John Setka CFMEU power push a done deal

The John Setka-led takeover of the SA CFMEU is now complete, with the Victorian construction union boss being welcomed with open arms in ­Adelaide on Wednesday.

John Setka. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

The John Setka-led takeover of the South Australian CFMEU is now complete, with the Victorian construction union boss being welcomed with open arms in ­Adelaide on Wednesday as the new secretary of the SA division.

In an ominous sign for locally owned construction firms that use non-union labour and have a good relationship with their workers, Mr Setka indicated that under his watch, the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union has a baseline expectation that all CBD construction sites must be unionised.

SA CFMEU members gathered at the union’s South Terrace headquarters in the CBD where they voted to install Mr Setka as state secretary in what the union is calling “co-operative administration” of the SA Branch.

The successful vote confirms Mr Setka as one of the most powerful union leaders in the land, heading the CFMEU in half the country as state secretary of Victoria, SA and Tasmania.

The meeting was held behind closed doors and the media was not permitted entry, but The Australian understands Mr Setka said a key priority was to deliver a better deal for SA CFMEU members and to put an end to non-union worksites in the CBD.

In past months, No Ticket No Start signs have started emerging on major SA construction sites that are now under CFMEU control and being manned by office-bearers from the union who have come to SA from interstate.

Wednesday night’s meeting was the culmination of years of white-anting by Mr Setka of the SA branch, whom he labelled “weak c..ts” who deserved “a good f..king” over the more moderate leadership of ousted state secretary Aaron Cartledge.

Since then, the branch has seen an explosion in fines for right-of-entry breaches as it becomes more militant under the leadership of people sent in from interstate, several of whom have convictions in the Federal Court for breaches of industrial law.

CFMEU construction division national secretary Dave Noonan has downplayed talk of a takeover, saying the SA branch will be run out of Victoria for only “two to three years” while its ailing fin­ances are restored and local leaders are identified.

He has confirmed that the new structure means the SA secretary will be Mr Setka and the SA president would be Victorian president Robert Graauwmans, who will have final say over the union’s SA management team.

It is that last fact that is unnerving business leaders in SA, with several firms, including Multi­plex and Built Pty Ltd, already signing generous new enterprise agreements with the CFMEU that offer conditions beyond anything seen in SA.

SA Property Council chief Daniel Gannon told The Australian there were fears the combination of industrial conflict and higher labour costs could harm an already struggling sector.

“A key component of South Australia’s property industry is construction, which builds homes for people and provides meaningful employment for workers,” Mr Gannon said on Wednesday.

“Given recent and current pandemic challenges that have resulted in supply constraints, ­labour shortages and costs that are rising faster than inflation, there is significant downward pressure on development.

“The property industry is concerned that the current takeover could add further heat to rising costs, which will place even more stress on job-creating development projects.”

There are fears within business and other unions such as the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union that the Victorian-led CFMEU is looking to extend its industrial reach into the Osborne Naval Shipyards at Port Adelaide where ASC is heading up Australia’s shipbuilding and submarine program.

A defence industry figure said the prospect of the CFMEU playing any role at Osborne should be “resisted at all costs”.

“These projects are huge for SA and the nation and the last thing we need there in terms of national and economic security is the CFMEU arriving and killing the goose that is laying the golden egg,” the source said.

The Victorian takeover has become a political headache for new SA Premier Peter Malinauskas after it emerged that SA Labor accepted a $125,000 donation from Mr Setka’s branch three days prior to its March 19 election victory, despite Mr Malinauskas promising in January that if elected, he would ban union and business donations.

While keeping the money, the Premier has said he was concerned about the threat of any Victorian-fuelled militancy in SA.

“We will be watching very closely to see if that occurs; if it does, I will be a premier that will rail against it,” he said.

The state opposition on Wednesday accused Labor of hypocrisy over the donation and demanded it donate the $125,000 to a domestic violence charity. Opposition spokeswoman for women Michelle Lensink said the Premier should have nothing to do with the Victorian CFMEU, given Mr Setka’s conviction for harassing his estranged wife, Emma Walters. “(He) has to put his money where his mouth is and donate that CFMEU money to a domestic violence charity in a move that says, ‘I will not tolerate this behaviour’,” she said.