Pressure on Setka over Rosie Batty comments
The Age can reveal that a former deputy president of the Fair Work Commission gave a statement to police alleging that Mr Setka repeatedly intimidated and terrified a woman over several months. The former judicial officer, Anne Gooley, said in her police statement that she had seen Mr Setka’s treatment of the woman and that ‘Seeing John’s anger … I was extremely distressed’.
Police analysis of Mr Setka’s phone activity reveals on a single evening last October, he called the woman 25 times and sent her 45 text messages, calling her a ‘weak f—en piece of shit’ and a ‘treacherous Aussie f—en c—‘ and a ‘f—en dog’.
The revelations will increase pressure on senior Labor figures including federal Opposition leader Anthony Albanese and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to remove Mr Setka from his influential union and factional Labor roles.
Mr Albanese again did not respond to requests for comment on Friday and a spokesman for the Andrews government only addressed Mr Setka’s comments about Ms Batty.
Witnesses at the national executive meeting of the CFMMEU on Wednesday said Mr Setka had repeatedly told them he had ‘nothing to be ashamed of’. He spoke uninterrupted and at length, insisting he could not be blamed for Labor’s federal election loss as he had bowed to pressure to go on long-term leave during the campaign due to his criminal charges.
He told the meeting that Labor could ‘suck me off’.
Source: WAToday.com.au