It's taken far too long for Labor to take action on Setka

When John Setka went on his rambling rant at his union’s national executive last week the most telling response was the silence.

No one in the room of 20-plus senior leaders cut the Victorian construction union leader short as he said the Australian Labor Party could "suck me off", as he went into graphic detail about the criminal case against him for harassing a woman, and most crucially for his comments about the campaigner against domestic violence Rosie Batty.

John Setka.Credit: Justin McManus

He repeatedly said he had "nothing to be ashamed of," despite having previously indicated he would plead guilty to criminal charges.

At the end of the speech one attendee, Chris Cain from the Maritime Union, even proposed a motion of support for Setka. Setka himself shot that motion down, claiming it was not appropriate at this time, according to a detailed briefing from one attendee at the meeting.

The national executive of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union has been complicit by its silence. But it's not the only one.

It is now nearly three weeks since Setka flagged pleading guilty to charges of harassing a woman and breaching a court order. The public response from labour movement leaders has been, until the last few days, nothing.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus and president Michele O'Neil said nothing substantive until now. Nor did other labour movement leaders.

Their (weak) argument has been that they could not comment as the matter was before the courts, even though Setka has said he will plead guilty.

Considering how hard Labor and the unions have campaigned against the scourge of violence against women, the response has rightly been met with public scorn.

It was only once The Age and Sydney Morning Herald reported the nature of the persistent harassment by Setka, along with his comments about Batty that this position became untenable.

In the days since the public positions have shifted from motherhood statements to more pointed criticism.

Now Labor leader Anthony Albanese has moved to expel him from the party, a move endorsed by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

McManus has said Setka should go from his union role if allegations of violence against a woman are correct. It's worth noting in this context that the assault charge against him has already been dropped.

Meanwhile, Setka remains leader of his union, and there are few people in public life with thicker skin. On Tuesday he gave an interview, standing his ground, refusing to resign and hitting back at his growing number of critics.

John Setka has withstood political witch-hunts and ideological attacks, and he has won some significant gains for his members. But this has not been a political attack.

It is now up to the leaders and members of his own union - the only ones who can remove him - to step up and finally deal with this crisis.