POLITICS: Australian Prime Minister Exposed - Vote Buying Deal Uncovered

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Officially signed-off by Mr Howard after the election, the money will flow to an advisory board dominated by Mr O'Connor's union, the financially-strapped forestry division of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.

The left-wing CFMEU is the sworn enemy of Mr Howard, but its renegade forestry division, led by Mr O'Connor, formed a special relationship with the Prime Minister in the last days of the election campaign.

Labor leader Mark Latham had shunned the union proposals.

In a turning point in the election, Mr Howard was cheered by several hundred timber workers when he unveiled the package to preserve 170,000 hectares of Tasmanian old-growth forest with no job losses, three days before the October poll.

According to documents obtained by The Australian, Mr Howard agreed during pre-election negotiations, as part of the package, to commit $4 million over four years to the Forest and Forest Products Employment Skills Company. The company, known as FAFPESC, is an advisory board for the timber industry, with joint union and employer representatives but traditionally dominated by the CFMEU.

It is chaired by the CFMEU's forestry division national secretary, Trevor Smith, and Mr O'Connor, his deputy, is also a director and prime lobbyist for FAFPESC's interests.

FAFPESC has a history of sub-contracting work to another organisation that is wholly controlled by the CFMEU, called Forest Industry Employment Training Services, or FIET.

In 2002, the Bracks Labor Government in Victoria gave $3.9 million over three years to FAFPESC to provide worker support and training services. The work was sub-contracted to the CFMEU-owned FIETS to provide advice, site visits, identification of job vacancies, counselling, financial planning advice and worker support. Most of these tasks are normally carried out by the union.

FIETS operates out of the same building as the Victorian CFMEU forestry division and is regarded as part of the union.

Hundreds of workers had been mobilised to greet Mr Howard on the day. "We didn't warm them up but I made clear to the workers that we had timber industry coverage and represented all timber workers and should behave accordingly," Mr O'Connor said.

The union leader confirmed that the $4 million in Government funding was to go to FAFPESC, although he did not believe it would flow to FIETS.

In May, Mr Howard said, after reaching formal agreement with the Tasmanian Government, that he wanted to "especially thank" the contribution made to negotiations by Mr O'Connor and his CFMEU colleagues. According to minutes of a FAFPESC board meeting last December, Mr O'Connor reported that "a commitment of $4 million over four years was achieved and the Prime Minister is aware that the commitment needs to be implemented".



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