The Coalition says it is prepared to give Prime Minister Julia Gillard the benefit of the doubt over claims she was involved with the mortgage on a property partly paid for with stolen union funds but says it is time she finally gave a ''candid explanation''.
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The Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on Saturday said the coalition would use the last parliamentary sitting week of the year to grill Ms Gillard over her integrity as a Slater & Gordon solicitor in the 1990s.
''The claims are coming from many sources. These questions are coming from many sources,'' Mr Abbott said.
''I am prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt but in order to give her the benefit of the doubt we've got to hear her side of the story.''
As Fairfax revealed online on Thursday, Ms Gillard told her law firm partners at Slater & Gordon in 1995 she knew nothing about the mortgage on a Fitzroy property, bought partly with union money stolen by her former boyfriend, despite having been involved in the mortgage arrangements for the property two years earlier.
A 1993 bank letter confirms that Ms Gillard - then a salaried partner with law firm Slater & Gordon - received an insurance certificate of currency, which was required for approval of a $150,000 mortgage provided by the firm's loan department.
Ms Gillard on Friday said the new claims were part of a smear campaign and the allegations ''boiled down to nothing''.
Mr Abbott said that Ms Gillard was just stonewalling and she must give a proper explanation now these new claims had come to light. The Deputy Opposition Leader, Julie Bishop, is set to lead the inquisition into Ms Gillard in parliament.
''We've asked questions in the parliament before, we will continue to ask questions in the parliament but look there are a lot of things we will be interested in doing in the parliament next week,'' Mr Abbott said.