Rita Panahi: Old CFMEU mates no longer stand with Dan

The wild protest at CFMEU headquarters shows Dan Andrews has lost control of the Covid narrative as well as some of his most ardent supporters.

Anyone still listening to Dan Andrews’ self-serving rhetoric is either dim or on the payroll.

Even some of his most ardent supporters in the CFMEU are abandoning ship.

Monday’s wild protests at CFMEU headquarters exemplified the depths of anger as members called union boss John Setka “Andrews’ b--ch” and threatened to picket CFMEU construction sites if mandatory vaccine passports are enforced.

As one worker explained to Setka, that would see CFMEU members become “scabs” if they cross the picket line.

Setka’s attempts to placate CFMEU members failed miserably despite his claims that he didn’t back vaccine passes.

“Stop calling Dan my mate, I’ve never met the bloke,” Mr Setka said.

John Setka’s attempts to placate his members failed dismally. Picture: David Crosling

“Understand this. I have fought so hard to keep this industry going so everyone can keep working.”

Premier Andrews may not be Setka’s mate but his Labor Party is the beneficiary of hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from the CFMEU.

As the Andrews government strangled the state with some of the harshest restrictions seen anywhere in the world, the construction industry has been allowed to operate even though it has contributed significantly to outbreaks.

Police move in on protesting CFMEU members. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

We are told the state’s decision making is governed by the best available medical advice but if that were true construction would’ve closed and schools would’ve remained open.

And, the initial police response, or lack thereof, was illuminating.

Despite the rowdy protest, with punches thrown and property damaged, Victoria Police declined to adopt heavy handed tactics; there was no corralling, no indiscriminate use of capsicum spray and no mass fines.

That was the case for the first few hours of the protest, though after sustained criticism and crowd numbers increasing, the police sent in the riot squad.

CFMEU workers are a little bit more difficult to manhandle than elderly women and newspaper photographers.

Three things are abundantly clear; the police force has been hopelessly politicised, we are not all in this together and premier Andrews has lost control of the narrative.