Lara Wiggins.
The fight for control of the port infrastructure essential to KordaMentha’s efforts to sell the aging Whyalla steelworks is continuing in the Federal Court with various skirmishes taking place away from the main battle front.
This week the court delivered reasons in respect of an application brought by Whyalla Ports Pty Ltd, which is the respondent to the application being brought Sebastian Hams, Mark Mentha, Lara Wiggins and Michael Korda in their capacities as voluntary administrators of OneSteel Manufacturing Pty Limited.
The primary application involves the termination of a lease agreement between OneSteel and Whyalla Ports back in March and a hearing in relation to that matter is currently underway.
But Whyalla Ports Pty Ltd – which is in the hands of William Buck’s Michael Brereton, Sean Wengel and Rashnyl Prasad after they were appointed administrators of the Sanjeev Gupta-controlled entity on June 6, 2025 – has been an active cross-respondent, most recently challenging some of the evidence tended via expert witnesses on behalf of the OneSteel VAs.
That challenge required urgent deliberations by Justice David O’Callaghan, who on Monday declared that the objections – details of which are contained in Hams v Whyalla Ports Pty Ltd (Administrators Appointed) (Receivers and Managers Appointed), in the matter of OneSteel Manufacturing Pty Limited (Administrators Appointed) [2025] FCA 949 – were valid.
The experts the OneSteel VAs engaged provided opinions in respect of value of equipment on the lease site and opinions as to the costs of dismantling and removing equipment.
Whyalla Ports succeeded in having portions of the experts’ evidence ruled inadmissible on the basis that it “did not state any grounds that led him to arrive at those estimates. It was submitted that the evidence was in substance valueless, and thus inadmissible, because it had not been shown to be based on the witness’ expertise”.
While this may represent no more than a hiccup for the OneSteel VAs there’s been less effective resistance to remuneration resolution put to theOneSteel Manufacturing Committee of Inspection (COI).
Early last month Wiggins chaired a meeting off the COI at which she put the following resolution: “the remuneration of the Administrators for the period 9 June 2025 to 22 June 2025 in the amount of $1,337,679.50, excluding GST, calculated on the basis of time spent by the Administrators and KordaMentha staff (including 333 Capital staff) as detailed in the Remuneration Approval Report to committee members dated 26 June 2025, is approved for payment immediately or as required.”
The only vote against come from Olvera Advisors partner Robyn Karam, who’s been providing strategic advice to Whyalla Ports director and besieged industrialist Sanjeev Gupta.
Further reading:
It is always good to see that the external administrators and lawyers are making money to the detriment of creditors.
It is also an ongoing surprise at inadequate so-called experts’ reports being deficient in circumstances where the law relating to the preparation of such reports is fairly settled. There is after all an industry between relevant “experts” and the firms relating to the preparation of such reports.