Philip Cornford, The Australian, December 2, 1975, p. 4.

The Liberals probably don’t like it and Labor is delighted. Lang Hancock, Western Australia’s free-spending iron ore millionaire, hasn’t a cent to spare not for this election anyway.

The chunky 66-year-old Mr Hancock has spent a lot in the past getting things done his way. Today, his political disenchantment is a wonder to behold.

“I wouldn’t give either of ’em a cent,” growls Mr Hancock, whose personal fortune of $80 million-plus makes him one of Australia’s richest men.

And, it seems, no one else is getting a campaign contribution from the man who once launched his own newspaper to push his political views and who, in the past, has handled politicians of all ilk with great agility. Most often, although Mr Hancock is loath to admit it, his support went to the Liberals.

A long-running brawl with West Australian Liberal Premier Sir Charles Court ended the flirtation. Sir Charles has been a stubborn opponent of Mr Hancock’s plans to develop the $300 million Marandoo iron ore project with Texas Gulf.

“They’re both socialist parties,” Mr Hancock says. “The only difference is the Liberals preach it and Labor does it. Neither of them are any good for Western Australia. This State’s only chance is to secede.”

So this election, Mr Hancock was prepared to devote his fortune and energies to give both the boot. He proposed an alliance of the Westralia Secessionist Party, the DLP and the Workers’ Party for a combined assault on a Senate seat.

But even Mr Hancock’s influence and money couldn’t bring the union about. So, rather than go it alone with the Secessionist Party, of which he is the major backer, Mr Hancock withdrew the party’s Senate team at the last minute.

“I was prepared to spend all the money that was necessary — yep, it would have been quite a lot — because, with an alliance, there was a chance,” Mr Hancock said.

“But now everyone’s decided to go it alone, there isn’t a chance of any of them doing any good. So I’m not going to waste my money backing lost causes.”

Mr Hancock, however, has given his personal support to the Workers’ Party, but only in its campaign outside Western Australia. He likes their economic policy but, for reasons of his own, won’t publicly back them in his home state.

Last week he spent four days in the Northern Territory ferrying the WP’s two Senate candidates around at 600 mph and 40,000ft in his seven-seat private plane.

A lot of West Australians find Mr Hancock’s neutrality — or chagrined disinterest — hard to believe. After all, it’s hard to imagine this State’s toughest in-fighter sitting on the sidelines of the biggest political brawl in Australia’s history.