Setka victim of ‘sham process’, says Noonan

The CFMEU’s national leadership blasts Anthony Albanese’s bid to oust John Setka from Labor.

National secretary of the CFMEU’s construction division, Dave Noonan. Picture: Kelly Barnes

The construction union’s national leadership has blasted Anthony Albanese’s bid to oust John Setka from the Australian Labor Party as a “sham process”, and backed court action to block the attempt­ed expulsion.

In an escalation of tensions between­ the Opposition Leader and the CFMEU, the national secretary of the union’s construction division, Dave Noonan, yesterday accused Mr Albanese of pushing a “contrived outcome” whereby a verdict was imposed on Mr Setka before a trial, and the ALP national executive was ­expected to rubber-stamp it.

Mr Noonan questioned why Mr Setka deserved to be expelled when former cabinet minister and ex-ACTU president Martin Ferguson, a vocal critic of the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union, remained­ an ALP member.

“Why does Setka, who fights hard for his members, deserve ­expulsion while someone like Martin Ferguson remains a ­member, despite being a highly paid business lobbyist who uses his ALP membership and history to attack the Labor Party and unions­ at every single opportunity,” Mr Noonan said.

His comments came a day before Mr Setka’s application for an injunction against the move to expel him is heard in the Victorian Supreme Court today.

Mr Setka filed his application last week, claiming the ALP nationa­l constitution did not permi­t the national executive to expel him from the party, unless in ­accordance with the Victorian branch rules. His legal action targets­ Mr Albanese, former ALP national ­secretary Noah Carroll and members of the ALP national executive.

In an affidavit, Mr Setka said his expulsion would significantly affect him in performing his ­duties at the CFMEU and he might lose his position as ­Victorian secretary if he no longer could attend ALP conferences as a union delegate.

“Losing the position of ­secretary would have a devastating impact on me, as I have dedicated my life to the union movement,” Mr Setka said.

“It would also affect me financially, because being the secretary is my sole source of income. Losing­ that source of income would then affect my family, who depend on me financially.”

Mr Setka is believed to have the support of senior CFMEU ­officials, including its national secretary, Michael O’Connor.

Mr O’Connor, a member of the ALP national executive, has declined to comment publicly ahead of the executive meeting next week to formally determine Mr Setka’s expulsion.

The CFMEU stand represents a rejection of the call by ACTU secretary Sally McManus for Mr Setka to resign as the union’s ­Victorian secretary.

Mr Setka pleaded guilty to harassing a woman using a carriage­ service and breaching a court order. His wife, Emma Walter­s, reveale­d she was the victim­ and said she had accepted his apology for his ­actions.

Magistrate Belinda Wallington placed Mr Setka on a good ­behaviour bond, ordered him to participate in a behavioural change program, and to pay $1000 to an Aboriginal family violence organisation.

Mr Noonan said yesterday that Mr Setka’s “issues were dealt with appropriately by a court of law”.

“I strongly oppose the attempt to expel John Setka from the Labor Party,’’ he said.

‘It’s another case of first the verdict­, then the trial. The leader says someone will be expelled and the executive of the party is expected to rubber- stamp it.

“It’s the same sham process that occurred in 2007 when (then CFMEU official) Joe McDonald was kicked out by (then Labor leader) Kevin Rudd for swearing on a building site.

“In both cases, we’ve got contrived­ outcomes resulting from trial by media.”

Mr Albanese has argued that Mr Setka’s conduct has brought the entire Labor Party into dis­repute and he must be expelled to end the reputational damage being done to the ALP.

Mr Albanese said the harm to the ALP had been caused by the cumulative effect of Mr Setka’s conduct over the past few years. He cited a number of expletive-laden outbursts and public attacks by the unionist.

Mr Noonan said the “union and its members support John in fighting this unfair expulsion ­attempt”.

‘The Labor Party must focus on fighting the federal government’s attacks on working Australians and their unions,” he said.

The Victorian branch of the CFMEU and the state branch of the Electrical Trades Union, led by Troy Gray, have said they would stop millions of dollars in donation­s to the ALP if Mr Setka was expelled. But 13 unions — including­ some of the biggest, such as the ­female-dominated Aust­ralian Nur­s­ing and Midwifery Federa­tion — have backed Ms Mc­Manus’s call for Mr Setka to ­resign.

Outside the CFMEU, the sole national­ union to back Mr Setka publicly is the ETU. Construction union divisions in Western Australia and NSW and the Maritime Union in Western Australia have expressed support.

Victorian unions are split, with Mr Setka attracting the backing of a handful of ­ left-wing unions in Victoria, including the Rail Tram and Bus Union, the United Firefighters Union, the Plumbers Union, and Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.

The ETU’s Mr Gray has threatened to audit federal and Victorian Labor MPs for any history of domestic­ ­violence allegations, in retaliation for Mr Albanese and the ACTU moving against Setka.

Mr Gray claimed Mr Setka was being “stitched up” for sending private text messages to his wife and said that if Labor MPs wanted to be “judge and jury, we will be looking to see if people have skeletons in their closet”. “If sending a text message is the standard for resignation then there definitely will be some nervou­s politicians out there because­ we will audit them,’’ he said last month.