By Jon Pierik
The AFL has vowed to stare down a threat from the CFMEU’s Victorian leader, John Setka, to disrupt the league’s construction projects if it did not sack new umpires boss Steve McBurney.
Setka told The Australian on Tuesday that McBurney, who was appointed as AFL head of officiating in April, must be dumped because he was “anti-worker”, and that the CFMEU would impede AFL projects unless the league did so. Setka said he had an “obligation to pursue anti-union, anti-worker f---ers like him, and we will until the end of the Earth”.
AFL umpires boss Steve McBurney is a former Australian Building and Construction Commissioner.Credit: Joe Armao
McBurney is a former Australian Building and Construction Commissioner. He launched legal action against the union in multiple cases, resulting in fines totalling millions of dollars.
As a result of McBurney’s appointment, the CFMEU says the AFL will face disruptions to league-linked projects across the country. This includes the expected new $750 million stadium in Hobart, where the AFL’s 19th franchise, the Devils, will play, and the Adelaide Crows’ new $100 million headquarters at Thebarton.
“It is an insult to the AFL, to the whole game and the players,” Setka told The Age.
“We’ve got a number of AFL players that are working in the building industry that are members of ours.
Taking aim at the AFL: CFMEU boss John Setka.Credit: Michael Quelch
“Putting someone like that in charge, I think it’s disgraceful and that they ought to be ashamed of themselves.”
Setka said the Australian Building and Construction Commission had been an “anti-union” organisation whose job had been to come after the CFMEU, costing the union millions of dollars in penalties and legal fights.
“It is a working-class sport, workers have predominantly played it,” he said.
“What is next? Are they going to name [former prime minister] John Howard as the assistant to [AFL chief executive Andrew] Dillon?
“Hasn’t he set the world on fire since he’s taken over.”
Setka said McBurney should not be able to work anywhere again.
Setka said his members would not strike but instead would operate on a work-to-rule system, meaning they worked only basic hours, which could lead to cost and time blowouts.
This masthead does not suggest McBurney engaged in any wrongdoing.
In a statement on Wednesday, the AFL supported McBurney.
“All projects the AFL contributes to are designed to provide better training venues for AFL and AFLW players, gender-friendly facilities and change rooms at community football clubs, and to create a more welcoming footy environment for families who make up many of the 1.2 million club members and the many more millions of fans who attend games, so we are hopeful any intended action does not impact players, supporters or the wider community who benefit from upgrades to local clubrooms and our stadiums,” the AFL said.
“Steve McBurney umpired 401 games, including four AFL grand finals, he has been a long-time mentor to umpires at every level and has done an outstanding job since returning to the AFL to take up the role of head of officiating.”
The AFL was contacted for comment on any other ongoing projects that could be disrupted by the CFMEU.
In 2019, McBurney said that while other unions performed work in the construction industry, they rarely got into legal trouble, while the CFMEU had 42 cases – at the time – before the Federal Court.
Setka said he wasn’t surprised to see the AFL defending McBurney. He took aim at McBurney over umpires paying 50-metre penalties against players for questioning their decision. McBurney did not write the AFL’s rules.
“You turn around and say, ‘What was that for?’ and you get a 50-metre penalty. I mean, Jesus Christ, what are we in North Korea or are we in Australia?” he said.
“Sometimes they [umpires] might get a bit wrong, but their job’s already hard enough as it is, and now they’ve got to listen to his f---ing shit?”
Setka’s comments were condemned by federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
“The CFMEU is out of control,” Dutton said. “We’ve got a PM so weak he can’t stand up to a union bully boy, and I think the PM should condemn these actions.”
Lawyer Chris Gardner, a partner at Seyfarth Shaw, said projects could go ahead without the CFMEU.
“There is no rule of law that says the CFMEU has to be there; you don’t need a union to build a project,” Gardner said. “But, in practice, it is very different because they have such control on site, and the legal means to deal with that are less than perfect.”
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