unable to provide legal instruction to her lawyers.
Her inability to advise her lawyers is due to the sudden mental health crisis that has come on at the pointy end of the civil case that may see her have to pay back $1.4 Million she is alleged to have fleeced off some of the nation’s lowest paid workers.
The union has understandable concerns that after 18 breaches of the courts orders so far that this is yet another delay tactic. There are also concerns that Jackson may be seeking to sell her multi-million dollar property in order to have the money shifted to a trust account to avoid the members being able to retrieve it from her. After all this is the woman whom the Royal Commission Counsel Assisting has alleged acquired $250K from a cancer research centre via deceptive means.
Justice Tracey rejected the application to have a guardian appointed by the court and after hearing details of Jackson’s condition which have been suppressed from publication.
The matter has been adjourned until the 6th February although there will be another court mention on the 20th January for an update on Jackson’s state of mental health.
Should be better by January
One thing that Jackson’s doctor Associate Professor Irwin Pakula wanted to make clear is that Jackson was on medication that made her drowsy and there are “stressors” that make her situation worse, such as legal matters. You know, little things like $1.4 Million civil cases, and criminal investigations related to false claims and cancer research facilities that could see one face a 10 year jail sentence.
Jackson’s Barrister, David Pritchard quickly tried to shut down any discussion regarding the selling of Jackson’s property claiming it was irrelevant and that
“people sell houses all the time”
That they do Mr Pritchard, however another well-known fact surrounding the sale of a property is that it involves lawyers.
Any sale of Jackson’s property will mean she has engaged with a lawyer and been able to give legal direction I would have thought.
Therefore if this is the case then I would assume criminal cases could be mounted for perjury, contempt of court, and giving false evidence if her property is indeed sold.
I would also think that if this were to occur that Pakula’s evidence might face tight scrutiny.
Despite Jackson’s apparent frail and heavily medicated state witnesses have come to me claiming to have seen Kathy Jackson in a South Coast shopping centre getting a pedicure last week. She was allegedly seen looking in shop windows with the foam spacers between her new hot pink toenails and not a care in the world.
Best foot forward or foot in mouth?
I would assume that someone in such a frail state should be under supervision. Despite Jackson being a “voluntary patient” I would have assumed that South Coast Private would have a duty of care. As part of that duty of care I would have assumed someone in a mental state such as that which is being described in court would not be able to wander the streets or be in a mental state to conduct financial transactions, or even have control of their finances given they claim to be unable to advise a lawyer.
If these witness claims are true would seem that the things Jackson’s alleged mental state allows her to have control over are also strangely convenient.
I am Jack’s complete lack of surprise… (shameless Fight Club reference)
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I have visions of KJ going to Greece to attend the bedside of a very ill family member or the funeral of a close family member. Even though she buys a return ticket, she never returns to Australia.
Slightly off topic, it’s a pity the Chaser’s Media Circus last night joked about Craig Thomson (credit cards, prostitutes etc.), including things which are not true.
Also, Kathy Jackson’s Wikipedia entry needs updating – I find it rather heavy on Craig Thomson and somewhat light on KJ herself. And no mention at all of Wixxyleaks – amazing!
One cannot put off the inevitable for ever. One can only wonder at the police and judicial system in some states.
“… there are “stressors” that make her situation worse, such as legal matters.”
Really? She didn’t seem very stressed when she appeared at the Craig Thomson trial in Melbourne. Especially when she held hands with a deaf QC and led him out of the court
Which reminds me: under oath, she named a dollar figure to that court with regards to the total value of cheques she has written and authorised. That number isn’t the same number at contention at present.
Oh, my.
I’m still convinced she will get away with it all. Judges and Lawyers can empathise with and relate to white-collar criminals; they are fellow-travellers after all. It’s sickening to see this excuse for a human continue to rort the system, and do it without a shred of remorse. Jackson is a symbol for everything that’s nasty, corrupt and arrogant in Australia, particularly since Abbott has come to power. I despair…I really do. But….keep up the excellent work, Wixxy.
Imagine the outcry, if this was Craig Thomson, or even Gillard. Is there any figures available re number of cases that are put on hold with a doctors certificate, claiming ill health.
Did not work with Slipper. even though receiving treatment for mental illness was force to attend court. I believe he was told. allowance wold be made, but case had to proceed.
Why didn’t the judge ask for an independent analysis of her condition?
bet the union gets closed down before any further action is taken. If this occurs, the members should protest outside parliament and the FWC and demand justice. Maintain the rage.
Yes, I believe Kathy is still calling for the branch to be deregistered.
Kathy Jackson is a voluntarily patient at a luxury psychiatric facility. Allegedly, she has been spotted “out and about” in recent times while a resident of the facility. Given her fragile mental state, and also her past behaviour, there is absolutely nothing stopping Kathy Jackson absconding from the hospital and fleeing overseas. In light of this very real possibility, Australian authorities ought to confiscate Jackson’s passport immediately. There have been many cases in the past of persons fleeing Australia before justice could run its course. Robert Trimbole, Christopher Skase and Puneet Puneet just to name a few. It is far easier and far less expensive to access a person BEFORE he/she flees overseas. Extradition from a foreign country is neither quick nor easy nor certain. Hopefully the HSU and the Australian authorities will exercise a bit of forethought here, and implement some preventative measures that anticipate possible situations. In like fashion, the HSU should apply for an injunction against the sale proceeds of the Kathy Jackson’s house in Wombarra and any other properties that she might have an interest in. Prevention is always better than cure. Intelligent use of the law should not be the sole preserve of alleged offenders and their defence lawyers. Prosecutors should also seek to make use of the law to the fullest extent.
Late this afternoon a friend and colleague of mine sent me an email concerning her thoughts on the current Kathy Jackson situation. The contents of the email are reproduced below with permission….
————————————————————————————
I think that the HSU should now be turning its thoughts to how to preserve at least portion of the Jackson assets.
We’ve seen (correct me if my memory is wrong) a real estate guesstimate of her real estate of $2.2M. There’s no telling what’s going on beneath the surface to deplete Jackson’s equity in the property, things such as overdrafts and loan accounts and credit cards the debt upon each resulting in more money owed secured on the property assuming there is a mortgage as I suspect there is (to the Cth Bank I think.)
Jackson also has legal expenses and whether or not her stay in her current accommodation and the various expenses associated therewith is covered by private medical insurance is not known.
Jackson would now have no motivation to minimise her expenses particularly if her legal advice is that the HSU have a strong case.
And in a commercial sense it’s not worth pursuing even a strong case if there’s nothing to pay it although there is a matter of principle involved.
A Mareva injunction is one thing it could consider. It’s what’s called an anticipatory remedy (meaning that it’s taken in anticipation of being wholly or partially successful) You can read about that type of injunction here
http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/alrc-80-legal-risk-international-transactions/7-australian-remedies-debt-and-insolvency
– to get it you have to show :
To obtain the remedy the applicant must show that
?the debt is owing or there is a serious question to be tried
?there is a real risk that the alleged debtor is about to leave the jurisdiction or is about to dissipate its assets and
?proof or enforcement of the debt will be made more difficult if the alleged debtor’s behaviour is not appropriately restrained
The second of those will be the most difficult.
It’s certainly a problem for the HSU so I hope they’ve turned their mind to it.
Jackson’s guilty as hell, blatantly cheating the system and treating our judicial system as one huge joke & all the legal professionals involved – it’s like she’s happily playing a game of confidence called ‘catch me if you can, hahaha’ …..people are already talking about Abbott’s ‘team’ protecting his precious lady who helped bring down Craig Thomson and if she’s protected further, then this will be Abbott’s downfall. One thing Australians hate and that is a CHEAT who thinks they can get away with fooling everyone………
Have to agree with JB, nothing stands between Kathy Jackson and overseas except a passport, and it would be difficult to get her back. Who knows how assets currently held in her name are being depleted. I hope the HSU are at the least taking steps to prevent her possible flight, after all nothing stopped her taking a holiday in Bali in July……
Kathy Jackson, as an unregulated patient, is a flight risk. She potentially has plenty of time now to plan escape from Australia, since her civil case will not be heard again until well into the New Year. The HSU should be alarmed about this possibility in view of her previous attempts to avoid court. With few options left, all possible escape routes need to be canvassed. To me she shows signs of being an individual who would prefer fugitive status to incarceration, since she cannot even mount a coherent defence in her civil case after something like 18 plus hearings. The adverse submission by J Stoljar must increase this risk. Agree the passport issue is important, and must be considered.
Greece seems to be a preferred option for crims fleeing Aus. Isn’t that where they finally grabbed Tony the drug baron from Melbourne. another issue to consider here is how committed would the current federal government be in stopping her exit. I mean, if she left it is one less resident harassment. Mind you, it could easily turn into a lingering festering sore for them if she did bolt. I suppose though it would be easy for them to say that there was no legal impediment and that she was innocent till proven guilty, pity they did not extend that same legal presumptions and niceties to Slipper and Thomson.
oldfart – Greece would be a possibility. Kathy Jackson (nee Koukouvas) is of Greek extraction. Jackson would probably have relatives in Greece who could assist her.
She won’t be charged with anything. If that was going to happen it would have happened by now. This is because undertakings have been given in return for her role in keeping the Gillard government squirming over the Thomson situation. The only place she will be brought to account, if at all, will be in a civil court as the union presses its case for restitution of the money she has misappropriated. Whether justice is done in that forum will rest on the integrity of the legal system. If she escapes paying for her greed and the despicable manner in which she has prospered at the expense of her members, then the legal system is tainted in a very worrying way. The game is well and truly on, but we won’t know if the fix is in until it’s over.
Call me a cynical old pessimist, but I think she knows she’s come to the end of the line here (after all, she’s not entirely stupid) and she’ll be in Greece or somewhere without an extradition treaty as fast as she can say ‘Up Yours’.
Scary bit, and there may be hidden judicial/political solidarity, is if Jackson nicks off there is no one to expose Lawler.
Remember Alan Bond ‘heart condition’ that left him with memory loss since it seems healed by a miracle well that was just money that bought that
Here we see the whole establishment system possibly exposed to scrutiny
The rot has got into all sorts of weird places