Ex-CFMEU boss admits to illegal tirade against AFL umpiring boss

Ex-CFMEU boss John Setka admits to illegal tirade against AFL umpiring boss In short: Former construction union boss John Setka has admitted to breaching the Fair Work Act after trying to coerce the AFL to sack its head of umpiring. Prosecutors say Mr Setka launched a media campaign against umpire Stephen McBurney, threatening to delay AFL building projects if Mr McBurney wasn't sacked. Mr Setka's lawyer says her client doesn't express any remorse over the incident, but he should not receive a severe penalty because he's now retired and in the midst of a divorce. Former construction union boss John Setka is unapologetic for breaking workplace laws, with his barrister saying he did not "deliberately" wage a public campaign against an ex-building regulator and AFL umpiring chief. Mr Setka, the former powerful Victorian secretary of the CFMEU, faces a fine of up to $18,730, but could be hit with a much heftier legal bill because the union has refused to indemnify his court costs. The Federal Court on Friday heard Mr Setka admitted breaching the Fair Work Act by trying to coerce the AFL into sacking its head of umpiring Stephen McBurney in mid-2024. Mr McBurney was the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner and participated in more than 50 court cases against the union between 2018 and 2023. Mr Setka's barrister Margo Harris said her client should not receive a severe penalty. She said he was now retired, in the middle of a divorce, and spent most of his time looking after his elderly mother. "He doesn't express any remorse but he has made an admission that what he did was wrong,"Mr Harris said. Mr Setka was not in court for Friday's hearing. Former union boss admits to breaching law The development comes three days before the start of hearings in Victoria's Royal Commission into the state government's "Big Build" construction projects, which have been dogged by claims of widespread corruption and crime. Mr Setka, who left the CFMEU weeks after his verbal attacks on Mr McBurney, is also facing separate criminal charges over alleged harassment of the union's administrators. In the Fair Work case, Mr Setka was still union boss when he made social media posts and gave media interviews over a two-week period, threatening that the CFMEU would disrupt or delay AFL building projects if it did not get rid of Mr McBurney, the court heard. "This is going to cost the AFL a lot of f**king money. I hope it's worth it," Mr Setka said. "Projects without our full co-operation are going to be a f**king misery for them. They will regret the day they ever employed him." The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) prosecuted Mr Setka and the CFMEU, alleging the demands to sack Mr McBurney were made because of his lawful work as ABCC commissioner. On Friday, barristers for Mr Setka and the CFMEU admitted to the breaches. Ms Harris said there was no evidence Mr Setka "actively sought" media attention, even though he made statements to newspapers, and appeared in radio and television interviews where he said the AFL should sack Mr McBurney. Ms Harris also said Mr Setka did not "deliberately" engage in a media campaign against Mr McBurney, prompting Federal Court judge John Snaden to clarify what she meant. "When I say deliberate, there's a range of deliberateness. It's not a question of being pregnant or not pregnant," she replied. "It comes in the stream of the interview. There's a question asked of him, he answers it." However, FWO barrister Marc Felman said Mr Setka was not forced to give interviews. "There can be no question that this is a media campaign," he said. During one press conference, Mr Setka said of Mr McBurney: "He's a zealot. He hates unions. He hates workers in general." He also put up a social media post depicting Mr McBurney in a mock poster containing the words: "(Not) Wanted Dead or Alive". Penalty to be set for Setka and CFMEU despite claims of new regime Mr Felman said Mr Setka's breaches of the Fair Work Act were "very, very serious". He said Mr Setka wasn't the first person to call for the sacking of an AFL umpire, but it became illegal because the demands were connected to Mr McBurney's lawful work in an old job. Mr McBurney, who has umpired four grand finals, was backed by the AFL at the time and remains the league's head of officiating. The CFMEU, which has since been taken over by administrators, could be fined up to $93,900. Barrister Andrew White, for the CFMEU, called for the penalty to be moderated because the union's new regime no longer saw breaking the law as "the cost of doing business". He said the cultural shift had occurred following hundreds of Setka-era officials being removed or leaving their jobs. "A new culture of lawful but robust unionism is taking hold," he said. Justice Snaden will set the penalty for Mr Setka and the CFMEU at a later date.