David Aspinall, who ran West Australian Newspapers for Alan Bond in the 1980s, has died aged 75.

Aspinall ran regional TV station Nine in Perth, and then headed the entrepreneur and former local signwriter’s Bell Group in 1988.

In an obituary on the West Australian’s (paywalled) website, editor-in-chief Bob Cronin says staff who worked there at the time should be grateful for Aspinall's efforts in 'locking up' the newspaper's superannuation fund so that Bond Corporation could not raid it for cash as it unsuccessfully sought to prevent its collapse.