Latest news with #HSU
The Australian
11-08-2025
- Health
- The Australian
Historic NSW health worker wage deal: the new benefits
A new two-year wage agreement is set to deliver pay increases and improved conditions for tens of thousands of NSW health workers. The NSW government and the Health Services Union NSW (HSU NSW) have finalised the landmark two-year salary agreement delivering significant pay rises and better conditions for more than 50,000 public health workers across the state. The deal provides an 8.5 per cent pay increase over two years, exceeding the government's 3 per cent wage policy. Workers will receive a 4 per cent pay rise in the first year, followed by a further 4 per cent increase plus an additional 0.5 per cent superannuation contribution in the second year. The new agreement will give health workers an 8.5 per cent pay increase in two years. Picture: Christian Gilles / NewsWire It covers a wide range of NSW Health staff including allied health workers, hospital cleaners, scientists, security officers, patient transport officers, pharmacy assistants, linen workers, and wardspeople. HSU NSW secretary Gerard Hayes said the agreement was a 'big stride towards wage justice' for those who kept hospitals clean, safe, and patient-focused. 'This historic agreement recognises the indispensable work of pharmacy assistants, security officers, linen workers, cleaners and wardspeople,' Mr Hayes said. 'These workers are often overlooked, yet without them, our hospitals would collapse. 'Over the four years to June 2027, a hospital assistant will see their pay jump by more than $10,000, from around $52,000 to over $62,000. 'A wardsperson's annual salary will be $10,400 higher by 2026-27, while security officers will pocket an additional $10,500 per year. That's real money that makes a real difference to working families.' HSU NSW Secretary Gerard Hayes said the agreement was a 'big stride towards wage justice'. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper The agreement also supports allied health professionals such as occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social workers, dietitians, and speech pathologists through a formal work value case process with the Industrial Relations Commission. Mr Hayes said these workers had increasingly taken on more complex responsibilities, honed new skills, and broadened their scope of practice, yet their compensation had not kept pace. 'The work value case provisions give them the platform they deserve to have their true worth recognised and compensated,' Mr Hayes said. Additional workplace benefits include earlier payment of higher-grade duties after three days instead of five, rest periods between rostered shifts increased to 10 hours from eight hours, and a requirement for four weeks' notice for roster changes, up from the previous two weeks. Health Minister Ryan Park said they were 'rebuilding a supported and capable workforce'. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short The agreement also builds on HSU NSW's successful campaign for full salary packaging benefits, providing thousands of dollars in additional value to typical hospital workers. Mr Hayes said the deal provided members with certainty and security while sustaining their drive for fairer pay. 'It shows what can be achieved when workers stand together and when government recognises the essential contribution of healthcare workers,' Mr Hayes said. NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the offer was a major step in repairing the state's healthcare system. 'This offer to increase wages and deliver benefits to more than 50,000 health workers across NSW is a major next step in repairing our state's healthcare,' Mr Mookhey said. A landmark wage deal has been reached for more than 50,000 NSW health workers. NewsWire / Nikki Short 'These allied health workers, hospital cleaners, scientists, security officers, patient transport officers and others play a crucial role in giving the people of NSW the care they expect.' Health Minister Ryan Park said they were 'rebuilding a supported and capable workforce'. 'We abolished the wages cap and established a new bargaining framework,' Mr Park said. 'We are working to fix recruitment and retention. 'More health staff, lower wait times, better health outcomes – it's as simple as that.' Minister for Industrial Relations Sophie Cotsis said the multi-year agreement was the first of its kind in more than a decade for these essential workers. '(It) represents a significant step forward in recognising their vital contribution and ensuring fairer pay and conditions into the future,' Ms Cotsis said. Andrew Hedgman Reporter Andrew Hedgman is a journalist for NCA Newswire. Andrew Hedgman
News.com.au
11-08-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
‘Wage justice': Historic deal secures big pay rise for 50,000 health workers
A new two-year wage agreement is set to deliver pay increases and improved conditions for tens of thousands of NSW health workers. The NSW government and the Health Services Union NSW (HSU NSW) have finalised the landmark two-year salary agreement delivering significant pay rises and better conditions for more than 50,000 public health workers across the state. The deal provides an 8.5 per cent pay increase over two years, exceeding the government's 3 per cent wage policy. Workers will receive a 4 per cent pay rise in the first year, followed by a further 4 per cent increase plus an additional 0.5 per cent superannuation contribution in the second year. It covers a wide range of NSW Health staff including allied health workers, hospital cleaners, scientists, security officers, patient transport officers, pharmacy assistants, linen workers, and wardspeople. HSU NSW secretary Gerard Hayes said the agreement was a 'big stride towards wage justice' for those who kept hospitals clean, safe, and patient-focused. 'This historic agreement recognises the indispensable work of pharmacy assistants, security officers, linen workers, cleaners and wardspeople,' Mr Hayes said. 'These workers are often overlooked, yet without them, our hospitals would collapse. 'Over the four years to June 2027, a hospital assistant will see their pay jump by more than $10,000, from around $52,000 to over $62,000. 'A wardsperson's annual salary will be $10,400 higher by 2026-27, while security officers will pocket an additional $10,500 per year. That's real money that makes a real difference to working families.' The agreement also supports allied health professionals such as occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social workers, dietitians, and speech pathologists through a formal work value case process with the Industrial Relations Commission. Mr Hayes said these workers had increasingly taken on more complex responsibilities, honed new skills, and broadened their scope of practice, yet their compensation had not kept pace. 'The work value case provisions give them the platform they deserve to have their true worth recognised and compensated,' Mr Hayes said. Additional workplace benefits include earlier payment of higher-grade duties after three days instead of five, rest periods between rostered shifts increased to 10 hours from eight hours, and a requirement for four weeks' notice for roster changes, up from the previous two weeks. The agreement also builds on HSU NSW's successful campaign for full salary packaging benefits, providing thousands of dollars in additional value to typical hospital workers. Mr Hayes said the deal provided members with certainty and security while sustaining their drive for fairer pay. 'It shows what can be achieved when workers stand together and when government recognises the essential contribution of healthcare workers,' Mr Hayes said. NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the offer was a major step in repairing the state's healthcare system. 'This offer to increase wages and deliver benefits to more than 50,000 health workers across NSW is a major next step in repairing our state's healthcare,' Mr Mookhey said. 'These allied health workers, hospital cleaners, scientists, security officers, patient transport officers and others play a crucial role in giving the people of NSW the care they expect.' Health Minister Ryan Park said they were 'rebuilding a supported and capable workforce'. 'We abolished the wages cap and established a new bargaining framework,' Mr Park said. 'We are working to fix recruitment and retention. 'More health staff, lower wait times, better health outcomes – it's as simple as that.' Minister for Industrial Relations Sophie Cotsis said the multi-year agreement was the first of its kind in more than a decade for these essential workers. '(It) represents a significant step forward in recognising their vital contribution and ensuring fairer pay and conditions into the future,' Ms Cotsis said.
The Advertiser
02-07-2025
- Health
- The Advertiser
Doctors dispute billions being lost in Medicare fraud
Overcharging on medical bills and rorting the public health system is costing taxpayers up to $5000 a minute, a health union says. But the peak professional body representing doctors says the numbers don't add up in a Health Services Union (HSU) report that paints a picture of fraud in the $30 billion Medicare Benefits Schedule scheme. Leaning on previous analyses, the report estimated fraud and non-compliance rates to range from five-to-30 per cent. It described one estimate of $10 billion in bogus claims as a figure that "cannot be definitively disproven" due to no effective system to measure fraud and non-compliant billing in the first place. The report published on Wednesday found about three-in-five medical professionals referred to the Medicare-related watchdog in 2024 were GPs. But the union said it suspects the watchdog was not adequately investigating specialists and other non-GP billers, representing nearly 70 per cent of all Medicare claims. "Billions of taxpayer dollars are being siphoned away from healthcare through fraudulent Medicare billing," HSU NSW Secretary Gerard Hayes said. "It's got to stop. Government and regulators have to hold people to account." "This is public money. Medicare has to be delivering for all of the community not just a certain few." The union said upcoding was a common fraud tactic, with medical practitioners inflating consultation times to increase reimbursements. Nearly two-thirds of Professional Services Review case outcomes in 2024 involved upcoding, while 38 per cent involved incorrect use of GP management plan and/or team care arrangement item numbers. AAP has sought comment from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. The union, which represents more than 50,000 health workers including in hospitals and pathologies, also surveyed 110 healthcare workers in billing, finance, and compliance. Survey respondents reported witnessing doctors billing for services they did not provide, unnecessary procedures performed purely for billing purposes and systematic manipulation of billing codes to inflate Medicare claims. One-in-three healthcare workers said they had witnessed or suspected improper billing practices but only 17 per cent understood how to report Medicare fraud. Half of those surveyed said they faced pressure to maximise profit from Medicare billing and more than 93 per cent of healthcare workers said they were too afraid to report fraud because of fears of retaliation. The union also pointed the finger at the medical doctors' group, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) for deflecting and resisting meaningful oversight. "Too many practitioners treat Medicare as an unlimited funding source, structuring their operations around maximising claims rather than responsible spending of public funds or optimising patient care," the 28-page-report published on Wednesday said. But the association lambasted the union's claims as "baseless" insisting that it was getting on "with the job of pursuing meaningful reforms". The government-commissioned Philip review in 2023 found Medicare compliance issues were overwhelmingly caused by the complexity of the system, it said. AAP has approached federal Health Minister Mark Butler for comment. Overcharging on medical bills and rorting the public health system is costing taxpayers up to $5000 a minute, a health union says. But the peak professional body representing doctors says the numbers don't add up in a Health Services Union (HSU) report that paints a picture of fraud in the $30 billion Medicare Benefits Schedule scheme. Leaning on previous analyses, the report estimated fraud and non-compliance rates to range from five-to-30 per cent. It described one estimate of $10 billion in bogus claims as a figure that "cannot be definitively disproven" due to no effective system to measure fraud and non-compliant billing in the first place. The report published on Wednesday found about three-in-five medical professionals referred to the Medicare-related watchdog in 2024 were GPs. But the union said it suspects the watchdog was not adequately investigating specialists and other non-GP billers, representing nearly 70 per cent of all Medicare claims. "Billions of taxpayer dollars are being siphoned away from healthcare through fraudulent Medicare billing," HSU NSW Secretary Gerard Hayes said. "It's got to stop. Government and regulators have to hold people to account." "This is public money. Medicare has to be delivering for all of the community not just a certain few." The union said upcoding was a common fraud tactic, with medical practitioners inflating consultation times to increase reimbursements. Nearly two-thirds of Professional Services Review case outcomes in 2024 involved upcoding, while 38 per cent involved incorrect use of GP management plan and/or team care arrangement item numbers. AAP has sought comment from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. The union, which represents more than 50,000 health workers including in hospitals and pathologies, also surveyed 110 healthcare workers in billing, finance, and compliance. Survey respondents reported witnessing doctors billing for services they did not provide, unnecessary procedures performed purely for billing purposes and systematic manipulation of billing codes to inflate Medicare claims. One-in-three healthcare workers said they had witnessed or suspected improper billing practices but only 17 per cent understood how to report Medicare fraud. Half of those surveyed said they faced pressure to maximise profit from Medicare billing and more than 93 per cent of healthcare workers said they were too afraid to report fraud because of fears of retaliation. The union also pointed the finger at the medical doctors' group, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) for deflecting and resisting meaningful oversight. "Too many practitioners treat Medicare as an unlimited funding source, structuring their operations around maximising claims rather than responsible spending of public funds or optimising patient care," the 28-page-report published on Wednesday said. But the association lambasted the union's claims as "baseless" insisting that it was getting on "with the job of pursuing meaningful reforms". The government-commissioned Philip review in 2023 found Medicare compliance issues were overwhelmingly caused by the complexity of the system, it said. AAP has approached federal Health Minister Mark Butler for comment. Overcharging on medical bills and rorting the public health system is costing taxpayers up to $5000 a minute, a health union says. But the peak professional body representing doctors says the numbers don't add up in a Health Services Union (HSU) report that paints a picture of fraud in the $30 billion Medicare Benefits Schedule scheme. Leaning on previous analyses, the report estimated fraud and non-compliance rates to range from five-to-30 per cent. It described one estimate of $10 billion in bogus claims as a figure that "cannot be definitively disproven" due to no effective system to measure fraud and non-compliant billing in the first place. The report published on Wednesday found about three-in-five medical professionals referred to the Medicare-related watchdog in 2024 were GPs. But the union said it suspects the watchdog was not adequately investigating specialists and other non-GP billers, representing nearly 70 per cent of all Medicare claims. "Billions of taxpayer dollars are being siphoned away from healthcare through fraudulent Medicare billing," HSU NSW Secretary Gerard Hayes said. "It's got to stop. Government and regulators have to hold people to account." "This is public money. Medicare has to be delivering for all of the community not just a certain few." The union said upcoding was a common fraud tactic, with medical practitioners inflating consultation times to increase reimbursements. Nearly two-thirds of Professional Services Review case outcomes in 2024 involved upcoding, while 38 per cent involved incorrect use of GP management plan and/or team care arrangement item numbers. AAP has sought comment from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. The union, which represents more than 50,000 health workers including in hospitals and pathologies, also surveyed 110 healthcare workers in billing, finance, and compliance. Survey respondents reported witnessing doctors billing for services they did not provide, unnecessary procedures performed purely for billing purposes and systematic manipulation of billing codes to inflate Medicare claims. One-in-three healthcare workers said they had witnessed or suspected improper billing practices but only 17 per cent understood how to report Medicare fraud. Half of those surveyed said they faced pressure to maximise profit from Medicare billing and more than 93 per cent of healthcare workers said they were too afraid to report fraud because of fears of retaliation. The union also pointed the finger at the medical doctors' group, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) for deflecting and resisting meaningful oversight. "Too many practitioners treat Medicare as an unlimited funding source, structuring their operations around maximising claims rather than responsible spending of public funds or optimising patient care," the 28-page-report published on Wednesday said. But the association lambasted the union's claims as "baseless" insisting that it was getting on "with the job of pursuing meaningful reforms". The government-commissioned Philip review in 2023 found Medicare compliance issues were overwhelmingly caused by the complexity of the system, it said. AAP has approached federal Health Minister Mark Butler for comment. Overcharging on medical bills and rorting the public health system is costing taxpayers up to $5000 a minute, a health union says. But the peak professional body representing doctors says the numbers don't add up in a Health Services Union (HSU) report that paints a picture of fraud in the $30 billion Medicare Benefits Schedule scheme. Leaning on previous analyses, the report estimated fraud and non-compliance rates to range from five-to-30 per cent. It described one estimate of $10 billion in bogus claims as a figure that "cannot be definitively disproven" due to no effective system to measure fraud and non-compliant billing in the first place. The report published on Wednesday found about three-in-five medical professionals referred to the Medicare-related watchdog in 2024 were GPs. But the union said it suspects the watchdog was not adequately investigating specialists and other non-GP billers, representing nearly 70 per cent of all Medicare claims. "Billions of taxpayer dollars are being siphoned away from healthcare through fraudulent Medicare billing," HSU NSW Secretary Gerard Hayes said. "It's got to stop. Government and regulators have to hold people to account." "This is public money. Medicare has to be delivering for all of the community not just a certain few." The union said upcoding was a common fraud tactic, with medical practitioners inflating consultation times to increase reimbursements. Nearly two-thirds of Professional Services Review case outcomes in 2024 involved upcoding, while 38 per cent involved incorrect use of GP management plan and/or team care arrangement item numbers. AAP has sought comment from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. The union, which represents more than 50,000 health workers including in hospitals and pathologies, also surveyed 110 healthcare workers in billing, finance, and compliance. Survey respondents reported witnessing doctors billing for services they did not provide, unnecessary procedures performed purely for billing purposes and systematic manipulation of billing codes to inflate Medicare claims. One-in-three healthcare workers said they had witnessed or suspected improper billing practices but only 17 per cent understood how to report Medicare fraud. Half of those surveyed said they faced pressure to maximise profit from Medicare billing and more than 93 per cent of healthcare workers said they were too afraid to report fraud because of fears of retaliation. The union also pointed the finger at the medical doctors' group, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) for deflecting and resisting meaningful oversight. "Too many practitioners treat Medicare as an unlimited funding source, structuring their operations around maximising claims rather than responsible spending of public funds or optimising patient care," the 28-page-report published on Wednesday said. But the association lambasted the union's claims as "baseless" insisting that it was getting on "with the job of pursuing meaningful reforms". The government-commissioned Philip review in 2023 found Medicare compliance issues were overwhelmingly caused by the complexity of the system, it said. AAP has approached federal Health Minister Mark Butler for comment.
The Irish Sun
24-06-2025
- The Irish Sun
Dark secrets of ‘UK's Guantanamo Bay' where murderers are punished with trips to ‘The Box' & no inmate has EVER escaped
SOME call it the UK's Guantanamo Bay, others know it simply as Hellmarsh. With a level of security second to none, no prisoner has ever successfully escaped from 9 This chilling UK prison has been dubbed the UK's Guantanamo Bay Credit: PA:Press Association 9 Charles Bronson, one of the UK's longest serving inmates, is said to have had his own wing at the prison due to his violent reputation 9 Killer rapist Wayne Couzens has been held at Belmarsh Credit: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire Through accounts of daily routines, brutal fights, A former inmate told fellow author Emma French and I: 'HMP Belmarsh is a brutal place, and every movement around the jail is along long internal walkways. Every move you make is monitored. 'It is run by staff who set examples to instill fear into you. They have a saying: 'Treat them as you expect to be treated.' 'If you keep your head down, you will be left alone, but if you are rude then they will target you. 'The Ministry of Justice will of course never admit their prison is run on intimidation with a hard line, but it is. 'To be fair to them, as much as I personally am not a fan of Belmarsh, given the serious nature of some of the offenders' offences, I guess it has to be run in a firm and brutal fashion to keep good order and discipline.' Belmarsh, in south east London, is the only prison in England and Wales with a 'prison within a prison', otherwise known as the Surrounded by 20-foot-high concrete walls and monitored by 96 cameras, it's designed to house some of the While Belmarsh can hold up to 910 men, just 48 can be confined within the HSU at any given time. The prison also contains a segregation unit and two notorious cells known as The Boxes. These are bleak, windowless isolation rooms with no beds, sinks or toilets. Inside Belmarsh: Secrets of Britain's most notorious prisoners Over the years, the HSU has held a chilling mix of IRA bombers, KGB spies, al-Qaeda terrorists and even Yet, despite its Category A prisoners, Belmarsh also functions as a standard prison. Around one in five inmates is a convicted murderer, yet many others serve time for lesser offences. How do staff balance handling petty criminals alongside serial rapists, terrorists and gang leaders? And what happens when such high-risk individuals are forced to coexist? As one former Belmarsh inmate put it: 'Over the years, you can be sure that with all the high-profile cases heard at the Central Criminal Court or Woolwich Crown Court, the offenders were detained at HMP Belmarsh. 'Some of whom I have personally met: Mark Dixie (The Sally Anne Bowman case), Steve Wright (The Suffolk Strangler), Stuart Hazell (The Tia Sharp murder in Croydon), Barry George (The Jill Dando case), John Worboys (The Black Cab Rapist). 'Also His list didn't end there, either: 'Terrorists, the London bombers, 'Many high-profile cases over the years have had the pleasure of experiencing the harsh regime at HMP Belmarsh.' 9 No one has ever escaped from the high security prison Credit: Rex 9 Former Conservative Cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken served time in Belmarsh and became an unlikely confidante to many lags Credit: John Stillwell/PA Wire 'Many were completely messed up' Former Conservative Cabinet minister What really struck Jonathan was their vulnerability. He explained: 'Many were completely messed up. One guy, I found out, should have been released already, but nobody had told him. 'All the time, I felt like I was on the funny farm, yet at the same time, people confided in me. ''Do you think my wife will ever let me back?' or 'How will I ever lift up my head again?' 'I was a middle-class bloke, and there was a lot of agony-aunting. But I did feel I was being of some use.' A prisoner officer warned the ex MP he was to be moved, saying, 'Aitken, you're going to Beirut.' Another inmate warned: 'Oh, don't go to Beirut. That's where the real hard men are. If you get on the wrong side of them, they'll crush your balls, mate.' Aitken added: 'I had no idea what he meant. Eventually, I learned Beirut was just B Wing. 'That night, I heard a ritual called 'doing a quizzy'. Inmates shouted questions across the wing. "Sometimes they were crude. 'Who'd like to s**g Officer S?' 9 Prisoners acting out of turn were sent to 'The Boxes' Credit: Glenn Copus/REX/Shutterstock 9 'Honour killing' murderer Mahmod Mahmod made tea for prison officers Credit: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire 9 Rahim Mohammadi had a job handing out milk Credit: PA:Press Association 'Sometimes they were coded messages. 'Remember to tell the court the car was green.' 'But that night, it was about me. 'What are we gonna do to him?' 'Let's eat his balls!' 'Let's give him a good kicking!' 'It was nasty. They were high on drugs, but it was still terrifying. The threats felt real, and I took them seriously. 'I have never felt more lonely, frightened or vulnerable. I knelt and tried to say a prayer, but I was too scared." Prison jobs for monsters 9 In Belmarsh's jail within a jail, anti-Isis or anti-Islamic inmates have to be separated from Islamic prisoners for fear of reprisals Some prisoners are allowed to work at Belmarsh. Ex prisoner Mike observed that in his experience, some of the best prison jobs went to the worst people. He revealed: 'The honour killing. The guy who put his daughter in a suitcase. He made tea for the prison officers at Belmarsh. Some multiple murderers, horrible human beings, get privileges like that.' He's talking about the case of Mike recalled another depraved murderer having a degree of responsibility in Belmarsh, too. He said: 'The Colindale killer has a funny eye. He had a job giving out milk. He killed a woman on an allotment because he wanted to run the allotment.' Mike is referring to Rahim Mohammadi, who strangled 80-year-old widow Lea Adri-Soejoko with a lawnmower cable in February 2017 at an allotments plot in London. I have never felt more lonely, frightened or vulnerable. I knelt and tried to say a prayer, but I was too scared. Jonathan Aitken One ex-inmate of several prisons described the exercise yard at Belmarsh as "small and secure, nowhere near the boundary fence. 'No spur (wing) mixes with another spur on exercise. The surrounding fence and wall are huge with razor wire running around the top, CCTV watching your every move. 'If you stop and bend down to pick something up off the floor you are challenged there and then. 'This is even after the exercise yard was previously checked and searched by staff prior to the inmates even going out on the yard. 'I guess a testament to their paranoid security measures. There are posters on the walls throughout the prison warning staff. They state, 'Believe nothing, check everything, keep calm and carry on.'' Former officer Nik said of the meals served up: 'The food was grim. But sometimes we ate it. Some of the curries were actually okay.' Inside Belmarsh: Banged Up in Britain's Toughest Prison by Jonathan Levi and Emma French is published on July 3.
ABC News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Inside the fall of Labor powerbroker and Health Workers Union Secretary, Diana Asmar
When union boss Diana Asmar took the stage at a black tie dinner last October, it was clear this would be a speech to remember. "My lawyers have told me not to say this," she allegedly told the crowd. "But I want to speak". Union organisers swapped glances across the sea of white tablecloths in the function room of the Novotel Preston. What Asmar said next wound up being picked over in Federal Court. There are traitors in the Branch, she declared, and they would get what is coming. They hadn't seen what was coming, but they would get it. But in a twist in this very Shakespearean drama, it is not the so-called "traitors", but Asmar herself who has lost her place on the stage. After 13 years, Diana Asmar has been dislodged as the boss of the Health Workers Union, once a key strategic asset to the Victorian Labor Right. It was Asmar who rebranded the Health Services Union's number one Victorian branch as the "Health Workers Union" to distance it from the union's history of corruption scandals. Now, she's embroiled in a scandal of her own, with the Fair Work Commission having commenced proceedings against her in the Federal Court for allegedly misappropriating almost $3 million of union funds. The allegations have not yet been tested in court and Asmar has denied them. Despite the gravity of the claims, it took the national office of the Health Services Union (HSU) eight months of fighting in separate Federal Court proceedings to unseat Asmar from her elected position as leader of its largest Victorian state branch. Last week, just as the HSU's proceeding was due to begin, Asmar signed a deal with the national office to walk away, leaving the Victorian branch under administration until its 2026 elections. But according to union insiders, Labor powerbrokers are "already circling" to take over the embattled branch next year. To understand why, you need to understand the power the branch afforded Asmar — at one point allowing her to pull the strings of the mighty Dan Andrews. On the eve of the 2018 election, Dan Andrews stood in a hospital kitchen surrounded by food workers in hairnets midway through sandwich prep. He was announcing millions of dollars in funding for these workers to undertake training on violence in the workplace. What the kitchen staff didn't know is that the group who would be leading this training — their union — had no experience in training at all. This deal had been negotiated away from the cameras, behind closed doors. The Department of Health was dead against it, arguing that such an outlay of public money should involve a public tender, or at least a registered training organisation. To cynical observers, the funding looked like an election-eve peace deal between Andrews' Left faction and Asmar's power base on the Right. Whatever the case, Victoria's anti-corruption watchdog found it to be "grey corruption" on the part of the political advisers who insisted on the deal. Jenny Mikakos, who inherited the dubious deal when she took over as health minister, told IBAC "the premier would bend over backwards to accommodate any union concerns". And having the ear of the premier was exactly where Diana Asmar hoped to land when she first ran for leadership of the union in 2012, according to those who orchestrated her campaign. Diana Asmar ran for leadership of the Health Workers Union, twice, citing lofty ambitions to return it to the members after years of misappropriation scandals. But if you ask political operatives who helped run her campaign, she ran "purely for ALP factional purposes". The Health Workers Union was "an important chattel to the ALP in Victoria", says senior journalist, Brad Norington, who wrote a book on the union. "It had a large number of members, which translated to the potential to gain delegate numbers [at state level] and potentially have control over preselection of candidates [to run for parliament]." The political power afforded by this large membership is one of the reasons Asmar was accused of inflating numbers over the years. Norington recalls breaking the story of when the former union leader sold pathologists memberships for $2, while existing members paid hundreds. Behind Asmar's campaign were Labor figures aligned with Bill Shorten's Right faction: her husband, the alleged branch-stacker David Asmar, and the controversial political blogger, Andrew Landeryou. On her second attempt, Diana Asmar won the leadership in 2012. It was a win for the Labor Right: the branch would later become valuable to Shorten, who "needed the numbers … to prop up his dominance of the ALP in Victoria", according to Norington. The job change also came at an opportune time for Asmar: Darebin Council, where she was deputy mayor, was under investigation for a possible breach of the Local Government Act. But she didn't wrest complete control of the branch from the previous administration. It had run its own ticket, backed by national secretary, Kathy Jackson, who was later found to have misappropriated some $1.5 million of union funds. And one of the organisers working for the branch, Leonie Flynn, had been elected as assistant secretary. That meant Asmar's second in command was from the opposing faction. They shook hands and agreed to work together — but for a powerbroker, such a scenario was untenable. One of Asmar's core crew at the time, Rob McCubbin, later alleged in the trade union royal commission that there was open discussion around how to "get rid of Leonie". One idea was to have a male organiser "flirt with her and set her up for a sexual harassment claim", he told the commission. In the end, McCubbin testified, they settled on something simpler: freezing her out. "Nobody was allowed to speak to me at work or say hello," Flynn says. While Flynn was supposed to share leadership duties with Diana Asmar, she alleges she was "completely obstructed" from the role she'd been elected to perform. Instead, Diana Asmar brought in her best friend as general manager — the late Labor senator, Kimberley Kitching. Kitching and her husband, the blogger Andrew Landeryou, were factional allies who'd helped orchestrate Asmar's campaign. Flynn told the royal commission that Asmar hired a number of political allies and supporters, many with no industrial experience. In her own evidence, Asmar responded that they were highly competent people able to get the job done. Whatever the case, industrial work wasn't all that was taking place at union headquarters. Flynn says when she returned to the union office in the evenings, she saw people "in suits in the boardroom" who weren't union employees. She wondered what they were planning. Then one day, she says she emptied an overflowing bin in her office, and found materials from Kimberley Kitching's Labor preselection campaigns. She told the royal commission that union resources and staff had been utilised; Kimberley strenuously denied that. Then, Flynn found something else that pointed to Labor party machinations. " I remember this one morning, there were all these bits of paper just on the kitchen bench, and I sort of looked at them and said, oh, what's that?" Flynn recalls. The "bits of paper" were gift cards. When Flynn checked their transaction history, she saw they'd been used to buy Labor party memberships, in what appeared to be a branch stacking manoeuvre. As the end of the financial year approached, Flynn grew increasingly nervous, having to sign off on the financial records as treasurer. Flynn claims her view of the financial records had been limited — a claim that Asmar denied. But what she could see unfolding at the branch concerned her. "It was just like full-on parties," she claims. "If we went out to a Lygon Street eatery, everything was paid for and they'd just get blind drinking … like pigs in a trough." She still recalls one of Diana's associates "ordering a kangaroo steak at 50 something dollars and then couldn't be bothered eating it". Eventually, Flynn demanded to see the books, but alleged receipts for overnight stays and air travel only heightened her concern. Then, there were $160,000 in legal fees to a firm that had represented Diana during her campaign. "I just thought that was ridiculous, what do they need the lawyers for?" Flynn says. Armed with evidence from her overflowing bin and the tea room, Flynn turned to the Fair Work Commission for help. Then, there was a new development: "Tony Abbott bit the onion and called a royal commission", she recalls. Flynn travelled from her home in Gippsland to the big smoke of Sydney to take the stand. "I could hardly string two sentences together, I was that nervous. I thought I was going to lose my house," she recalls. Convinced she was going to be framed by her colleagues, she rehashed the dozens of allegations she'd made to Fair Work. Then, Flynn told the commission how Rob McCubbin, Asmar's former offsider, had alleged that her car had a "black box" tracking device on it. Flynn told the commission that hours after this warning, she was leaving a Lygon Street eatery when a car pulled in front. "I recognised the number plate and I thought, 'Oh, that's Diana's'," she told the royal commission. "I did flash my lights just to let them know that I'd seen them at the time." She told commissioners she took it as evidence "they were checking to see where I was", and that it "traumatised" her, leading her to leave the union on stress leave. The commission never addressed the alleged incident in its findings. Instead, it focused on the allegation that Kimberley Kitching had taken several organisers' tests for their right-of-entry permits. It suggested the Commonwealth DPP consider whether criminal charges should be laid against Kitching, Asmar, or any of the organisers allegedly involved in this activity. But no charges ever transpired. Both Kitching and Asmar denied bullying Flynn, and her allegations that the branch was being mismanaged. Ultimately, the royal commission found the evidence was not strong enough to suggest that, "whatever her failings", Asmar had fallen below the professional standards for a trade union official. But it said all the evidence "supported Leonie Flynn's submission" that "the branch, under Diana Asmar's leadership, was highly dysfunctional … home to a culture of unhappiness, bitterness and fear". It seems that Asmar didn't take the critique to heart. According to union insiders, she continued to run the branch in the same fashion for the next ten years, while her influence only increased. Over that decade, the Health Workers Union's finances declined while Diana Asmar's political power increased. In 2016, the branch was on the brink of insolvency, but Asmar's closest ally, Kimberley Kitching, was elected as senator. Two years after that came the lucrative contract to train health workers on the eve of the 2018 state election. Then, in the midst of the pandemic in 2020, health minister Jenny Mikakos resigned after a crusade by Diana Asmar that the nurses' union branded "ALP left and right politics". Even Kimberley Kitching's untimely death devolved into politicking as Diana Asmar blamed "mean girls" in Albanese's Left-faction leadership team, weeks out from the federal election. Asmar then took the fight to the High Court, where she lost a battle with federal Labor over preselection control, leaving her isolated in the party, according to a party insider. But in the background, Victoria's anti-corruption watchdog, IBAC, was investigating Asmar's political influence over the Andrews government. And it discovered something that risked Asmar losing her representation in the Labor party altogether. In August, Fair Work launched proceedings in the Federal Court, alleging Asmar misappropriated almost $3 million of union funds. More than $120,000 allegedly took the form of inappropriate reimbursements, including for food, alcohol and cinema tickets. Asmar is alleged to have paid $2.8 million of union funds to a printing company, despite no goods being provided. Fair Work alleges $1.2 million of those funds were handed back to Diana and David Asmar personally, with meetings taking place in Melbourne cafes. The Asmars have invoked their right not to respond to the allegations, in case they later face criminal charges (though in an earlier affidavit, Diana denied them). They did not respond to questions from Background Briefing. In the months before the proceedings began, word of the investigation spread in the branch, and Diana Asmar finally faced a power challenge. Across 2024, two senior employees filed formal union complaints calling on the branch's management committee to stand Asmar aside. How she responded to those "traitors" shocked one of her inner circle so much it caused him to join the national office in its Federal Court proceeding to remove her. Asmar's then Communications Director, Jake McGuinness, described being summoned to Asmar's home last August, in affidavits filed by the national office. According to McGuinness's account, Asmar's associates discussed sacking one of the branch employees who'd made a formal complaint against her. "You don't know what I'm up to, mate. I am going to kill her, do you understand?" Asmar allegedly told McGuinness. "She's going to regret the day she was born. "I haven't started yet. You wait and see what's going to happen." According to this evidence, Asmar then allegedly discussed revoking the employee's IT access so she couldn't gather "evidence", and disconnecting her phone. Then, McGuinness said, "Ms Asmar discussed leaking personal photos of [the employee] in a state of undress to the media". In a preliminary judgement, Justice Dowling noted that Asmar and her associates had not sought to counter any of this evidence. The court was also told that Asmar had allegedly solicited complaints against this woman in a bid to stand her down — which she'd successfully done with the other complainant. Justice Dowling never made a final determination on any of these allegations because the case settled last week. But his preliminary judgement found there was a "serious question" as to whether Asmar had engaged in "reprisal conduct" against the woman, who's now launched her own case. McGuinness gave an extensive interview to Background Briefing but a few days before publication, a legal development prevented the ABC from publishing his comments. When it became apparent last September that he would give evidence against Asmar, the backlash was swift. He too lost IT access, and the court was told that he had been isolated in the workplace, apparently as retribution. The next month, he watched Asmar vow revenge on "traitors in the union" at the branch's black-tie dinner, before handing over to her longtime ally, John Setka, the disgraced former secretary of the CFMEU. After the speeches, the HSU's national office filed further affidavits in which McGuinness described an Asmar associate putting his arm around him at the dinner. McGuinness's account was that the associate told him he'd "fucked up by betraying the group" and would "pay the price" — his "career was over", he was now on the associate's "list" and the associate "has friends, and you don't know what they can do". The associate denied threatening McGuinness in his own sworn affidavit. A week after the dinner, in early November, McGuinness was stood down. In the following weeks, five employees he'd brought into the branch were terminated. Justice Dowling ultimately ordered that McGuinness be reinstated and found there was a "serious question" that he too had suffered "reprisal conduct". Under Asmar's deal to walk away, an administrator will continue running the branch until its 2026 elections. But according to union insiders, this isn't the end of the story. One of the very factional players who helped Asmar take over the branch in 2012 has warned that history may repeat itself next year. The former operative told the union's national office in a leaked letter that Labor powerbrokers already have their sights set on the branch. "[ALP factional players] are already circling," he wrote. "Discussions and plans are underway." The unionist begged the national office to disaffiliate from the Victorian Labor Party until 2030, to end the branch's "long history of being a target for factional alignments". His plea to save the branch from "outside influences" ended on a sobering note. "To be perfectly honest, it may be too late." This story is part of a special miniseries called Agents of Influence by the ABC's Background Briefing program. Follow the series on the ABC listen app.
