Collingwood 2021 president fight: Jeff Browne to push to Magpies December meeting after fan petition flops

In another twist in the Magpies board saga, a petition striving to force a spill of the board has been deemed invalid.

A bid by Collingwood members to force a spill of the board at an extraordinary general meeting has been aborted after the discovery of a flawed petition.

Lawyers for long-time club solicitor Francis Galbally determined late last week that documents containing thousands of signatures gathered by rank-and-file Magpies fan David Hatley calling for an EGM were invalid.

Hatley’s petition was incorrectly worded and legally inaccurate.

In a change of tactics, businessman Jeff Browne will now seek to spill all seven Collingwood board positions at the club’s annual general meeting on December 16.

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David Hatley’s petition was legally inaccurate. Picture: Tony Gough

Galbally’s legal team will also push ahead with a Supreme Court application aimed at forcing Collingwood to hand over its register of club members.

Browne, the chairman of investment bank Moelis Australia, a former managing director of Channel 9 and the AFL’s external lawyer for almost two decades – took aim at current club president Mark Korda again on Thursday.

Korda released a statement on Wednesday night saying he was pleased Browne had taken the “sensible course” by agreeing to seek just three of the seven board seats at December’s AGM.

“Mark Korda has totally misrepresented what I said,” Browne told the Herald Sun.

“I did not ‘recognise’ that only three positions would be voted on at the AGM. We will be petitioning for all seven positions to be spilled and a fresh election for all positions on the board be conducted at the AGM.

“This misrepresentation is typical of the spin that the Collingwood board applies to attempt to stifle the overwhelming desire of Collingwood members to have a vote on who should sit on their board.”

Browne’s bid to force a spill of the board at the AGM will involve the gathering of 100 fresh signatures.

“It’s clear that the EGM process started by David Hatley was flawed and would have to be started again,” Browne said.

“And the time that that would have been rescheduled would have been so close to the AGM that we should now focus our attention on a spill of all seven positions in December.”

Galbally told the Herald Sun: “The strategy has not changed in the sense that the Collingwood board has failed proper governance and as a result of that, must be removed. “What has changed is the timing, and that is perhaps for the better.

“But what needs to be understood is that the current board is acting disgracefully in not allowing a member access to the register of membership – and that begs the question, what are they afraid of?

“Either the board doesn’t know who the eligible voting members are or they are deliberately denying a member’s rights.

“Jeff Browne is the right person to ensure the club’s success and governance and he has the total support of the Galbally family.”

Originally published as Collingwood 2021 president fight: Jeff Browne to push to Magpies December meeting after fan petition flops