Gina’s gig at Curtin fundraiser fuels tycoon rivalry

A decades-long rivalry ­between the Hancock and Holmes a Court families finds a new source of tension with Gina Rinehart to speak at a fundraiser for a Simon Holmes a Court target.

Hancock Prospecting Group executive chairman Gina Rinehart. Picture: Supplied

A decades-long rivalry ­between Western Australia’s Hancock and Holmes a Court families has found a new source of tension, with Gina Rinehart agreeing to speak at a fundraiser for federal Liberal MP and Simon Holmes a Court target Celia Hammond.

While Mrs Rinehart has long been a supporter of the Coalition, her decision to speak at the “sundowner” organised by members of the WA Liberal Party’s Curtin division is an unusual intervention by the iron ore magnate.

Ms Hammond’s hold on the historically safe Liberal seat of Curtin is under attack from independent Kate Chaney, who is being supported with funding from Mr Holmes a Court’s $7m Climate200 action group.

Attracting Mrs Rinehart as a guest speaker was shaping up as a significant source of funding for Ms Hammond’s campaign – ­albeit one that could feed into Ms Chaney’s attacks on the Liberal candidate’s climate credentials – but the event was cancelled on Monday after WA Premier Mark McGowan announced new ­restrictions on gatherings in ­response to the state’s growing Covid outbreak.

Ms Hammond had no ­involvement in the planning of the event featuring Mrs Rinehart. Instead, the event was organised by individual branches within the Curtin division. It is understood Mrs Rinehart’s participation was aimed at raising funds for specific candidates, including some in marginal electorates, rather than the Liberal Party as a whole.

Curtin takes in Perth’s wealthy western suburbs and has always been both a safe Liberal seat and a significant source of funding. An invitation for the event, obtained by The Australian, said only those who were among the biggest backers of the party would be ­allowed to attend.

Liberal candidate for Curtin, Celia Hammond. Picture: Colin Murty The Australian

“The event is free, however ­details will only be made available to people who have made a substantial donation to the federal election campaign. All event costs are being covered by members of Peppermint Grove branch,” the invitation read. “This is a one-off prestigious event and we are ­extremely honoured Mrs Rinehart will be speaking to us.”

The Hancock and Holmes a Court families have been in the upper echelons of Perth society for decades, ever since patriarch Lang Hancock discovered the family’s iron ore riches around the same time corporate raider Robert Holmes a Court was building the fortune that would make him the country’s first billionaire.

But the families have long seen each other with mutual indifference, if not outright dislike, and have been marked by very different political persuasions.

Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes  Court. Picture: Lukas Coch

Mrs Hancock has long been an advocate of conservative politics and pro-business policy, and has employed several former Liberal politicians within her business empire.

Robert’s widow, Janet Holmes a Court, meanwhile, is one of Perth’s most prominent patrons of the arts, while their son Simon is the driving force behind Climate200 and its efforts to get ­independent candidates elected in wealthy Liberal-held seats.

Ms Chaney, who briefly joined the Labor Party last year before deciding to try her hand as an ­independent, also hails from one of Perth’s most prominent families. Her father Michael is one of the state’s most prominent business figures, while her grandfather, Fred Chaney Snr, was a long-time federal Liberal MP and a former lord mayor of Perth.

The climate policy at the ­centre of Ms Chaney’s attempt to unseat Ms Hammond has proven to be a delicate issue for WA ­Liberals. At a state level, the ­decision by then-leader Zak Kirkup to campaign on a platform to close WA’s coal-fired power plants by 2025 and deliver a zero-emission electricity system by 2030 provoked outrage among colleagues and was blamed in part for the party’s disastrous result at last year’s election.