The saga involving former Fair Work Commission vice president Michael Lawler will continue, after he launched Federal Court action against Employment Minister Michaelia Cash for not taking into account his mental illness during an investigation into his conduct in office. Mr Lawler also admitted that participating in an episode of the ABC’s Four Corners alongside his partner and ex-union boss Kathy Jackson was an “error of judgment”. The review was commissioned after serious criticism was levelled at Mr Lawler for supporting Ms Jackson as she battled fraud allegations from her time at the helm of the Health Services Union. He was on nine months’ sick leave, and still receiving his full $430,000 annual salary. Mr Lawler quit his position in March, less than 24 hours before he was due to respond to the investigation’s final report. Senator Cash tabled the findings in Federal Parliament a fortnight later. The review by former Federal Court judge Peter Heerey QC found that Mr Lawler should have been removed from his position because of “proved incapacity” and “misbehaviour”. Documents lodged in the Federal Court show Mr Lawler is calling for a judicial review into the decision to launch the investigation, the conduct of Senator Cash during the course of the investigation, and the decision to table the final report despite Mr Lawler having already resigned from his position.
