Former federal treasurer Peter Costello is under pressure from the Victorian Liberal Party to surrender a multimillion-dollar war chest.
Mr Costello established the private Higgins 200 Foundation in June 2008, 16 months before he quit parliament.
It included $900,000 transferred from his Liberal Party electorate funding body, the Higgins 200 Club.
But The Australian reports that sections of the Victorian Liberal Party regard the funds under Mr Costello’s control as party monies.
A high-ranking senior figure told the newspaper the issue was a “festering sore”.
Mr Costello was also criticised for not handing funds over to fight a by-election caused by him quitting parliament in late 2009.
“He is sitting on a million dollars of Liberal Party money,” the senior party figure told The Australian.
“I think it’s all quite immoral.”
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