Kathy Jackson (born c. 1967)[1] was the national secretary of the Health Services Union of Australia (HSU) between January 2008 and February 2015.
In August 2015, Jackson was found by the Australian federal court to have misappropriated union funds and was ordered to repay $1.4 million in compensation, with a criminal investigation pending.
She told The Australian: "Without restrictions on donations and public funding... we'll end up like the United States with two parties owned by the corporations divided only on lifestyle issues like gay marriage.
During 2007 and 2008, the HSU was embroiled in an enterprise bargaining dispute with the government, during which the Health Minister Daniel Andrews used legal mechanisms under federal law to restrict the union's industrial action.
"[5] In December 2008, the union engaged tax specialists BDO Kendall to "conduct an investigation" over the alleged improper use of Thomson's union-issued corporate credit card.
[12] Appearing before the Sydney Magistrates Court on 15 October 2013, Williamson entered a guilty plea to four major charges related to cheating and defrauding HSUeast, creating false documents with the intention to deceive and the recruiting of others to hinder a police investigation.
Partly as a consequence of Jackson's "whistle-blowing", a royal commission into the broader union movement was established after a change of government at the 2013 federal elections.
[19] In August 2015 the Federal Court ruled in a civil case brought against Jackson by the HSU that she had misappropriated union funds.
[21][22] On 7 October 2015, New South Wales police conducted a raid on Jackson's home, removing items from the house as well as from a shipping container in the yard.