Loading "I'm the woman at the centre of all of this," Ms Walters told a large pack of journalists, photographers and TV news crews. “Despite a lot of rumour and innuendo there is no one else involved but John and myself. "The truth of this story is that it's simply about my husband and myself putting our lives back together." Earlier in court, Magistrate Belinda Wallington challenged Mr Setka to take responsibility for his “nasty behaviour”.

Mr Setka’s lawyer Marcus Dempsey told the court that the trade union leader had suffered significant punishment through the blanket media coverage of the case, that he had been "demonised" and that stress and anxiety caused by the publicity should be taken into account. But Ms Wallington told the lawyer that Mr Setka must show more contrition to the court. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video “Now is the time to take responsibility for the events that have led him to court,” Ms Wallington said. Mr Setka's harassment of Ms Walters included a stream of calls and messages including calling her 25 times in one night and sending her 45 text messages including calling her a “treacherous Aussie f---en c---”, a “f---en dog" and a “weak f---en piece of shit”.

Describing the text messages Mr Setka sent to his wife as “unedifying” and “nasty”, Ms Wallington said she was especially worried about the words Mr Setka chose. “It’s the language, it’s the misogynistic language is what is causing concern,” Ms Wallington said. "I'm not dealing with acts of horrendous violence, but it's still nasty behaviour." Ms Setka was convicted of using a carriage service to harass and of breaching a court order and also placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond.

He had already indicated he would plead guilty after several other charges against him were dropped. Ms Wallington ordered that Mr Setka complete a men’s behaviour change program, that he prove to the court that he had done the course and that he pay $1000 to Djirra, the Indigenous family violence group. Mr Setka, who arrived at court with Ms Walters, did not speak during the hour-long hearing. Loading Ms Walters' name could not be revealed as the victim until she consented to identification but she said she was now very keen to have the information in the public domain.

"I very much want you to report it," she said after the hearing. "I have just identified myself and it’s time for the charade to end. "The emotional strain our family has endured is not something I would wish on any marriage. "I want to be very clear though, that while John and I have at times deeply hurt one another, there has never been any form of physical violence in our marriage or in our home." Ms Walters also spoke about calls for her husband to step down from his leadership role with the CFMMEU following alleged statements about domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty.

John Setka and his wife Emma Walters arrive at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday. Credit:Jason South "I also want to be clear that John will not be resigning," Ms Walters said. "It's not what his members want, it's not what I want. John has spent 35 years dedicated to tirelessly defending the health, safety and living standards of tens of thousands of construction workers and their families." Mr Setka told the waiting media pack that he took responsibility for his behaviour. “I screwed up and it’s up to me to fix it,” he said. Mr Setka said he had been under pressure from a blackmail case involving Boral and that he encouraged other men to seek professional help, as he had.

“It’s very hard, we’ve all got our pride but you know what, I wish we had done it earlier,” he said. Loading He said he was embarrassed by the text messages he had sent. “Some of the language is very inappropriate,” he said. “Times have moved on and people have got to learn that sometimes language like that is just as hurtful as physical violence.”

Ms Walters said that the couple had "embarked on a process of healing". "Both of us are taking responsibility for our behaviour and we are getting help from professionals to make sure we never hit rock bottom again," Ms Walters said. "John has had the courage to confront his own behaviour and to change. And to encourage others to seek help before they get as low as we did. "It’s sad to see that so many people have completely disregarded this. Instead they have preferred to pile on the efforts to tear both of us down. "These issues have been used to prosecute a political agenda. And it is our family who have been harmed."

John Setka. Credit:Jason South Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese declined to respond to the sentence or the comments by Mr Setka and Ms Walters. But earlier in the day, he told Adelaide radio station Fiveaa he still wanted Mr Setka expelled from the Labor Party. "He'll be gone," Mr Albanese said. The Labor Party's national executive will meet on July 5 to consider Mr Setka's membership.

Public transport union's Luba Grigorovitch stood by her union ally after the conviction. "I am prepared to give a man committed to change the opportunity to learn, heal and lead by example," she wrote on her Facebook page. "I support John on his journey for change. I support Emma having a voice in these matters that directly affect her family. I support the CFMEU Members autonomy in selecting their own leader." Mr Setka's broader faction, the Industrial Left, released a statement on Wednesday evening backing the leader, and hitting out at what the faction saw as a campaign to undermine the union. "Supporting people as they undergo behavioural change programs and work to heal their relationships is just as important as condemning family violence," an Industrial Left statement said.

"We also condemn the actions of a conservative government who use this incident to undermine the collective strength of unions." Premier Daniel Andrews again backed Mr Albanese's call for the union boss to be punted from the party. "These matters have been dealt with by the court, as is appropriate," he said. "We fully support the action by the federal Labor leader to remove Mr Setka from the party." ACTU Leader Sally McManus did not comment on the verdict, although she has previous said that "there is no place for perpetuators of domestic violence in leadership positions in our movement." An ACTU spokesman said Ms McManus remained resolute that Mr Setka should quit.

“We have made our position clear on this matter,” he said. But Victorian Opposition spokeswoman on family violence prevention Emma Kealy said the premier needed to go further and "immediately" call for Mr Setka's resignation from the union.