John Setka’s takeover of South Australian CFMEU branch investigated as part of bombshell new probe

A bombshell new investigation into union spending, kickbacks, and underworld links will examine whether Victoria’s “cycle of lawlessness” infected the South Australian branch of the CFMEU.

A bombshell inquiry into the CFMEU’s South Australian branch is investigating if its former state boss received kickbacks, had links to organised crime and awarded himself pay rises.

The probe, triggered by an inquiry into allegations of CFMEU criminal and corrupt conduct in Victoria, is also separately assessing John Setka’s role in the SA branch takeover in 2022.

Its terms of reference asks investigators to uncover how the branch turned a 2021 surplus into $1.6m losses within three years and how a “viable, independent” branch became “functionally insolvent”.

John Setka’s takeover of the CFMEU’s South Australian branch will be probed as part of a new investigation. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Former SA branch secretary and state boss Marcus Pare is being investigated over claims credit card use may have breached union rules, and whether flights were used for “any unauthorised purpose”.

Mr Pare’s salary is also under the microscope, including if he authorised his own pay rise and car purchase, if there was “an arrangement with Mr Setka”, and whether either situation was disclosed to the union’s local management committee.

Authorities are also investigating if work on property he owned was done in return for favourable enterprise agreements and even how his mother came to be employed by a labour hire company.

Contracts for two other organisers will also be examined.

Mr Pare, who was removed as assistant SA secretary when administrators were installed in August, has maintained his innocence and has stated there was “no evidence of criminality in our branch”. Neither he nor Mr Setka responded to inquiries last night.

The leaked terms of reference, for administrator Mark Irving, refer to the union branch’s “Pare-Setka period”, which began in August, 2022.

Former CFMEU South Australia boss, Marcus Pare. Picture: Instagram

Records show Mr Setka, who once described SA comrades as “weak c****”, did not attend committee meetings after taking over as divisional secretary that left him controlling Tasmanian, Victorian and SA branches.

Papers also show in 2021, it had a surplus of $13,265. In the 2024 financial year, expenses ballooned to $944,190 more than net income while accumulated losses hit $1.6m.

The administrator has been asked to investigate if Mr Pare “improperly used his position to gain a financial advantage”, including by “facilitating the entry into enterprise agreements on compromised terms with employers in exchange for such benefits”.

They will also check if threats were made against officials, aimed at undermining administrators called in by the Albanese Government.

In July, Premier Peter Malinauskas asked the ALP to suspend the party’s CFMEU affiliation as he also called in police to investigate any union links to outlaw motorcycle gangs. While no such links were found, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens warned bikies have infiltrated elements of SA’s construction industry.