Murphy won’t contest election but Collingwood could still have board fight

Collingwood board member Peter Murphy will not contest the club’s election, hoping the decision will make for a peaceful transition to a Jeff Browne-led board.

Murphy confirmed to The Age he had decided against nominating to contest his place on the board at the up-coming election. He declined to comment further but did confirm his decision.

Any hopes that the decision would facilitate a negotiated handover of leadership at the club and smooth transition without a contested election will be dashed if board member Neil Wilson seeks election after his casual appointment earlier in the year.

Peter Murphy.Credit: Getty Images

The chairman of the Victoria Racing Club Wilson has yet to declare ahead of Friday’s deadline for nominations whether he will stand at the election.

Wilson was appointed to fill a casual vacancy but under the club’s constitution was later found to be ineligible to be a voting board member because his long-term membership category did not qualify under the club’s constitution for eligibility for board members. Basically, despite being a long-term member he was the wrong category of member.

To now be eligible to be on the board Wilson would need to be voted in at the election and then have a constitutional change passed at the annual general meeting which is to be held after the election. Constitutional amendments are to be put to the AGM regardless of whether Wilson contests the election or wins a board place.

Mark Korda will stand down as president after the AGM but will remain on the board to see out the final year of his term.

Collingwood president Mark Korda (left) and challenger Jeff Browne.Credit: The Age

Existing board members and challengers had hoped that Korda would step aside early from the board after standing down as president. Leaving the board early would have potentially offered the circuit breaker to an impasse in negotiations over the make-up of the new board and the transition to Browne as president.

Korda resisted the push to leave early which prompted Murphy, a significant figure in the cultural change at the club in the last five years, to volunteer not to seek re-election to create an extra vacancy for a Browne ticket.

Murphy had never coveted the presidency and withdrew from consideration as McGuire’s replacement when Korda, with whom he was initially co-president, was eventually appointed. He will remain connected to the club as chair of the Collingwood Football Club Foundation.

Collingwood have four positions up for election: Murphy, Christine Holgate, Wilson and Bridie O’Donnell. Wilson and O’Donnell were appointed as casual vacancies to replace Eddie McGuire and Alex Waislitz earlier in the year.

O’Donnell, whose appointment came with controversy given she had not been a club member for long enough to have voting rights, has since announced she will not stand at the election.

Holgate, the controversial former Australia Post boss, has said she will seek re-election. Murphy has now said he will not stand, and it remains uncertain what Wilson plans to do.

Browne and Barry Carp, the wealthy founder of venture capital firm River Capital, have declared they will stand for election. So, too, will APRA executive Renee Roberts.

Roberts has the support of Browne but is also supported by the existing members of the board. Despite having Browne’s support and therefore initially being recognised as part of Browne’s ticket she has, in fact, had a longer professional connection to Korda than anyone else on the board.

If Wilson decides to stand for election, there will be a contested ballot as there will be five nominees for the four vacant spots.