What compounds the problem is the union scorn for Labor history. Setka claimed last week that Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard were “probably the worst Labor prime ministers we have ever f---ing seen”. Conservatives may cheer that verdict but Shorten cannot let it stand. “The legacy the Rudd and Gillard governments left is an absolute disgrace,” Setka told Ewin Hannan in The Australian. “That Labor government was in for five years, what did they achieve for workers? Nothing. They should be ashamed of themselves. Some of the same people who were in charge then now have a chance to redeem themselves.” Do not be surprised if those quotes are in Liberal leaflets at the next election. Setka is the swaggering Victorian secretary of the construction and general division of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, so he hardly speaks for the entire CFMMEU. But he has considerable power, is eager to expand it and wants to tell the Labor Party what to do. He is a pugilist like Tony Abbott, always looking for a fight because he believes absolutely in his cause. CFMEU official John Setka speaks to the media outside the Melbourne Magistrate's courts. Credit:AAP

That makes him a thorn in the side for Shorten in the same way Abbott is for Malcolm Turnbull. The Prime Minister can never be sure how to respond to a taunt from his predecessor: ignore it and hope it goes away, or start an argument and risk more headlines? This is a vital question ahead of the next election because the union movement makes no secret of the demands it will place on a Labor government. The national secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Sally McManus, is setting out a policy argument about the casualisation of the workforce, the “wage theft” that hurts low-income workers, slow wage growth and restrictions on industrial action. This is the ACTU’s job and it is doing it with gusto. Labor is yet to spell out what it will do but should not ask voters to take it on trust. As Labor deputy leader in 2007, Julia Gillard went through several public iterations of her Fair Work policy ahead of the November election. Shorten is yet to do the same. The Coalition has targeted Bill Shorten's union past in a bid to damage the Opposition Leader. Credit:James Davies Labor workplace spokesman Brendan O’Connor sounds amenable to many union proposals. Asked about Setka’s call for easier right-of-entry laws, O’Connor says: “I think we need to look at that.’’ O’Connor also agrees with union concerns about the Fair Work Commission being “stacked” with officials from employers rather than sharing those appointments with people from union backgrounds.

O’Connor rejects the idea of “unlimited strike action” but the real question is about where the limits should be placed. Unions believe wage fairness requires a restoration of old rights to go on strike. How far will Labor go to satisfy this demand? Shorten and his colleagues need union donations and depend heavily on the campaigning power of union volunteers at the ballot box, but they take a significant risk if they allow the unions to set their policy agenda. Who do they seek to govern for? Their industrial policy is fundamental to that question. At the same time Gillard was outlining her industrial policy throughout 2007, Kevin Rudd was setting up a “business advisory group” to listen to corporate Australia. Yes, the group never extended far beyond Sir Rod Eddington. Yes, everything turned sour when the mining tax was unveiled. But Labor won the election by talking to both sides and appealing to the middle ground. Shorten has missed an opportunity by not rebuking Setka for rubbishing the Labor legacy. If Labor leaders are not swift to stand up for their history, who will? If Shorten wants to lead the next government, why allow a union leader like Setka to brand the last Labor government such a failure?

Consider the backlash if someone else disparaged the Rudd and Gillard governments in this way. A Liberal politician would be harangued in parliament, a commentator would be flayed on social media. None of that for Setka the untouchable. The Rudd and Gillard governments repealed WorkChoices, established Fair Work Australia, set up the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, urged an increase in the minimum wage, acted on union complaints about the 457 visa for skilled foreign workers and almost blocked a trade deal with China under union pressure. That is doing “nothing” for the unions and their workers? It is astonishing that nobody called out Setka. Those who do not fight for their legacy will lose it. Shorten has challenged Setka in the past. He dismissed a “stupid” comment in May 2016 about the union code being like Nazi Germany and repudiated “in the strongest possible terms” a call from Setka in June 2017 to go after industrial umpire officials in their neighbourhoods to shame their children. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video