Thomson arrives at Melbourne court - ABC Online

Updated February 06, 2013 09:09:37

Former Labor MP Craig Thomson has arrived at the Melbourne Magistrates Court, where he is due to be formally charged with 150 counts of fraud.

Thomson has arrived outside court in a taxi and was surrounded by the media as he left the vehicle.

"It's a priority to try and get this issue on and over with as quickly as possible to clear my name," he said.

"That's what we're here to do and we'll come out and we'll have a chat at the end when it's finished.

"We don't plead today so it's procedural but if you can let us through we're very happy to have a chat with you at the end."

His lawyer says he expects to be granted an adjournment to give police time to prepare their case.

Thomson was arrested last week after a long-running investigation by Victoria Police into his alleged misuse of union funds.

Speaking outside Canberra Airport last night, Thomson admitted the charges have been a distraction for Parliament and his work as the Member for Dobell.

"Obviously I want to make this as quick as we possibly can and answer these charges and get this through as quickly as possible," he said.

"It's obviously a distraction for Parliament, a distraction for my job, and the sooner we can get it done the better.

"To some extent, as bad as being charged can be ... at least it gives the opportunity of resolving this issue."

Thomson said yesterday he had not yet decided whether he would stand for re-election, but promised to serve out the remainder of his parliamentary term.

He said he did not want to pre-empt his defence, but argued the charges were based on a discredited report by Fair Work Australia (FWA).

Accounting giant KPMG were asked to carry out an independent evaluation of FWA's handling of its investigation into Thomson.

Its report made several criticisms of FWA, including that it did not have enough "appropriately qualified and experienced" staff to carry out the investigation.

Thomson said yesterday there was "a whole range of things that are quite unbelievable, but they've happened", adding that "sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction".

Topics: courts-and-trials, alp, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia, vic, melbourne-3000, nsw

First posted February 06, 2013 09:04:19