Liberals plan Victorian HQ sale to seed new investment fund

The Victorian Liberal Party will sell its landmark Melbourne headquarters for more than $30 million.

The Liberal Party's Melbourne office building is likely to fetch more than $30 million.

The Victorian Liberal Party will sell its landmark Melbourne headquarters for more than $30 million, with the proceeds earmarked for a new, dedicated investment fund named in honour of Harold Holt.

Just months after the party concluded a bruising battle with its main fundraising arm, the Cormack Foundation, sources have indicated it will use proceeds from the sale of 104 Exhibition Street to create a fund chaired by Liberal elders Alan Stockdale and Richard Alston.

After years of internal debate over the future of the six-storey building in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, the party has ­appointed Colliers International to market the property globally in a campaign with expectations of fetching more than $30m.

The planned sale comes at a critical time for the party, which is preparing to fight a state election on November 24 and a fierce federal election campaign likely to be fought next year.

But offloading the ageing art deco landmark, which is regarded in some quarters as the Victorian Liberal Party’s spiritual home, is also likely to cause controversy within the party.

Some members have repeatedly objected to the sale of the building, while Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger and Opposition Leader Matthew Guy have long advocated selling it in a bid to find new premises worthy of a modern political party.

Yesterday, Mr Kroger said the party was not wedded to the sale but wanted to assess the opportunities available.

“The party is considering its options as it looks to move into a more modern premises,” Mr Kroger told The Australian. “It’s an ­investment decision.”

Sources close to the party indicated the proceeds from the sale would be tipped in their entirety into a new investment fund, delivering returns that could then be used for party purposes, including campaigning.

Under the plan described, the new fund would be named the Harold Holt Foundation, after Australia’s 17th prime minister, and would be co-chaired by former Victorian treasurer Mr Stockdale and former federal party president and Howard-era senator Mr Alston.

The set-up described by sources is not dissimilar to the $75m Cormack Foundation, which was the party’s main funding arm for almost three decades, until a stoush over the party’s financial management prompted the Cormack board to put a freeze on ­donations.

Cormack directors and Mr Kroger resolved the dispute in June this year after a lengthy and costly legal battle, in which judge Jonathan Beech ruled the party was entitled to a 25 per cent stake in the fund, but no voting rights on the board.

Later that month, Cormack ­directors lifted a longstanding freeze on party donations.

While the party has approval from its state council and state ­administrative committee to sell the asset, some prominent members have raised concerns about the party’s capacity to handle the funds responsibly.

Former premier Jeff Kennett said the proceeds needed to be put “in total” into a fund that was managed by members who were not part of the current state ­administrative committee.

“It should either be put in total into a future fund and maybe a certain amount of money to be ­allocated to either rent new premises or a purchase,” Mr Kennett said. “And is it the spiritual home? Not really.”