One of the major irritants for the Coalition is that the unions have enough money both to spend on campaigns, often anti-government, and to chase up members’ entitlements. Unions also pour hundreds of thousands of dollars directly into the ALP, and hundreds of thousands more into other electoral activities in support of Labor.

It’s not surprising then that Abbott and employment minister Eric Abetz have the unions’ finances in their sights, setting up a Royal Commission with powers to force disclosure of union records and lay the basis for a serious attack on unions’ ability to function.

The Heydon Royal Commission, while having a high profile public task of investigating allegations of union corruption, is primarily concerned with scrutiny of the more general aspects of “union governance”. This less publicised but crucial function is to study the financial workings of unions, including the lucrative industry superannuation funds, as well as their financial links with the ALP.

Coupling slanderous lies about the four unions under investigation (AWU, HSU, CFMEU, TWU) with a thorough understanding of their finances and assets could enable the commission to find the current officials “unfit to govern” or at the very least guilty of mismanagement.

In turn Heydon will likely demand extra legislative measures to curb unions’ control of their own funds, sever links with superannuation funds, limit donations to political parties and open the unions to greater penalties.

The current range of laws and penalties and regulatory bodies such as the Fair Work Building Commission are not powerful or draconian enough for anti-union ideologues such as Abbott and Abetz.

The government doesn’t say openly that it’s pursuing the unions’ money. Instead it’s latched on to the corrupt behaviour of a few Health Services Union officials as the justification for setting up the commission.

The commission keeps up the charade, even supporting the view that union leaders hold a “special position of trust” in advancing the interests of their members. Well of course they do. However, the purpose of such expressions of concern is not to enhance members’ rights within in the union. It’s not to enable the rank and file to get rid of scum like Craig Thompson, Michael Williamson or Kathy Jackson, but to introduce more penalties against the union and its members.

Union-linked or “industry” superannuation funds are also under scrutiny. Such funds have long been in the Coalition’s sights; the very thought of unions controlling such large sums of money is anathema to the ruling class and its parliamentary representatives.

In a sneering article in the Australian Financial Review, Aaron Patrick spilled out this hatred, while pointing to the rewards for the corporate sector, particularly the banks, if they could get their hands on this money. He looked to the commission to provide the “dirt” to discredit union control – and the commission is obliging.

Claims about union impropriety are designed to set the funds up for charges of mismanagement, a possible attempt to remove the current boards and replace them with a more pro-business team, or prevent union board appointments altogether. The $27 billion managed by Cbus is a tempting morsel for governments and construction bosses looking to fund infrastructure. Better to put workers’ money at risk than ask the companies to front up with the cash.

To these ends, Heydon has demanded copies of almost all the unions’ financial records – volumes and volumes of material. While the commission itself has neither the time nor the resources to go through all this paperwork, this does not mean that it will just be shredded. The final report and all the “evidence” collected will be delivered to the government at the end of the hearings.

The legislation that will be key to Heydon’s final report is a little known act – the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act (2013). It covers bodies such as unions and employer organisations, which are not covered by the Corporations Act that regulates most businesses. In a similar manner to the Corporations Act, the Registered Organisations Act sets out financial and governance requirements.

The Coalition is hoping that the Heydon Commission will provide the ammunition it needs to get a raft of amendments to the act through the parliament. The amendments will allow for markedly increased investigative powers, the laying of criminal charges and financial penalties harsher than those for business under the Corporations Act. Some of the coercive powers will apply to all union members.

The current act already has strong powers against unions – some penalties trebled under Gillard government amendments. It also contains the ultimate power to deregister a union – in other words stop it from being able to represent its members.

The Coalition has already hinted at deregistering some unions. It will come as no surprise if the Heydon Commission proposes such a fate for the CFMEU.