Union boss John Setka charged after Boxing Day argument at his home
Prominent union boss John Setka has been charged after police were called to reports of an argument at his home on Boxing Day.
The Victorian secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime and Energy Union will face court next week after police were called to an address in West Footscray just after Christmas.
"Police attended a West Footscray address following reports of an argument on Boxing Day," a police spokeswoman said.
"A 54-year-old man was arrested and charged with a court order offence. He was bailed and will appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on January 9."
Court listings show Mr Setka will face court for a mention on the morning of January 9, and lists the Westgate Family Violence Investigation Unit as the prosecuting agency for the matter.
Mr Setka is married to lawyer Emma Walters and has three children.
He released a statement on social media shortly after the news emerged.
"For well over thirty years now I have dedicated my life to the health and well-being of construction workers and their families, and on more occasions than I care to remember, my passion and bluntness has landed me in the headlines and not always for the right reasons," he wrote.
"Over the last three years my wife Emma and my children David, Kate and Johnny have suffered immensely from the ongoing political and ideological attacks on myself as a union leader, with the possibility of losing their husband and father to a prison sentence. This has been an extremely enormous strain on our family unit and it has taken it's toll on each of us as individuals.
"I ask that while family members are seeking to recover from this tumultuous period in their personal lives that they are given the privacy to do so."
In May last year, prosecutors dropped blackmail charges against Mr Setka and his deputy, Shaun Reardon, which Mr Setka described as a politically motivated witch-hunt intended to criminalise trade union activity.
He came under fire late last year after posting a photo of two of his children holding a sign telling the government's Australian Building and Construction Commission to "go get fuc#ed".
He later deleted the social media post, which had prompted Prime Minister Scott Morrison to threaten the "out of control" union with deregistration.
Mr Morrison said Mr Setka's post, published on Father's Day, was "the straw that breaks the camel's back" after many years of the union "demonstrating lawlessness and their thuggery, their brutality, their threats".
Mr Setka responded by posting: "Mea culpa. Was emotional on Father’s Day after tough year on family. Shouldn’t have included kids. Now deleted."