John Setka’s wife Emma Walters says he just wants to be with his wife and kids

EMMA Walters whose union boss husband John Setka was sensationally acquitted of blackmail charges this week has revealed her harrowing pain during the drawn out battle.

EMMA Walters has revealed her harrowing pain during the drawn out court battle which saw her union boss husband John Setka sensationally ­acquitted of blackmail charges this week

Ms Walters told the Herald Sun “we are just an ordinary family” and described being pushed to the brink during more than two years that the CFMEU boss fought to clear his name.

“No one will ever understand what this has done to my family,’’ she said. “My husband is a good man, he is a man who looks after his children, he looks after his family and he is all heart and soul.

“I would be lying if I didn’t say I found the last three years very difficult because he has been portrayed in a way that I find confronting and my family has found confronting.

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“He is a unionist but he is also a family man. He just wants to be with his wife and children. He is a good man,’’ she said.

John Setka’s wife, Emma Walters. Picture: Andrew Tauber

Ms Walters, 42, invited the Herald Sun into her Melbourne home this week in the bid to show a softer side to her ­husband.

Mr Setka is regularly in the media for his militant role at the head of the CFMEU.

He and Shaun Reardon were facing charges of blackmail in the Supreme Court for threats that were allegedly ­directed at Boral executives during an hour-long meeting at a cafe in North Melbourne in April 2013.

However the charges were withdrawn suddenly this week by the Director of Public ­Prosecutions.

Ms Walters welcomed the decision but said it would never remove the trauma from her children’s memories.

The couples’ daughter and son were toddlers at the time of Mr Setka’s arrest and ­witnessed him being detained by officers on a Sunday trip to the markets.

Emma Walters with her husband, CFMEU boss John Setka and their son on their wedding day. Picture: Andrew Tauber

A tearful Ms Walters also said it was not the first ­traumatic experience as a ­result of her husband’s job.

In 2012, during the Melbourne CBD Grocon blockade, she suffered two miscarriages as a result of stress while her husband was on the picket lines. But despite the personal pain, Ms Walters said she would never ask her husband to give up his job.

“I want him to keep doing what he does because I believe in what he does,’’ she said.

“I will stand by my man ­because I have been on those building sites and I know what he does is right.”

The pair met when Ms Walters, a lawyer, was also working at the union. They married four years ago on Mr Setka’s 50th birthday.

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