Thomson denies credit card claims - Sydney Morning Herald

AAP

Independent MP Craig Thomson has formally denied using union credit cards to pay for prostitutes and says he should avoid civil penalties because most of the accusations against him were made outside the legal time limit.

Mr Thomson lodged his defence papers in the Federal Court on Tuesday in response to the Fair Work Australia (FWA) claims he misused union funds while he was national secretary of the Health Services Union (HSU) between 2002 and 2007.

In his 28-page submission, he denies using union-issued credit cards to spend thousands of dollars on prostitutes while travelling on union business in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.

He also denies using the cards to pay for flights and accommodation for his wife and family and for cash withdrawals and other personal expenses and says he did not act contrary to the financial management and governance of entities such as HSU.

But the suspended Labor MP says the vast majority of FWA's accusations were made outside the six-year Statute of Limitations.

"Ordinarily it's six years. Six years before October 2012 is, unless there's some unusual reason which no one has advanced, the limit. Nothing before that is relevant," Mr Thomson's lawyer Chris McArdle said.

The vast majority of accusations made by FWA, including all claims relating to prostitutes, relate to the period before October, 2006.

But several accusations, most relating to flights and cash withdrawals, fall between then and the time he left the union in December, 2007.

However, Mr McArdle believes FWA's claims will be whittled down even further if a case currently being heard by the full bench of the Federal Court in relation to Toyota finds the limitations only go back two years.

Opposition frontbencher Eric Abetz warned in October that FWA would have much to answer for if Mr Thomson avoided civil penalties because it took too long to bring the matters to court.

FWA has taken civil action against Mr Thomson, alleging 37 breaches of workplace laws and 25 breaches of HSU rules.

Mr Thomson, however, has denied any breaches and does not even admit being issued with the Diners Club card and Commonwealth Bank MasterCard he's alleged to have used for purchases including prostitutes from various escort services, including A Touch of Class, Tiffany's and The Boardroom in Sydney.

Mr Thomson was elected in 2007 as the Labor MP for the NSW seat of Dobell, but was suspended from the party in April and moved to the cross benches following the release of the FWA report in April this year.

FWA has until December 20 to reply to Mr Thomson's defence.

The matter is listed for a directions hearing in the Federal Court on February 1, 2013.