John Setka's "denigrating" of domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty and his alleged harassment of a woman is just the latest in a long history of controversial behaviour engaged in by the militant union leader.

The head of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union in Victoria has an extensive record that includes intimidation, threats and a month in Pentridge Prison in 1990 for breaching a court order telling him to stay away from a building site.

He has told reporters his troubles date back to his youth in Footscray where a policeman would pull him over and tell him “don’t call me a c--t" to instigate a confrontation and lay charges against him.

Mr Setka has allegedly told a meeting of the CFMEU national executive that Ms Batty's actions campaigning against domestic violence had led to men having fewer rights. Peter Nicholson

At aged 19, in the 1980s, he would join the militant Builders Labourers Federation under the mentorship of John Cummins, a legend in the labour movement who was arrested dozens of times for going on building sites.

Mr Setka's own industrial conduct was manifest at the infamous Grocon picket in 2012, where he was fined for punching the windscreen of a van driven by a Grocon manager and telling him he hoped he would "die of your cancer" and threatening to "come after [him]".


A decade earlier, in 2003, he had been fined for threatening another Grocon manager by telling him “You just f---ing watch, I’ll get you. I’ve got a 12-year-old son and I swear on his f---ing life, I swear on my son’s life, you watch, I’ll fix you up."

His intimidation continued into 2017 when he issued a "dire warning" to Australian Building and Construction Commission inspectors by saying he would reveal their home addresses and harass them where they lived.

"They will not be able to show their faces anywhere," Mr Setka told a union rally. "Their kids will be ashamed of who their parents are when we expose all these ABCC inspectors."

Mr Setka would later apologise for the comments. But the next year he would tweet a picture of his children holding up a Father's Day message to ABCC head Stephen McBurney that said "Go Get F---d".

He later deleted the tweet and admitted he was emotional on Father's Day and had had a "tough year".

That tough year has only continued.

At the end of 2018, he would launch an offensive outburst against Kevin Rudd at Labor's national conference during Labor leader Bill Shorten's peace overtures to the former prime minister.

After raising his fist at Mr Rudd, Mr Setka called him a "f---ing dog" and "a maggot" over his failure to scrap the building industry watchdog after he was elected in 2007.

The comments enraged senior members of the Labor national executive but Mr Setka maintained his party membership.

Weeks later, police would charge him with the alleged harassment of a woman and allegedly recklessly causing her injury.

His lawyers have indicated he will plead guilty to two charges of harassment, including by carriage service, such as texts and phone calls, while police withdrew dozens of other charges.

Reports in the Herald Sun say Mr Setka sent some 45 text messages to the woman including calling her a "c--t", "drunken moron" and a "weak f---n piece of s--t".

Now, just a few months later, Mr Setka has allegedly told a meeting of the CFMEU national executive that Ms Batty's actions campaigning against domestic violence had led to men having fewer rights.

The union leader has said the comments were taken out of context.

cods wrote on Jun 13^th, 2019 at 5:30pm:


I don't think they'll bring Shorten back.

Jason Clare and Brendan O'Connor are probably the Unions' first choice.

Albo won't last.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 13^th, 2019 at 8:15pm:



why wouldnt he get the backing from those who elected him... well they gave him a free kick  everybody else dropped out...

in the mean time  I can see SETKA becoming the new leader

why not ?  hes the big boy isnt he?

His union colleagues are demanding an audit of the phone records of those involved in the meeting to discover how it was leaked

I am shocked albo has no support from your mongrel party....

cods wrote on Jun 14^th, 2019 at 3:18pm:


Were you shocked when Turnbull had no support from your corrupt & inept party?

Were you shocked when Abbott had no support from your corrupt & inept party?

FFS   

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 14^th, 2019 at 4:11pm:

I WAS HORRIFIED... AND DIDNT VOTE LIBERAL AGAIN UNTIL THIS YEAR

tell us were you horrified when shortarse assassinated TWO LABOR PMS..


I dont recall you being upset  and YOUR party machine gave him the leadership AS A REWARD..