Courts Must Sanction Thomson, Says Katter

The Coalition, which had been hoping the controversy hounding former Labor MP Craig Thomson would affect the Gillard government, has reached a setback as independent MP Bob Katter demanded the courts should serve the ruling and not the Parliament. 

Thomson is set to appear in Parliament next week, where the members will be tasked to vote on his case. 

But as the independent MP implied, he will not vote on it until the court has heard the Thomson case. Katter also said that there is a double standard with handling these matters as the Coalition has not pursued the decade-long cases filed against former Coalition MP Peter Slipper. 

In a statement, Katter said that there is no qualitative difference in how the Liberal Party and the Labor Party acted. He added that he doesn’t want to be placed in a role where he needs to judge either of the two parties. 

Thomson is facing allegations for misusing funds of the Health Services Union when he led the organization from 2002 to 2007. The matter has been referred to Federal Court and a civil suit is waiting to be filed. 

The Parliament, particularly the members of the opposition, is asking Thomson to resign from his post as Labor MP with a motion to suspend him for 14 days. These calls, however, failed to be set in place. 

Some supporters of the government from the independent said they would wait to hear from Thomson at Parliament next week before endorsing further sanctions. 

The opposition, meanwhile, is also looking into allegations that Thomson’s legal fees have been shouldered by Labor.

Tagged bob katter, Craig Thompson