DPP drops blackmail charges against union officials John Setka and Shaun Reardon

Michaelia Cash says the dropping of blackmail charges against two trade unionists hasn’t undermined the union royal commission.

John Setka and his deputy Shaun Reardon this morning at the Melbourne Magistrates Court. Picture: Aaron Francis

Blackmail charges against two construction union bosses have been dropped but Federal Jobs Minister Michaelia Cash says the decision doesn’t damage the union royal commission’s legacy.

The Victorian DPP this morning dropped the charges against Victorian construction union boss John Setka and his deputy Shaun Reardon midway through their committal proceeding.

Mr Setka and Mr Reardon were both charged with one count of blackmail over alleged threats made to Boral executives during a meeting in April 2013.

It was alleged the two men made the threats during the blackban on Boral at the height of the union’s war on Grocon over the appointment of on-site health and safety officers.

Mr Setka, supported by Mr Reardon, is alleged to have threatened to blockade Boral’s plants if it continued to supply cement to builder Grocon while the union was fighting to have its officials appointed as occupational health and safety representatives at Grocon building sites.

Melbourne Magistrates Court had heard evidence from three witnesses since the committal began last Monday including Boral executives Paul Dalton and Peter Head.

It emerged the allegations of threats were only raised more than a year after the meeting at the time of trade union royal commission.

Prosecutor Ray Gibson said the charges were being dropped after a “careful assessment” of the evidence heard in the committal.

“This is our considered decision,” he said.

He said there was an agreement that the men’s legal team would not seek costs.

Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg said the withdrawal of charges was a “very sensible resolution”.

“In a way this case has highlighted the way police take statements is far more conducive to getting the facts as witnesses see them,” he said.

Mr Setka and Mr Reardon were charged in 2015 after an investigation by a joint Victorian and federal police unit, following a referral by the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption.

They had fought hard to get the charges dropped, taking the long-running case to the Supreme Court at one point.

Senator Michaelia Cash.

Asked by reporters if the decision was embarrassing for the Coalition government, which had pursued the CFMEU through the royal commission and the courts, Senator Cash said: “Absolutely not’’.

“That is a matter for the Victorian police,” she said.

“The CFMEU are without (doubt) one of the most notorious, in fact, they are the most notorious union in Australia. I think we’re up to about $14 million in fines.

“I recall, I think they’re also Bill Shorten’s biggest backer, and a vote for Bill Shorten won’t be a vote for Bill for The Lodge, as we know, it will be a vote to install the CFMEU in The Lodge, so absolutely not.

Senator Cash said the decision had not damaged the legacy of the royal commission, which was ordered under former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott. “Absolutely not. Because at the end of the day, royal commissions provide evidence, as we’ve all seen,” she said.

“The government responds to that evidence by way of implementing policy. That is exactly what the Turnbull government did.”

‘It was definitely a witch hunt’

Outside court, Mr Setka hit out at the federal government, accusing the Coalition of engaging in a “conspiracy’’.

“It was definitely a witch hunt,’’ he said.

“We know for a fact and the evidence has come out ... that it was a witch hunt.”

He said the charges were a conspiracy by the Liberal government and a few other people.

“That will all come out in time, we will be saying a lot more about this in the coming days,” he said.

Mr Setka said the police should have investigated the matter better and said the two key Boral witnesses had made 18 and 41 drafts of their statements.

.@CFMEUJohnSetka: It was definitely a witch hunt. After all the evidence has come to light, we know for a fact it was a conspiracy.

MORE: https://t.co/3ratYDbfkD #SkyLiveNow pic.twitter.com/2kpKxGpWBs

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) May 16, 2018

“We’re almost thinking of bringing Guinness Book of Records down here,” he said.

“I think there’s a lot of people who have got a lot to answer not just the police ... you’ve got all sorts of organisations that were involved in this conspiracy and it was to criminalise unionism in this country.”

Mr Setka said the court process had been a “very tough time”.

“It’s pretty daunting, blackmail just in itself the name blackmail sounds terrible,” he said.

“To be tagged with that, it does have an effect on your family, your kids ... at school, kinder, everywhere.”

On behalf of him and Mr Reardon, Mr Setka thanked his legal team, family and union officials including ACTU secretary Sally McManus and Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary, Luke Hilakari for their support.

‘A farcical prosecution’

Lawyer Peter Gordon, of Gordon Legal, made a statement on behalf of Mr Setka and Mr Reardon after the decision to abandon what he described as a “farcical prosecution”.

“The abandoning this morning of trumped up charges of blackmail ... brings an end to a dark chapter in Australia’s union and political history,” he said.

“I want to acknowledge the courage and the integrity of Victoria’s director of public prosecutions in bringing to a final end this farcical prosecution.”

He said the men and their families had endured years of anxiety and the prospect of prison sentences.

“All because one coffee shop conversation about work safety at Grocon got distorted and it got fabricated into a blackmail threat,” he said.

Mr Gordon went on to say the credibility of Boral and its two executive Paul Dalton and Peter Head had been “shredded” during the committal.

Senior Partner of Gordon Legal, Peter Gordon: The only question of criminal conduct raised here is in various aspects of the concoction of this case against these innocent men, in the destruction and distortion of evidence.

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— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) May 16, 2018

“Crucially it’s been exposed that neither of Boral’s men took the coffee shop conversation as any kind of threat at the time and they did not think of it as any kind of threat for over a year,” he said.

He said the men’s view of the conversation was changed once lawyers were involved, including Boral’s internal counsel, external lawyers, lawyers for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and lawyers for the trade union royal commission.

“All of these lawyers were given their writing instructions by men who were on a mission for the extreme right of our politics,” he said.

Mr Gordon said the “entirely innocent” conversation in April 2013 had been “exaggerated and distorted” into a false claim of blackmail.

“That’s the only way in which these charges could have been brought,” he said.

He said Boral and the trade union royal commission should now be scrutinised.