Face of Nation : Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese remains determined to boot John Setka from the Labor Party, after the union boss lost a Supreme Court challenge against his expulsion.
Mr Albanese said the Tuesday court ruling confirmed a fundamental rule. “It’s a pretty simple principle that says a political party has a right to determine who its members are,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“That is the right that I, as leader of the Labor Party, want to take to the ALP national executive in seeking Mr Setka’s removal.” Mr Albanese said the construction boss had brought the Labor Party into disrepute over a long period of time, including through allegations of domestic violence levelled against him. He insisted the expulsion push wasn’t motivated by political tactics or strategy. “I do it because it’s the right thing to do.”
Mr Albanese also raised questions about whether union funds were being used to pay for Mr Setka’s legal challenge. “In my view that is an inappropriate use of union members’ money,” he said. Mr Setka failed to convince the Victorian Supreme Court it could stop Labor from expelling him. Justice Peter Riordan ruled it was not within the court’s jurisdiction to make a decision.
“The court does not interfere with internal decisions of voluntary unincorporated associations unless it is protecting or enforcing a contractual or other right recognised in law or equity,” Justice Riordan ruled. “The plaintiff has not established any such underlying right.”
The CFMMEU official is now likely to escalate his legal battle to the High Court, setting up a protracted and costly dispute. He will need to seek leave to appeal, as it is not an automatic right.
Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter used the Tuesday ruling to pressure Labor over proposed laws making it easier to deregister rogue unions and ban misbehaving officials.
Mr Porter questioned how Mr Albanese could consider Mr Setka unfit to remain as an ALP member but at the same time be allowed to hold union leadership. “This is an area of the greatest level of hypocrisy imaginable by Anthony Albanese,” Mr Porter told reporters in Perth.
