The domestic violence campaigner and former Australian of the Year says she will write a heart-felt birthday message to the little boy who would have celebrated his 17^th birthday on June 20.

Ms Batty was appointed as an officer in the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday honours on Monday, June 10 for her "distinguished service to the community".

The following day she appeared on television show The Project as furore mounted over claims allegedly made by construction union boss John Setka about Ms Batty.

Pressure has been mounting on the Victorian secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining, Maritime and Energy Union to resign after he allegedly said Batty's work in the domestic violence sphere had led to men having fewer rights.

The grieving mother - who has campaigned tirelessly after 11-year-old Luke was murdered by his father at cricket practice in 2014 - said she was "incredulous" her name was being used in this way and had never met Setka.

Ms Batty started the Luke Batty Foundation in 2014 to raise awareness of issues facing victims and to demand action from community leaders.

Three years later she announced its closure, citing exhaustion and a "gruelling, unrelenting four years in the public eye".

She continues to be honoured for her ongoing efforts to make domestic violence a public problem.

"I set out right at the beginning to ensure Luke didn't die in vain," she told Channel 9's Today program this week.

"But the reality is we still have one woman a week being murdered; the reality is we still have many children being murdered in domestic and family violence.

"When I sit in front of the TV each night and I see another woman that's been murdered ... how much more convincing does anyone need to really recognise this issue?"

Ms Batty agreed it was unbelievable the government could spend only $100 million a year on domestic violence versus $7 billion a year on counter terrorism.

"(They) still find it easier to support any kind of measures where terrorism from overseas is seen as a terrible threat and yet you are more likely to be terrorised by the person in your own home," she told Today.

Ms Batty admitted milestones such as Luke's upcoming birthday "are the hardest to get through really".

"I still buy him a card and write a message," she said.

Things such as seeing his friends graduate from primary school and then learning to drive "is really hard".

"That's what grief does," she said.

"At the time you are very immersed in the shock of what has happened and the pain of the event.

"Then you move into what you will miss and what he will never have - what you will never be able to share ..."

Ms Batty said one of the reasons she closed down the foundation was because she needed time to mourn and remember Luke.

"What we were able to achieve in the three years it was operating was amazing," she said.

"(But) I almost felt it was down to me to change our society.

"When you sit with space ... and you have that down time; when you are not adrenaline-charged constantly, it can feel uncomfortable and deep, deep sadness can set in."

For Ms Batty, her tireless efforts to turn unspeakable tragedy into a force for change has been a "bittersweet journey".

Her five-and-a-half-year crusade to end family violence has made her a symbol of an issue the community has accepted is widespread and pervasive, Fairfax has reported.

"She has given so much of herself to the cause of reducing both family violence and violence against women generally, and to supporting victims, that her name is synonymous with their entitlement to exist without fear of violence.

"In a country where a woman a week dies at the hands of a partner or ex, the urgency of her message has been accepted ...

"Reasonable people of both genders see that her work to put victims at the centre of efforts to reduce violence is vital.

"So we take it personally when a man in a position of enormous power - and one who will plead guilty to harassment and to persistently breaching a court order - implies the drive to improve women's safety is of less importance than the perception some men may be losing something by being required to change their behavior.

"Thankfully, the powerful men who cut John Setka loose on Tuesday made clear (at last) that they understand just how unacceptable his attempt is to discredit Rosie Batty and her message that 'there is still much to be done before victims receive the respect that they deserve'."