Pledges Still Safe
Newcastle Herald
Monday January 1, 2007
THE Australian Workers Union (AWU) says Hunter Valley money given to the family of Beaconsfield mine victim Larry Knight will reach its destination, after concerns were raised about the slow progress of the fund.
Weekend newspapers said Mr Knight's family had received none of the $500,000 to $700,000 that the AWU and fund trustees estimate was pledged and given in the wake of the Anzac Day tragedy.AWU Newcastle secretary Kevin Maher said thousands of dollars had been raised by the union in Newcastle and sent to Tasmania. Mr Maher said he had spoken to people involved with the fund and had been reassured that everything was above board.National AWU secretary and intending parliamentarian Bill Shorten had been a prominent figure at Beaconsfield, and Mr Maher said the conservatives would grab at anything to discredit him and the union movement. Mr Knight's brother, Shane, was quoted at the weekend as "breaking a vow of silence" to speak out about delays with the trust, but he told The Herald yesterday that he and his brother's widow, Jacqui, understood why things were taking as long as they were.Tasmanian AWU secretary Ian Wakefield said he expected the fund would pay out its money as early as next month."If Jacqui had have needed money from the fund before now she would have got it," Mr Wakefield said.
© 2007 Newcastle Herald
