He said he would only leave his job if the members of the Victorian branch of the union told him to quit - it is believed he still has significant support from the rank and file. John Setka speaks to last year's Labor Party conference in Adelaide. Credit:AAP Mr Setka's refusal to leave his powerful job sets up a showdown next month between the Labor Party and the Victorian branch of the powerful blue-collar union, which has been a significant donor to the party, active in election campaigns and influential in pre-selections for key seats. While Mr Setka remains in a senior role, the formal links between his union and the ALP remain in a state of flux, sources said, and if the issue dragged on the party might be forced to cut or suspend links with the union. As a democratically elected union leader, Mr Setka will be difficult to remove from his position and dislodging him, if he refused to stand down, would probably require a lengthy internal process.

The Labor Party has no power over the union to force its elected leaders out. Labor's national executive, which will decide the matter, meets on July 5. Pressure had been mounting on Mr Setka to resign since The Age and Sydney Morning Herald reported he told a union meeting last Wednesday that Ms Batty's advocacy work had led to men having fewer rights but he remained defiant on Tuesday afternoon. "I am not going to stand down over innuendo and lies people have made up," Mr Setka told The New Daily on Tuesday afternoon. "I’ve been elected by the union members. They are my bosses. If they want me to leave I will step down tomorrow."

Mr Setka has repeatedly refused to speak to The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, which has detailed his contentious behaviour in a series of articles over the past month. Last month, Mr Setka told a Victorian court that he would plead guilty to using a carriage service to harass a woman in an alleged incident last year. While he took leave from his position while facing criminal charges, on Tuesday, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald reported that Mr Setka received full pay and entitlements for the six months he was not working. He returns to court on June 26 for a plea hearing. Until today, the union movement and the Labor party have been reticent to move on Mr Setka, an influential power broker, prompting senior figures in the Coalition to accuse the opposition of hypocrisy.

Both Mr Albanese and Mr Andrews and ACTU leader Sally McManus have refused to comment on Mr Setka's intention to plead guilty, saying it was still before the courts. On Sunday, Federal Minister for Women Marise Payne tweeted that Labor continued to stand by Mr Setka, while on Tuesday Senator Eric Abetz said Mr Albanese's call for expulsion was "long overdue" and that he should look to other CFMMEU officials under a cloud. According to The New Daily's report, Mr Setka conceded he made the comments at the centre of Tuesday's furore, but suggested they had been taken out of context, as he had the "utmost respect for Rosie Batty". Ms Batty applauded Labor Leader Anthony Albanese and the Premier Daniel Andrews for speaking out against the union powerbroker and demanding his resignation and expulsion. Ms Batty said there was now opportunity for "genuine leadership to take the union forward" and that the whole matter of Mr Setka's conduct had been "incredibly damaging".

"The right to be abusive and threatening - no one has those rights, and no one should be in a leadership position where that's the case," she said. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video In the wake of Mr Albanese's announcement, Mr Andrews said he supported the move, adding that he was planning to remove the union leader from a state government building industry board.

Mr Andrews said he was appalled by Mr Setka's refusal to apologise for his remarks about Ms Batty. "Rosie Batty is a person of great courage who has fundamentally changed the way our country views and acts on family violence," Mr Andrews said. "The comments made about her by Mr Setka are disgraceful and his refusal to apologise for them is appalling." "They cannot be defended in any context and I support the actions that Anthony Albanese has taken." Labor's Home Affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally, with party leader Anthony Albanese. Credit:AAP