ASIC commissioner to head union watchdog

Australian Financial Review Apr 18 2017 6:37 PM

David Marin-Guzman

 Michaelia Cash and Malcolm Turnbull obsessed with Unions – what about the damage caused by Bankers?  They spent $160 million on RC and found nothing.....remember?

The Turnbull government has appointed an industrial relations outsider from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to head its new union watchdog.

Lawyer and financial regulator Mark Bielecki will head the new Registered Organisations Commission from May when the commission's underlying legislation, which introduces fines of more than $1 million, five-year jail terms and sweeping whistleblower protections, comes into effect.

The new specialist regulator will have ASIC-style investigatory powers to oversee unions and employer groups and will enforce higher transparency and disclosure rules.

Mr Bielecki was previously the South Australian regional commissioner for ASIC and has a decade of experience in competition and corporate disputes as managing partner in law firms Finlaysons and Thomsons.

Employment minister Michaelia Cash said Mr Bielecki is "eminently qualified for this position and I look forward to his contribution in this important role".

"A dedicated regulator will improve the governance of registered organisations by ensuring they operate efficiently and with higher standards of accountability to their members."

The government used the registered organisations bill as one of its two triggers for last year's double dissolution election, along with legislation to restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

Senate crossbenchers voted the bill up in November after the government agreed to increased whistleblower protections proposed by Derryn Hinch and Nick Xenophon.

The protections, which will come into effect on May 2, are the strongest of their kind and lawyers have referred to them as a "big sleeper".

The laws provide for unlimited compensation and two years' jail for reprisals and would effectively cover anyone who has had meaningful contact with a union.

The government has promised to expand the whistleblower protections to private sector employees by July 2018.