Secretary of the CFMEU's Victorian branch, John Setka, abruptly resigned from the role on Friday.
Investigations revealed Setka had threatened and intimidated union members - and employed key underworld figures on major construction projects.
Australian correspondent Steve Price explains what this means for the future of the union.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Speaking watch in Australia see Price, very good morning to you.
Good you've been watching on like the rest.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Of us, I sure have. I mean, it was an
extraordinary day yesterday, wasn't it. To witness that unfold live,
and you know, takes you back those of us old
enough to remember back to the bad old days when
routinely in America people were shot dead, whether they be
presidents or or you know, religious leaders. It was just
(00:26):
an extraordinary day in the Australian government. I was really
surprised to really interested to watch what exactly was the
reaction of people like Anthony Albanesi. I mean Donald Trump
obviously clearly he's not a favored you know, made the
Labor Party, and I thought Anthony Abenese's reaction was pretty strange.
(00:48):
He said, oh, well, you know, these are very different,
difficult times, and we need to think about exactly what
we're going to do in regard to to keeping all
of us safe, in our other politicians safe, and he
then started referring to I've told you about this, the
officers that were actually being daled with red paint by
(01:09):
anti pro Palestinian protestperants. He didn't say, look, you know
I feel sorry for Donald Trump and all. He didn't
really make a massive comment about the fact that the
persons had been child I mean it was almost as if,
well as Donald Trump, does it really matter? Yeah, I
found that.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, it's a funny thing, isn't. I just wonder how
did your media handle it? By the way, I note
the channel team Sky, who you work for, among other things,
I know, throughout their programming yesterday and went live with it.
Did the other networks go live as well?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Yeah, all but ten and I do work for ten,
So they stuck with normal programming for about an hour
and a half and then went live. But everybody else
threw everything out and went live with it, which, of
course it would crazy if you wouldn't do that. It's
the biggest story probably, but we witnessed for the last
twenty years or so. And look, it'll be interesting to
(02:04):
see when Anthony Albaniez asked again, which he will be
whenever he goes out today, exactly how he feels about it.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Exactly what I was speaking of television. I was watching
you on Friday night eight o'clock New Zealand Time, six
o'clock your time. The SEC guy that you've got the
breaking news on Just explain for the background, because the
unions have been crooked for years and they seem to
have finally sprung them.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Yeah. This is the CFMU, which stands for Construction, Forestry,
Mining and Engineering Union, and it is completely corrupt and
John Setca resigned on Friday night. We broke that story
on Sky just after six o'clock. And the reason it
was so important is that all of the major infrastructure
(02:45):
projects in Melbourne are manned by members of that union.
All of them are over budget, all of them are
over time, and it's sixty minutes last night on nine
and the nine newspapers today revealed that the deals at
the CFM you were doing but basically standover tactics. I
mean they're saying to the state government, Okay, we donate
(03:06):
money to you when you get elected, and what we
are going to do now is put our hand up
for all of these jobs and you're going to pay
us very well. He managed to get his workers people
in his union major pay rises over the last two
or three years, and Sepker himself has now been revealed
to be actually threatening fellow union members that if they
(03:28):
don't stay with his union then he's going to come
and get them. His vision of him going to someone's
house on the other union member's houses dropping a suitcase
off with the inscription on top of a case of
case itself that you're a dog. And so he stepped
down Friday night and as you know, we we broke
that story on sky.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Explain to me how you can have bikings and criminals
acting as delegates employed on federal and state government funded
projects and there's not a politician, including somebody who's hung
around a long time Daniel Andrews not doing something about that.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Well, the current premier just Cinda Allen's husband is a
former CFMY you member and her grandfather was head of
the Tradeswall Council in Bendigo. I mean, the Labor party
here doesn't survive without donations from the union movement. It's
as simple as that.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Unreal. Are you catching a plane?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
I mean Sydney airbook that's catch a plane to Melbourne? Yes?
Speaker 1 (04:25):
No, no, just just checking? Did you need to check
in it? Are they leading you straight through to the
lounge or you got some problems here?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Or I mean I can't mention the name of the
landy and I've had this discussion before. Haven't made so
exclusive to talk about her.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
There, Brittany, you know, yes, I do know that Brittany
Higgins in announcing she's pregnant is when does she stop
becoming a story?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Never? Probably? I mean she's still got that court case
against Linda Reynolds, her former boss, the minister, and that
case is going ahead in Perth. But she's back with
her husband, David Chiraz in France, as you know, bought
themselves a house in the little village in France and
today they've announced their happy news that they're going to
(05:11):
have their first child and that she is pregnant, So
that will make big news all day. People still want
to know what Britney Higgins is up to. That's just
that's how it is.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Safe mate, we'll see Wednesday. Appreciate a very much steep
price out of Australia. Yes, if you've not followed the
union movement in Australia, particularly in Victoria, it's been going
on for decades, literally decades, and it's been widely known
that they're all crooks in everything they do and build
in Australia is conducted in some way, shape or form
by a nefarious activity, and yet they've only that's now
(05:42):
really blown the whole thing wide open. Wasn't that interesting
what Steve said about, you know, one of the biggest
stories in twenty years and why on earth wouldn't you
throw you format? I go back to what I said
earlier on about TV one and TV three. I don't
know what the arrangement is with stuff in TV three
these days, But does TV three want a new service
or maybe they don't care anymore, or maybe maybe was
(06:03):
that part of the contract. Did they say, hey, listen,
if something big happens, we expect you to cover it
live throughout the day. Because that didn't happen yesterday. A
number of people defending TV one and TV three by
saying it was on their app. That's not what I'm
talking about. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm
talking about is it was a televisual story. It was
the biggest story of the years. It's a moment in history,
(06:26):
and you throw everything out and you go live and
you run the pictures.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Well, well, I'm wondering if that was the problem they've
thrown everything out, or well if they put it on
they just don't have the gin.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Yeah, maybe that is the problem, Maybe they don't know
how to go live anymore. But you cannot claim to
have a news service and be a news organization if
you can't cover the news when it happens all day,
every day until it's exhausted people. I mean, what else
were they doing yesterday on a Sunday at one in
the afternoon. What's the audience on Sunday one in the afternoon,
apart from no one. There's no advertising, there's no audience.
(06:58):
Go for broke. I've got the biggest story in the
world right in front of you, and I'm switching to one.
I'm switching to three. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing and nothing.
How you justify that? I've got no idea For more
from the Mic Asking Breakfast, Listen live to News Talks
at B from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
Speaking watch in Australia see Price, very good morning to you.
Good you've been watching on like the rest.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Of us, I sure have. I mean, it was an
extraordinary day yesterday, wasn't it. To witness that unfold live,
and you know, takes you back those of us old
enough to remember back to the bad old days when
routinely in America people were shot dead, whether they be
presidents or or you know, religious leaders. It was just
(00:26):
an extraordinary day in the Australian government. I was really
surprised to really interested to watch what exactly was the
reaction of people like Anthony Albanesi. I mean Donald Trump
obviously clearly he's not a favored you know, made the
Labor Party, and I thought Anthony Abenese's reaction was pretty strange.
(00:48):
He said, oh, well, you know, these are very different,
difficult times, and we need to think about exactly what
we're going to do in regard to to keeping all
of us safe, in our other politicians safe, and he
then started referring to I've told you about this, the
officers that were actually being daled with red paint by
(01:09):
anti pro Palestinian protestperants. He didn't say, look, you know
I feel sorry for Donald Trump and all. He didn't
really make a massive comment about the fact that the
persons had been child I mean it was almost as if,
well as Donald Trump, does it really matter? Yeah, I
found that.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, it's a funny thing, isn't. I just wonder how
did your media handle it? By the way, I note
the channel team Sky, who you work for, among other things,
I know, throughout their programming yesterday and went live with it.
Did the other networks go live as well?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Yeah, all but ten and I do work for ten,
So they stuck with normal programming for about an hour
and a half and then went live. But everybody else
threw everything out and went live with it, which, of
course it would crazy if you wouldn't do that. It's
the biggest story probably, but we witnessed for the last
twenty years or so. And look, it'll be interesting to
(02:04):
see when Anthony Albaniez asked again, which he will be
whenever he goes out today, exactly how he feels about it.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Exactly what I was speaking of television. I was watching
you on Friday night eight o'clock New Zealand Time, six
o'clock your time. The SEC guy that you've got the
breaking news on Just explain for the background, because the
unions have been crooked for years and they seem to
have finally sprung them.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Yeah. This is the CFMU, which stands for Construction, Forestry,
Mining and Engineering Union, and it is completely corrupt and
John Setca resigned on Friday night. We broke that story
on Sky just after six o'clock. And the reason it
was so important is that all of the major infrastructure
(02:45):
projects in Melbourne are manned by members of that union.
All of them are over budget, all of them are
over time, and it's sixty minutes last night on nine
and the nine newspapers today revealed that the deals at
the CFM you were doing but basically standover tactics. I
mean they're saying to the state government, Okay, we donate
(03:06):
money to you when you get elected, and what we
are going to do now is put our hand up
for all of these jobs and you're going to pay
us very well. He managed to get his workers people
in his union major pay rises over the last two
or three years, and Sepker himself has now been revealed
to be actually threatening fellow union members that if they
(03:28):
don't stay with his union then he's going to come
and get them. His vision of him going to someone's
house on the other union member's houses dropping a suitcase
off with the inscription on top of a case of
case itself that you're a dog. And so he stepped
down Friday night and as you know, we we broke
that story on sky.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Explain to me how you can have bikings and criminals
acting as delegates employed on federal and state government funded
projects and there's not a politician, including somebody who's hung
around a long time Daniel Andrews not doing something about that.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Well, the current premier just Cinda Allen's husband is a
former CFMY you member and her grandfather was head of
the Tradeswall Council in Bendigo. I mean, the Labor party
here doesn't survive without donations from the union movement. It's
as simple as that.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Unreal. Are you catching a plane?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
I mean Sydney airbook that's catch a plane to Melbourne? Yes?
Speaker 1 (04:25):
No, no, just just checking? Did you need to check
in it? Are they leading you straight through to the
lounge or you got some problems here?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Or I mean I can't mention the name of the
landy and I've had this discussion before. Haven't made so
exclusive to talk about her.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
There, Brittany, you know, yes, I do know that Brittany
Higgins in announcing she's pregnant is when does she stop
becoming a story?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Never? Probably? I mean she's still got that court case
against Linda Reynolds, her former boss, the minister, and that
case is going ahead in Perth. But she's back with
her husband, David Chiraz in France, as you know, bought
themselves a house in the little village in France and
today they've announced their happy news that they're going to
(05:11):
have their first child and that she is pregnant, So
that will make big news all day. People still want
to know what Britney Higgins is up to. That's just
that's how it is.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Safe mate, we'll see Wednesday. Appreciate a very much steep
price out of Australia. Yes, if you've not followed the
union movement in Australia, particularly in Victoria, it's been going
on for decades, literally decades, and it's been widely known
that they're all crooks in everything they do and build
in Australia is conducted in some way, shape or form
by a nefarious activity, and yet they've only that's now
(05:42):
really blown the whole thing wide open. Wasn't that interesting
what Steve said about, you know, one of the biggest
stories in twenty years and why on earth wouldn't you
throw you format? I go back to what I said
earlier on about TV one and TV three. I don't
know what the arrangement is with stuff in TV three
these days, But does TV three want a new service
or maybe they don't care anymore, or maybe maybe was
(06:03):
that part of the contract. Did they say, hey, listen,
if something big happens, we expect you to cover it
live throughout the day. Because that didn't happen yesterday. A
number of people defending TV one and TV three by
saying it was on their app. That's not what I'm
talking about. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm
talking about is it was a televisual story. It was
the biggest story of the years. It's a moment in history,
(06:26):
and you throw everything out and you go live and
you run the pictures.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Well, well, I'm wondering if that was the problem they've
thrown everything out, or well if they put it on
they just don't have the gin.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Yeah, maybe that is the problem, Maybe they don't know
how to go live anymore. But you cannot claim to
have a news service and be a news organization if
you can't cover the news when it happens all day,
every day until it's exhausted people. I mean, what else
were they doing yesterday on a Sunday at one in
the afternoon. What's the audience on Sunday one in the afternoon,
apart from no one. There's no advertising, there's no audience.
(06:58):
Go for broke. I've got the biggest story in the
world right in front of you, and I'm switching to one.
I'm switching to three. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing and nothing.
How you justify that? I've got no idea For more
from the Mic Asking Breakfast, Listen live to News Talks
at B from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
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