Union boss says he will mount a legal challenge against moves to expel him from Labor party

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The embattled union boss John Setka has threatened to halt CFMMEU donations to Labor, said he would mount a legal challenge against moves to expel him from the party and has indicated he will investigate who had leaked against him from the union’s national executive.

The federal Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, has said he plans to expel Setka at a 5 July national executive meeting over claims the CFMMEU Victorian secretary denigrated anti-domestic violence advocate Rosie Batty in a conversation with union colleagues.

But Setka, who has denied making the comments, said on Monday he would challenge his expulsion in the courts.

“Look, my view is I will challenge it,” he told the New Daily. “It’s up to the members because it would be a costly exercise.”

John Setka scandal: Australian Workers' Union joins calls for CFMMEU leader to quit Read more

Last week Setka rebuffed growing calls to step down after he was accused of denigrating Batty during a CFMMEU national executive meeting. The calls also came against the backdrop of harassment charges Setka will face this month.

On Monday he claimed the push to oust him was in fact prompted by his threat to stop the flow of donations from his union to Labor.

He said he had warned in the meeting there would be “no more money to the ALP”. “We are freezing everything,” he told the New Daily. “Not one more cent.”

In a series of resolutions distributed to the media on Monday, Sekta’s Victorian branch said it would no longer “recognise traditional long-held membership coverage and demarcation lines with unions that have attacked this branch”.

It also said it intended to appoint an independent investigator to audit the IT and phone records of union figures to determine the origin of the leaks against the Setka.

The rearguard action comes after the Australian Workers’ Union secretary, Daniel Walton, became the latest labour movement leader to call for Setka’s resignation.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary, Sally McManus, led the push last week, saying Setka should quit even if he was not guilty of harassment charges, for which he will face court this month.

On Monday, Albanese stood firm on his push to expel Setka, saying the controversy had starved Labor and the union movement of “clean air”.

He said his desire to expel Setka was prompted by more than the alleged Batty comments, though he dismissed the union leader’s claims that he hadn’t denigrated the former Australian of the Year.

“This [is a] pattern of behaviour which has been there for a very long period of time,” Albanese told the ABC.

About a dozen unions have now backed McManus’s call, but Setka appears to have the support of his membership and some unions in the labour movement’s militant wing.

Setka said last week he intended to plead guilty to charges of harassing a woman using a carriage service. The case will be heard on 26 June.

He is elected as his union’s state secretary, meaning he cannot be removed unless he stands down or is charged under union laws with bringing the organisation into disrepute.

Walton told Sky News on Sunday the “most appropriate thing” Setka could do was resign.

“When you find yourself charged with a substantial number­ of domestic violence matters­, when there are a number of allegations in terms of comments, some of which are fiercely fought against, those expectations have clearly been breached,” he said.

Despite McManus’s comments, Setka told the New Daily he had no intention of pulling his union out of the ACTU.

“Sally McManus is a really good person,” he said. “She’s a committed unionist. I just think she listens to the ALP hacks too much.”