Former top Liberal Mathias Cormann still refusing to talk about mastermind role in The Clan

Former Liberal heavyweight Mathias Cormann has for the third time in a week refused to address his role as the mastermind of a group of party powerbrokers that called themselves The Clan.

The ex-Federal finance minister’s high-profile speaking tour of Perth concluded on Thursday night when he rubbed shoulders with business figures invited by businessman John Poynton at a cocktail function at Fraser’s in Kings Park.

But he again refused to answer questions from The West Australian about his part in The Clan, which has been blamed for contributing to the downfall of the WA Liberal Party at consecutive elections.

That’s despite his return from Paris, where he leads the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, coinciding with a State conference considered the most crucial in the party’s history.

Liberal members will vote on reform that proponents claim will ensure the best people are selected to contest the 2025 Federal and State elections — not just those supported by powerbrokers.

Until now, Mr Cormann had largely escaped scrutiny for his leadership of The Clan, which WhatsApp messages showed had co-ordinated a takeover of party branches to control preselections and key appointments.

Upper House MPs Nick Goiran and Peter Collier were left to carry the can after the extraordinary leak but Liberal insiders described the pair as “lieutenants” of Mr Cormann during his time as a WA senator. Having brushed off questions at two lunch events in the past week, the OECD Secretary-General again on Thursday avoided The West Australian’s attempts to ask him about his Clan days.

With barrister wife Hayley Cormann at his side he hurried inside the restaurant where he delivered yet another speech on the global economy but avoided any mention of Australian politics and didn’t take questions.

The function was hosted by Mr Poynton and his business partner Chris Stavrianou, who together run corporate advisory firm Poynton Stavrianou. Guests included Mr Poynton’s wife Di Bain, who is Perth’s Deputy Lord Mayor as well as chair of Tourism WA.

Also seen arriving were Tourism WA managing director Carolyn Turnbull, Nine Perth boss Clive Bingwa, Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Simon Trott, developer Ben Lisle, former Woodside CEO Peter Coleman, REIWA chief executive Cath Hart, Infrastructure WA chair Nicole Lockwood and WA Business News journalist Mark Beyer.

Inaugural Fremantle Dockers coach Gerard Neesham, Docker-turned-executive James Clement, ex-West Coast Eagles chairman Dalton Gooding and former Australian rugby player John Welborn were among the sports figures spotted.

One-time WA Liberal leader Mike Nahan earlier this week labelled Mr Cormann “the head of The Clan” and said his former party colleague had “left a mess” behind when he moved to Europe.

Writing in today’s The West, WA Liberal senator Dean Smith said a push for sweeping reform that would “untangle the grip of powerbrokers” had been frustrated, an inquiry into unethical membership behaviour “whitewashed” and revelations of illegal cash reimbursements had gone “unaddressed”.

He said a plebiscite model for Lower House preselections put forward by WA Liberal president Richard Wilson had been “watered down” but was “a start” and called for the overhaul to extend to Upper House preselection.

Mr Wilson urged members in an email to “embrace reforms in order to show the community we have the ability to undertake difficult but necessary internal changes”.