The Big Mac seems to have gone cold on the Setka time bomb.
But hi drama is unfolding - will ScoMo take Bogan Jacqui's lead and move to deregister the CFMMEU Commo Socialist disaster ?
And won't the unions' fury be let loose on Albo if that happens. What about that Commo Socialist Extremist Feminazi Sheila ?
Shorty will be dusting off his daggy crumpled blue soots that look like he sleeps in them in preparation for reseizing the leadership.John Setka’s refusal to quit raises threat of CFMMEU deregistrationSamantha Maiden 11:13am, Jun 12, 2019 Updated: 2h ago
John Setka and wife Emma Waters at Wednesday's media conference. Photo: AAP
The Morrison government will consider deregistering the CFMMEU after Victorian secretary John Setka confirmed he will not quit, even if he is convicted of criminal charges of harassing a woman.Unions are bracing for an all-out assault on the labour movement in the wake of this week’s Setka drama.
Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie has previously called for deregistration, meaning the Coalition could need just two more votes in the Senate to deregister the controversial construction union.
Another option would be to revive the “fit and proper” person test, which would prohibit Mr Setka, if he is convicted, from holding the union role.
Flanked by his wife Emma Walters on Wednesday, a defiant Mr Sekta said he would not resign from his $200,000-a-year job leading the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Maritime and Energy Union in Victoria and Tasmania.
“There’s no reason for me to resign,” Mr Setka told a media conference in Melbourne.
“I represent CFMMEU members, right? They employ me. They’re my bosses. If people want to expel me out of the Labor Party over false accusations then, so be it.”
Mr Setka’s ALP membership was suspended on Tuesday and federal party leader Anthony Albanese has said he will move to expel the union boss after reports he disparaged the work of anti-violence campaigner Rosie Batty.
He also faces charges of having used a carriage service to harass a woman. Mr Setka has indicated he will plead guilty to those charges, after a plea deal with Victoria Police.
ACTU secretary Sally McManus faces a major leadership test after the embattled Mr Setka signalled his determination to retain his job.
A statement from ACTU secretary Sally McManus on Wednesday afternoon.
The powerful CFMMEU was one of the biggest donors to the ACTU’s Change The Rules election campaign, led by Ms McManus. It is estimated to have cost up to $25 million.
“I’ve never seen a greater gift presented to the Libs to go after deregistration and to hit the broader movement as collateral,” a union source said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison first raised the prospect of deregistering the CFMMEU in September 2018, after Mr Setka used his children on Father’s Day to send an offensive message to the Australian Building and Construction Commission. The idea was quickly shot down by the crossbench.
“The CFMEU has behaved under John Setka like a bunch of thugs, and to involve children in that, I think, is one of the ugliest things I’ve seen,” Mr Morrison said last year.
Several years ago, independent Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie called for the union to be deregistered.
“If the Abbott government was serious about tackling crime and corruption in the building and construction industry and lowering costs, they would have moved very quickly to deregister the CFMEU – and perhaps other unions,” she said.
The government is expected to use the Setka issue to revive laws that union leaders must meet a “fit and proper” person test.
In NSW, police have charged assistant CFMMEU secretary Michael Greenfield with buying cocaine from two union organisers. The three NSW officials remain, like Mr Setka, employed by the union as the legal cases play out.
A defiant Mr Setka said he could see no reason to quit as CFMMEU secretary.
Mr Albanese will bring a motion to expel Mr Setka from the Labor Party at its next executive meeting. He has stressed that move does not relate to the criminal charges – which allows the party to act before Mr Setka’s next court appearance in late June.
“What I said about Rosie Batty … Well, I just made reference to what legal people had sort of said in regards to laws and that was it,” Mr Setka said on Wednesday
“There was no denigration of Rosie Batty whatsoever. And whoever says that should be ashamed of themselves.”
However, the question of Mr Sekta’s ongoing employment as the Victorian CFMMEU secretary is another matter.
If he refuses to quit, the only option is to charge him with bringing the union into disrepute.
The ACTU and Ms McManus would then come under pressure to back in the CFMMEU to remove Mr Sekta.
Mr Setka conceded he faced criticism from his own union, where he is understood to have fallen out with deputy Shaun Reardon, and the broader Labor movement.
Read the thrilling rest herehttps://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/06/12/john-setka-refuses-quit/?utm...
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