John Setka admits to campaign against AFL umpiring chief, but says his future is too uncertain to pay financial penalty
The Fair Work Ombudsman says Setka mounted a remorseless and public campaign against Stephen McBurney.
She said her client was currently unemployed and undergoing divorce proceedings with his current financial situation unknown.
McBurney led the powerful construction watchdog from 2018 to 2023 after being appointed by the Turnbull government to a five-year term. The ABCC was stripped of its powers shortly after the Albanese government was voted into power in 2022. It was officially closed in 2023. McBurney joined the AFL in March 2024.
In a statement to the court, Setka said he believed the AFL was a working man’s sport.
“[McBurney] was the fox in the hen house when he was the ABC commissioner … now he is in his spare time the fox in the hen house in their favourite game,” Harris said.
In a statement compiled by current CFMEU administrator Michael Crosby, AM, he acknowledged union reform was yet to be completed and that some members had been terminated for refusing to sign a statement of expectations.
