You didn’t need Nostradamus to predict the Labor and union blasts when the government released its industrial relations reforms this week.
But who – except the few in the know – would have foreseen the government-union-Labor unity ticket to land a massive “hit” on very bad boy John Setka?
The legislative rush to pass the bill allowing parts of unions – by which we mean divisions of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining And Energy Union – to leave the mother ship was remarkable. There was tripartite agreement on getting this done instantly.
Setka, Victorian boss of the union’s construction division, has over the years been a bane for the Labor Party, the ACTU and others in his own union. He’s been an industrial rogue and the union has caused endless trouble; as well, his private life was in the public domain, with a conviction for harassing his wife.