‘You’re not entitled to be threatening people, you’re not entitled to threaten the AFL’

Bill Kelty has condemned John Setka’s threats against the AFL and backed new laws breaking up the CFMEU.

Former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty has condemned John Setka’s threats against the AFL and backed new laws breaking up the CFMEU.

Mr Kelty, who also served as an AFL commissioner for 17 years, told The Australian the CFMEU Victorian leader had the right to be upset that former building watchdog Stephen McBurney had been appointed AFL head of umpiring, but he was not entitled to threaten a retaliatory work-to-rule campaign on league projects.

Mr Kelty said he doubted the threatened action by the union, if it went ahead, would be lawful and Mr Setka’s public attack had given the federal opposition a free kick in its campaign to bring back the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

“You’re not entitled to be threatening people, you’re not entitled to threaten the AFL,” Mr Kelty told The Australian.

Bill Kelty says John Setka’s public attack had given the federal opposition a free kick in its campaign to bring back the Australian Building and Construction Commission. Picture: AAP

“Why would you be threatening the AFL? The clubs have done nothing. The AFL members have done nothing. So why would you want to damage the AFL or its membership? It’s not fair. It’s not fair to the clubs, it’s not fair to the members.

“Why would you make them pay? If you do things in life and you hurt people, you hurt organisations, somebody pays the price. Who will pay the price? It will be the clubs and the supporters.

“If you actually believe that the core of the AFL is simply the clubs and the supporters, that they are the two most important constituents, then why do you want to hurt them?“

In response to Mr Setka’s threats, the government has introduced legislation allowing the union’s manufacturing division to split from the broader union if a majority of members vote to leave.

With the opposition expected to back the bill, the government is hoping it could get the laws passed by the Senate this week.

Mr Kelty, who as ACTU secretary oversaw union amalgamations and the creation of super unions, backed the right of unions to split.

“I think unions, like everybody, have got a right to divorce if that’s what the members want,” he said.

“You have got a right to join and you have got a right to leave. The union has a right to divorce. He’s got the right to protest about people if he wants to and he can express his concerns (but) the organisation involved (AFL) and its members should not be penalised, they should not be hurt.”

Mr Kelty compared Mr Setka’s attitude towards Mr McBurney with his feelings about then Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Allan Fels during the 1998 waterfront dispute.

The ACCC sought $7.5m in damages against the union and, as part of the settlement of the dispute, Patrick Stevedores footed the bill.

“I got upset with Allan Fels,” Mr Kelty said. “I just dismissed him out of my life but I have never gone around threatening the organisation. Last time I saw Allan Fels he was standing with the ACTU (as head of its pricing inquiry). If I had been there, he wouldn’t have been standing with me. I still haven’t forgiven him.

“So I can understand (Setka) being upset,” Mr Kelty said. “The bloke (McBurney) obviously was in charge of getting a lot of fines against the union. I don’t know whether they were justified or not. I don’t think so. You know where I sit. I sit on the side of the unions.

“But even if you are on the side of the union, even if you think he did the wrong thing, you don’t threaten the organisation, you don’t threaten other people.

“You can have your view about him. I had my view about Allan Fels but I never went around threatening him.”

Originally published as ‘You’re not entitled to be threatening people, you’re not entitled to threaten the AFL’