On a cold, drizzly late-August day in 2023, John Setka prepared to bury his father, Bob. The service was at St Leopold’s in Sunshine, a modern church built by the local Croatian community in the 1980s, and whose stunning stained-glass windows helped brighten the interior in defiance of the chilly weather. Amid the pews stood an ornate statue of St Leopold himself, a Croatian Catholic priest famous for hearing confession for up to 15 hours a day.

Despite the grim event, Setka, the then-leader of the Construction, Forestry & Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU), felt at home. Those around him were his people, his backers from the trade union movement and his supporters from Melbourne’s tight-knit Croatian community. There were other attendees, too.…