The Liberal Party has failed in bid to control Cormack Foundation, writes James Campbell

MICHAEL Kroger has never sounded more like Saddam Hussein’s last information minister than he did this morning as he claimed a court win despite the party failing in its bid to get control of the Cormack Foundation, writes James Campbell.

THE Liberal Party has failed in its bid to get control of the Cormack Foundation and its $70m.

That is the bottom line from today’s decision from Justice Jonathan Beach.

Yes, the party has been awarded 25 per cent of Cormack’s shares.

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But this isn’t enough to guarantee it a director let alone control.

Michael Kroger has never sounded more like Saddam Hussein’s last information minister than he did on the way out of court this morning.

The Federal Court had just declared unequivocally that 75 per cent of the Cormack Foundation’s shares do not belong to the Liberal Party.

Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger outside court. AAP Image/David Crosling

Saddam Hussein’s last information minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf speaks to media in April 2003 denying that Coalition forces had advanced to the city centre of Baghdad.

But according to Kroger: “What it means is that the party will now expect the Cormack directors to acknowledge the decision of the court and hand control back to us” and “if that doesn’t happen, then obviously further options will need to be examined.”

And that wasn’t even his most bizarre utterance.

After spending months attacking Cormack’s directors in private and then taking them to court, Kroger actually had the chutzpah to claim “there’s no hostility in the relationship” and indeed he was mystified where any such suggestion might have come from as “we’ve had good relations with the Cormack Foundation”.

Hugh Morgan, Charles Goode and other Cormack directors outside the Federal Court. Picture: David Geraghty.

In polite understated statement the Cormack board said: “We are glad that our independence has been confirmed by the Court.

“The Liberal Party has completely failed to achieve its objective of confirming ownership or control of Cormack Foundation.”

As for the suggestion they should quit and hand the keys to the Liberal Party? Forget about it.

“It remains entirely for the Board to determine the timing and quantum of any donations and to conduct all of its other activities.”

In this context it is hard disagree with the Cormack statement: “The reinstatement of the founding Directors’ shares will have no practical impact and can at best be considered a Pyrrhic victory, if a victory at all.”

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