Bianca Rinehart takes swipe at Gina

Gina Rinehart's daughter Bianca has taken a thinly-veiled swipe at her mother, saying the multibillion dollar family trust will now be managed in the children's best interests.

A NSW Supreme Court judge on Thursday ordered the iron ore tycoon's eldest daughter be handed control of the trust, valued at up to $5 billion, following a bitter legal battle between Mrs Rinehart and her two eldest children.

"I am pleased that as a result of this judgment, the trust he (grandfather Lang Hancock) set up will now be able to be managed in the best interests of its beneficiaries - my sisters, my brother and myself," Bianca said in a statement.

"I am very honoured to have that responsibility and believe that this is a significant step towards restoring family harmony."

John Hancock and Bianca - along with their sister Hope Welker - launched legal action against their mother in September 2011 on the back of a letter she sent them three days before their youngest sister, Ginia Rinehart, turned 25 and the family trust was due to vest.

Mrs Rinehart, who again topped the 2015 BRW Rich list this week with an estimated worth of more than $14 billion, had changed the vesting date to 2068.

In the September 3 message, Mrs Rinehart said if the trust, which listed her children as beneficiaries, vested they would become liable to pay capital gains tax and they would become bankrupt.

These consequences could only be avoided by extending the vesting date, she said.

But as documents obtained during the case have revealed, Justice Paul Brereton said Mrs Rinehart and her chief financial officer, Jay Newby, had received no such tax advice.

In the fight for control of the trust, Justice Brereton found that Mrs Rinehart had used tactics bordering on intimidation and sought to wield her influential connections.

In March 2013, she procured Ms Welker's withdrawal from the claim by making her loans of about $45 million.

Justice Brereton described the position of trustee as a "poisoned chalice" and Mr Hancock on Friday predicted his mother will appeal the Supreme Court decision.

"Every single decision along the way she's appealed all the way to the High Court. So I can't see this being any different," he told ABC radio.

Mr Hancock said he was stunned by Barnaby Joyce's intervention in the family dispute, and the federal agriculture minister has questions to answer.

He said Mr Joyce was "manipulated" into emailing Ms Welker, urging her to abandon legal action against their mother.

"Coming from his government email, I just think it's extraordinary. This character sits three chairs down from our prime minister," Mr Hancock said.

A spokesman for Hancock Prospecting declined to comment on the prospect of an appeal by Mrs Rinehart.

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