Rinehart ‘won’t stop fighting’
Gina Rinehart’s estranged son has no doubt his mother will appeal a court ruling that’s stripped her of control of the mining family’s multibillion-dollar trust.
John Hancock says he can’t imagine his mother accepting a judge’s decision to hand control of the fund, worth an estimated A$5 billion (NZ$5.3b), to Rinehart’s eldest daughter Bianca Rinehart, after a bitter three-year legal dispute.
In a damning judgment, NSW Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton said Gina Rinehart had used tactics bordering on intimidation in her battle with her two eldest children over the fortune.
He said she had gone to ‘‘extraordinary lengths’’ and exerted enormous pressure to maintain control of the trust, including enlisting the help of federal Cabinet minister Barnaby Joyce.
Hancock said he was stunned by the intervention of Joyce in a family dispute, and the federal agriculture minister has questions to answer. He said Joyce was ‘‘manipulated’’ into emailing his younger sister Hope Welker, urging her to abandon legal action against their mother.
‘‘Coming from his government email, I just think it’s extraordinary. This character sits three chairs down from our prime minister,’’ Hancock has told ABC radio.
‘‘It’s nothing short of dangerous . . . When you see the findings on my mother’s conduct, questions need to be raised about why he got involved in this.’’
Hancock said an appeal by his mother was all but certain, given how hard she had fought every other aspect of the legal battle.
‘‘Every single decision along the way she’s appealed all the way to the High Court. So I can’t see this being any different,’’ he said.
Lawyer Alan Camp, who has worked with the Rinehart family for more than 40 years, and is now a confidante of John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart said he believed the family would ultimately reconcile.
‘‘They are all very robust individuals and once resolved, everything will be resolved,’’ he told ABC television. ‘‘It’ll take time but John and Bianca are very understanding people. They know what’s got to be done but they also know all the emotions that’s involved and they have considerable care towards their mother.’’
AAP