Premier Peter Malinauskas to repay $125k union donation after vandalism in South Australia

Peter Malinauskas has severed ties with the John Setka-led Victorian CFMEU, ordering Labor to return a $125,000 donation from the union division.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas says ‘intimidating behaviour is never consistent with the interests of working people’. Picture: Matt Loxton

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has severed ties with the John Setka-led Victorian CFMEU, ordering Labor to repay a $125,000 donation from the union division after a spate of vandalism at the SA Master Builders Association headquarters on Friday.

The extraordinary development comes as the federal government defends moves to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission, with SA business leaders saying they fear the stand-over tactics in SA will now go unchallenged.

Mr Malinauskas told The Australian he had become increasingly concerned by the rising influence of the Victorian division over the SA branch, which was formalised last Wednesday with John Setka being installed as SA state secretary.

At his behest, SA Labor will hold an emergency state executive meeting on Monday where it will either return the $125,000 to the Victorian CFMEU, or if legally possible, donate the amount to a mental health charity.

John Setka. Picture: AAP

The trigger for Mr Malinauskas’ intervention was suspicious activity at the Master Builders Association headquarters in the Adelaide CBD on Friday afternoon when a group of people drove laps in a car outside the office shouting abuse at MBA staff.

CFMEU stickers were adhered to MBA vehicles. MBA SA CEO Will Frogley returned to his car after work on Friday to find the windscreen wipers had been snapped and left at right angles.

SA Police have been asked to investigate and the MBA is adding extra surveillance and security to its office, which is 100m away from the CFMEU headquarters on South Terrace in the Adelaide CBD.

While Mr Frogley has made no comment on the incident. Others in the SA building industry are aware of it, as is the Premier.

There is no suggestion Mr Setka has any knowledge of nor involvement in the incidents.

However, video has emerged of last Wednesday’s SA CFMEU meeting where a fired-up Mr Setka led a show of strength by the union aimed at the SA building industry.

Mr Setka and two other CFMEU leaders stood on stage repeatedly shouting “union”, to which the hundred-odd members shouted back “power”, holding their fists clenched in the air.

The video has been distributed among business circles in SA over the past few days and has also been seen by the Premier.

Mr Malinauskas spent much of last week monitoring the rising influence of the Victorian division and has now decided to act and return the donation.

Broken windscreen wipers on Will Frogley’s car on Friday.

A lifelong member of Labor’s right faction, Mr Malinauskas had good dealings with business while heading the SA retail union the SDA, and also won public plaudits from key lobby groups, including the MBA, ahead of the March election for his pro-business attitude.

“Throughout the entire time I have been in the labour movement I have made it clear that intimidating behaviour is never consistent with the interests of working people,” Mr Malinauskas told The Australian.

“I will always call it out and stand against any behaviour that gives the union movement a bad name.

“I have been concerned from the outset that a bad culture within sections of the CFMEU could find its way over the border into SA. The prospect of that is something I will continue to remain vigilant against.”

One senior Labor figure told The Australian they “cannot believe the stupidity” of any strong-arm tactics when unions and Labor are arguing for the abolition of the ABCC.

“It really is quite a charm offensive they’re mounting,” the source said.

The $125,000 was accepted by SA Labor just three days prior to its March 19 election win and two months after Mr Malinauskas promised that, if elected, he would ban union and business donations to political parties.

Labor had sought to defend the donation, with then state secretary Reggie Martin telling The Australian donations had been sought “as a matter of course” from all affiliated unions, of which the CFMEU was one.

Labor also argued the money was sought locally through then SA branch secretary Andy Sutherland, and that the party did not know it would ultimately be paid by Mr Setka’s Victorian branch.

Mr Martin and Mr Malinauskas said they had never met and never spoken to Mr Setka.

However, the donation became increasingly awkward for Labor once The Australian revealed, firstly, that the Victorians were taking formal control of the SA branch, and then that the $125,000 had also been paid by Mr Setka’s branch.

Even Mr Setka’s estranged wife, Emma Walters, emerged on the weekend demanding Labor donate the money to a domestic violence charity, pointing to Mr Setka’s conviction for harassing her.

However, The Australian understands Mr Malinauskas has asked that the money simply be repaid to the union, or if legally permissible, donated to Mates in Construction, the industry and union-backed construction workers mental health foundation, the patron of which in SA is former Liberal Premier Dean Brown.

Mr Setka’s takeover of the SA branch is the culmination of years of white-anting, where he labelled the SA division “weak c...s” who “deserve a good f..king” after he learnt that SA CFMEU members had been working over the Christmas-New Year period, when he believed they should have been on holidays.

Ousted former state secretary Aaron Cartledge told The Australian that Victorian control of the SA branch had long been Mr Setka’s goal, in addition to his running the Victorian and Tasmanian divisions.

“I have no doubt the landscape in the SA Building industry will change to a more militant style of leadership ship under the Victorian branch,” Mr Cartledge told The Australian.

“The Victorians are very well resourced and operate very different from the disjointed and failed national control of the last four years.

“There is very little chance the Victorian branch will hand back the ownership to SA in three to four years as stated. It has always been John Setka’s dream to add South Australia along with Tasmania and Victoria and call it ‘the great southern branch’ of the CFMEU construction division.”

The Australian has spoken to several building industry leaders – none of whom will go on the record – about their fears of the CFMEU using strong-arm tactics against non-CFMEU worksites.

Several SA construction firms have their own EBAs with non-union staff but Mr Setka has indicated his first priority as SA secretary will be to ensure there are no non-union work sites anywhere in the Adelaide CBD.

The Australian has issued an open invitation to Mr Setka for an interview but he has yet to accept.

CFMEU construction division national secretary Dave Noonan said the union was seeking information from the MBA about Friday’s events at its headquarters.

“The union was this afternoon (Sunday) made aware of an allegation that a car was vandalised at the SA MBA office on Friday,” he said.

“Contact has been made with the SA MBA CEO to seek details of the alleged incident.”