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Sir Magnus Cameron Cormack
KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain ...
(12 February 1906 – 26 November 1994) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...
and served multiple terms as a
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
for
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
(1951–1953, 1962–1978), including as President of the Senate from 1971 to 1974. Cormack was born in the Scottish Highlands and came to Australia as a child. He grew up in
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...
and worked as a production manager with Holden for several years, later farming near
Apsley, Victoria Apsley is a small town in Victoria, Australia. It is on the Wimmera Highway, in the Shire of West Wimmera, 420 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, and 7 kilometres east of the South Australian border. The town is named after Apsley Ho ...
. During World War II he served in the New Guinea campaign and attained the rank of major. Cormack's first term in the Senate lasted only two years, during which he notably opposed the
Menzies Government Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...
's attempt to ban the
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
. After several unsuccessful candidacies, he was re-elected at the 1961 federal election, becoming known for his committee work and support of
John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a ...
. Cormack was elected to the Senate presidency in 1971 and retained the position for the first term of the Whitlam Government. After leaving politics he served as chairman of radio station
3XY Magic 1278 (official List of radio station callsigns in Victoria, callsign: 3EE) is a commercial radio station in Melbourne, Australia owned by Nine Entertainment Co, and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. History 1935–1991: 3XY ...
. The proceeds from the sale of the radio licence were subsequently used to establish the
Cormack Foundation Cormack Foundation Pty. Ltd. is an Australian investment company established to hold for the Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division) and associated entities. Named in honour of former Senate President Magnus Cormack, the company was set up i ...
, an investment vehicle for the Liberal Party.


Early life

Cormack was born on 12 February 1906 in
Wick, Caithness Wick ( gd, Inbhir Ùige (IPA: �inivɪɾʲˈuːkʲə, sco, Week) is a town and royal burgh in Caithness, in the far north of Scotland. The town straddles the River Wick and extends along both sides of Wick Bay. "Wick Locality" had a population o ...
, Scotland. He was the oldest of five children born to Violet () and William Petrie Cormack. His maternal grandfather
John Macdonald Cameron John Macdonald Cameron (8 April 1847 – 3 September 1912) was a Scottish chemist and Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892. Cameron was the only son of Lachlan Cameron of Saltburn Ross and his wife Christina M ...
was a
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...
member of the British House of Commons. Cormack's father, a medical doctor, decided to relocate to Australia for health reasons. A distant cousin was Sir Josiah Symon, a Senator for
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, who was also born in Wick. The family arrived in
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...
in about 1912, and settled on the
Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named af ...
south of
Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...
. Having begun his formal education in Scotland, Cormack attended a state school in
Tumby Bay Tumby Bay is a coastal town situated on the Spencer Gulf, on the eastern coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, north of Port Lincoln. The town of Tumby Bay is the major population centre of the District Council of Tumby Bay, and the cent ...
and then boarded at
St Peter's College, Adelaide , other_name = The Collegiate School of St Peter , seal_image = St Peter's College, Adelaide Logo.svg , seal_size = 150 , image = SPSC chapel and memorial hall.jpg , image_size ...
. From 1926 to 1931, he worked as a production manager with Holden. During the Great Depression, Cormack went into dairy farming. In later life he observed "I had three dairy farms, and I lost money on every one of them, so I claim to know something about dairying". By 1934, he and his brothers John and William had acquired ''Koijak'', a grazing property near
Apsley, Victoria Apsley is a small town in Victoria, Australia. It is on the Wimmera Highway, in the Shire of West Wimmera, 420 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, and 7 kilometres east of the South Australian border. The town is named after Apsley Ho ...
, close to the South Australian border. On 22 November 1935, Cormack married Mary Isabel Macmeikan (known as Mavis) at the registrar's office in Melbourne; she was a divorcee. The couple had four children together.


Military service

Cormack enlisted in the
Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non- professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
in July 1940, and was posted to anti-aircraft regiments at
Puckapunyal Puckapunyal (more formally the Puckapunyal Military Area, but also known as the Puckapunyal Camp or Puckapunyal Army Base, and colloquially as "Pucka") is an Australian Army training facility and base 10 km west of Seymour, in central Vi ...
and
Werribee Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Werribee recorded a population of 50,027 at the 2021 census. Werribee i ...
. He was discharged in October 1940, but re-enlisted in June 1941 and was commissioned as a lieutenant. He received postings to the
Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state ...
, the headquarters of the Australian Imperial Force, and the Staff College. He transferred to the regular army in August 1942. In July 1943, Cormack arrived in
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
as part of the headquarters staff of the
II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...
. He moved to the
New Guinea Force New Guinea Force was a military command unit for Australian, United States and native troops from the Territories of Papua and New Guinea serving in the New Guinea campaign during World War II. Formed in April 1942, when the Australian First Arm ...
in January 1944, where he spent four months before leaving for
Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 30 ...
and receiving his discharge. He finished the war with the rank of major and was
mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
for "gallant and distinguished service in Papua".


Early political involvement

Cormack was a member of the
Young Nationalists The Nationalist Party, also known as the National Party, was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the latter formed by Prime Mini ...
before the war, and joined the Liberal Party in 1946. At the
1947 Victorian state election The 1947 Victorian state election was held in the Australian state of Victoria on Saturday 8 November 1947 to elect 65 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. Results Legislative Assembly See also * Candidates of the 1947 Victor ...
, he managed William McDonald's campaign in the seat of
Dundas Dundas may refer to: Places Australia * Dundas, New South Wales * Dundas, Queensland, a locality in the Somerset Region * Dundas, Tasmania * Dundas, Western Australia * Fort Dundas, a settlement in the Northern Territory 1824–1828 * Shire of ...
, helping defeat the long-serving Labor incumbent Bill Slater. Cormack was subsequently recruited to the federal policy committee, at the urging of
Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
and Richard Casey. He was state president of the Victorian Liberals from 1948 to 1949. Cormack stood for the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
at the 1949 federal election, losing to
Bill Bourke William Meskill Bourke (2 June 1913 – 22 May 1981) was an Australian politician. Bourke was elected to the Australian House of Representatives seat of Fawkner at the 1949 election representing the Australian Labor Party. He was expelled ...
in the
Division of Fawkner The Division of Fawkner was an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1906 as a replacement for Southern Melbourne, and was abolished itself in 1969. It was named for John Pascoe Fawkner, one of the founders ...
by just 27 votes. In a speech to the Melbourne University Liberal Club in April 1950, he urged Australia to take possession of
Dutch New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea ( nl, Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea, id, Nugini Belanda) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the King ...
and populate it with white settlers, in order to pre-empt an Indonesian takeover.


Senator

At the 1951 election, Cormack was elected to the Senate in fifth place on the Coalition ticket in Victoria. He was one of the few Liberals to oppose the
Menzies Government Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...
's attempts to ban the
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
, telling Menzies that it was "draconian". His first span in the Senate lasted only two years, as he was defeated at the 1953 half-Senate election. Shortly before his term ended, he was one of the senators chosen to represent Australia at the
coronation of Elizabeth II The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being Proclamati ...
. Prior to the 1954 election, Cormack unsuccessfully contested Liberal preselection for the
Division of Wannon The Division of Wannon is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. History The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first Federal election. The division was named ...
. His opponent was future prime minister
Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...
, who was 23 years old at the time. Fraser had not expected to win, but mounted a strong grassroots campaign and impressed with his public speaking ability. Cormack's loss led journalist
Don Whitington Bertram Lindon "Don" Whitington (31 January 1911 – 5 May 1977) was an Australian political journalist and author. Life A member of the Whitington family of South Australia, whose family arrived in Australia in 1840, Don Whitington was born in ...
to describe him as "the unluckiest man in post-war Australian politics". He stood for the Senate at the
1955 election The following elections occurred in the year 1955. Africa * 1955 Liberian general election * 1955 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1955 Cambodian parliamentary election * 1955 Indonesian Constituent Assembly election * 1955 Indon ...
without success, and then the following year was defeated by
George Hannan George Conrad Hannan (10 September 19101 May 2009) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Victoria from 1956 to 1965 and 1970 to 1974. He was a member of the Liberal Party for all but the last few months of his career, and was ...
in a ballot to fill the
casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualifi ...
caused by John Spicer's resignation. Cormack won first place on the Coalition ticket at the 1961 election, and was elected to a six-year Senate term commencing on 1 July 1962. He would be re-elected to further six-year terms at the
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...
and 1974 elections. The latter was cut short by a double dissolution, and at the 1975 election he won a three-year term ending on 30 June 1978. Cormack was chairman of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1967 to 1969, and from 1970 to 1971 chaired the Select Committee on Securities and Exchange. The latter committee's report into financial malpractices received praise from the media, with ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territo ...
'' describing it as "probably the most incisive, impressive and influential document the Senate has ever produced". In the
1970 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1970 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lon ...
, Cormack was made a
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(KBE), "for long political and public service". After the disappearance of Prime Minister
Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in ...
in 1967, Cormack played a role in
John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a ...
's ascension to the prime ministership. Their association dated back to the 1940s, when Cormack had helped recruit Gorton into the Liberal Party. According to Alan Reid, Liberal MPs "filed in and out of Cormack's room, some from other states, as votes for Gorton were lined up during the leadership struggle". The Liberal Party senators formed Gorton's power base, and Cormack helped keep them on-side during
William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, ...
's leadership challenges. Reid described him as "a manoeuvrer who preferred to work in the shadows than in strong sunlight".


President of the Senate

Following the retirement of
Alister McMullin Sir Alister Maxwell McMullin, (14 July 1900 – 7 August 1984) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for New South Wales from 1951 to 1971, representing the Liberal Party. He was President of the Senate for a record term of ...
, Cormack was elected President of the Senate on 17 August 1971, defeating Labor's
Justin O'Byrne Justin Hilary O'Byrne, AO (1 June 1912 – 10 November 1993) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1947 to 1981, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He was President of the Senate from 1974 to 19 ...
by 31 votes to 26. He had earlier defeated
Reg Withers Reginald Greive Withers (26 October 1924 – 15 November 2014) was a long-serving member of the Australian Senate, a government minister, and Lord Mayor of Perth. Early life Withers was born in Bunbury, Western Australia. Withers was the son ...
to become the Coalition's nominee for the position, despite Withers having the support of Prime Minister
William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, ...
. As president, Cormack was known as a defender of
parliamentary sovereignty Parliamentary sovereignty, also called parliamentary supremacy or legislative supremacy, is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. It holds that the legislative body has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over al ...
over the executive. He strongly supported the expansion of the committee system, which was a relatively recent innovation, and believed the Senate should function "largely as a committee chamber" rather than simply mirroring the House of Representatives. Fearing it was "degenerating into a propaganda forum", Cormack introduced new conventions for
question time A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...
, allowing government ministers to terminate questions without notice and refusing to allow questions to be directed to assistant ministers. He also allowed ministers to cut short debate on a bill by simply moving that it be considered "urgent". The Labor Party did not secure a majority in the Senate at the 1972 federal election, despite winning government. Cormack was re-elected to the presidency with the support of the Democratic Labor Party's five senators. While presiding over the chamber he was generally regarded as fair and impartial – Labor's
John Wheeldon John Murray Wheeldon (9 August 192924 May 2006) was an Australian politician and journalist. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and a senator for Western Australia from 1965 to 1981. He held ministerial office in the Whitlam go ...
regarded him as "completely non-partisan". In January 1973, he refused a request from the Liberal Party to unilaterally recall the Senate, stating he would only do so on the advice of the government. Cormack played a role in the "
Gair Affair The Gair Affair was an episode in Australian political life in 1974, during the government led by the Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. Whitlam offered the post of Ambassador to Ireland to a non-government senator from Queensland, Vince Gair, ...
" of 1974, which had implications for the Whitlam Government's ability to pass legislation through the Senate. He refused to accept
Vince Gair Vincent Clair Gair (25 February 190111 November 1980) was an Australian politician. He served as Premier of Queensland from 1952 until 1957, when his stormy relations with the trade union movement saw him expelled from the Labor Party. He was e ...
's purported resignation letter, instead judging it to be ambiguous and allowing the Senate to debate whether it should be accepted. After the 1974 election, the balance of power in the Senate was shared by
Steele Hall Raymond Steele Hall (born 30 November 1928) is a former Australian politician who served as the 36th Premier of South Australia from 1968 to 1970. He also served in the federal Parliament as a senator for South Australia from 1974 to 1977 and ...
of the Liberal Movement and
Michael Townley Michael Vernon Townley (born December 5, 1942, in Waterloo, Iowa) is an American-born former agent of the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA), the secret police of Chile during the regime of Augusto Pinochet. In 1978, Townley pled guilty t ...
. Cormack defeated Ian Wood to become the Coalition's nominee for the presidency. It was expected that the vote for the presidency would be tied at 30 votes each for Cormack and the Labor nominee Justin O'Byrne, with the result determined by drawing lots. However, at least one Coalition senator voted for O'Byrne, who defeated Cormack by 31 votes to 29.


Later years

In August 1974, Cormack and
James Webster James Webster may refer to: * James Webster (Australian politician) (1925–2022), Senator in Australia * James Webster (rugby league) (born 1979), rugby league player for Widnes Vikings * James Webster (musicologist), musicologist on the faculty ...
unsuccessfully challenged the legality of the first joint sitting of parliament. The High Court unanimously ruled that their challenge was invalid. Cormack remained an active player in the Senate after losing the presidency. He
crossed the floor Crossed may refer to: * ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis * ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie * "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead'' S ...
a total of twelve times during his career, and was a leading opponent of the Fraser Government's 1977 referendum proposals; he chaired a campaign urging voters to vote "No" on all four questions. He was particularly critical of the proposal for simultaneous elections for the House and Senate, which was the only question where the "No" vote prevailed; he described it as "a fraud and a deceit" which would eventually lead to the Senate's abolition. In March 1975, Cormack held a dinner party at his flat in
Toorak Toorak may refer to: * Toorak, Victoria, an inner south-eastern suburb of Melbourne *Toorak College, Mount Eliza, approximately 40 km south of Melbourne * Toorak Gardens, South Australia, an inner eastern suburb of Adelaide initially named Toorak * ...
, where he and other leading Liberals discussed how to remove
Billy Snedden Sir Billy Mackie Snedden, (31 December 1926 – 27 June 1987) was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party from 1972 to 1975. He was also a cabinet minister from 1964 to 1972, and Speaker of the House of Repres ...
from the leadership. The leading contenders to replace Snedden were
Andrew Peacock Andrew Sharp Peacock (13 February 193916 April 2021) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He served as a cabinet minister and went on to become leader of the Liberal Party on two occasions (1983–1985 and 1989–1990), leading the par ...
and
Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...
. Cormack was known to support Peacock, who was a close friend and something of a protégé. However, he only invited Fraser to the dinner party. Fraser was suspicious of Cormack's motives, particularly when he was asked to leave by jumping over the back fence – supposedly to avoid photographers who were waiting outside the front door. Fraser suspected Cormack had actually arranged someone to wait by the back fence and photograph him climbing over, hoping to embarrass him and thus further Peacock's chances. He chose to leave by the front door, where there were in fact no photographers. After leaving parliament, Cormack served as the chairman of
3XY Magic 1278 (official List of radio station callsigns in Victoria, callsign: 3EE) is a commercial radio station in Melbourne, Australia owned by Nine Entertainment Co, and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. History 1935–1991: 3XY ...
, one of Melbourne's most popular music radio stations. The station had strong ties to the Liberal Party, and its articles of association provided that any proceeds from its sale would be transferred to organisations with shared goals. When the station licence was sold for $15 million in 1986, Cormack initially wished to divide the money between the
Institute of Public Affairs The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) is a conservative non-profit free market public policy think tankAbout the IPA
...
, the
Centre for Independent Studies The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) is an Australian libertarian think tank founded in 1976 which specialises in public policy research. It is based in Sydney and focuses on classical liberal issues such as free markets and limited governm ...
, and other similar think tanks. However, Liberal Party official John Calvert-Jones convinced him that the money should be used to establish a new entity, which was named the
Cormack Foundation Cormack Foundation Pty. Ltd. is an Australian investment company established to hold for the Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division) and associated entities. Named in honour of former Senate President Magnus Cormack, the company was set up i ...
. According to ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatewat ...
'', the foundation's capital had grown to almost $70 million by 2017, and it had disbursed $60 million in dividends to the Liberal Party since its creation. Cormack died in Melbourne on 26 November 1994, aged 88, after years of ill health. A memorial service was held at Old Parliament House.


References

  {{DEFAULTSORT:Cormack, Magnus 1906 births 1994 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria Members of the Australian Senate Presidents of the Australian Senate Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Scottish emigrants to Australia People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide 20th-century Australian politicians People from Wick, Caithness Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army officers