Craig Thomson will spend just three months in prison for defrauding the Health Services Union of more than $24,000.
Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg sentenced the former member for Dobell to one year in jail but ruled that would include nine months suspended prison time, meaning Thomson would spend just three months in custody.
But Thomson is unlikely to start his sentence any time soon, if at all – his legal team announced they would appeal the ruling immediately. Thomson will attend a bail hearing this afternoon and will likely be released from custody until the appeal has been decided.
Rozencwajg said he was in “no doubt” imprisonment was the only appropriate sentence for Thomson, declaring his crimes to be “a breach of trust in the highest order”.
He also ordered Thomson to pay $24,538.42 to the HSU in compensation and put him on a two-year good behaviour bond.
Thomson was last month found guilty of misusing his union credit cards to pay for prostitutes, hotel stays, cigarettes and travel for his then-wife, between 2002 and 2008 when he was the HSU’s national secretary.
Thomson could have faced up to five years in jail. His legal team argued his public humiliation had been punishment enough, while the prosecution wanted the maximum sentence, claiming Thomson had repeatedly lied and shown no remorse.
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