ETC – AUSTRALIA

Super funds push for more ESG disclosure

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Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 3-Mar-16

Australian-listed companies are under pressure to report more thoroughly their environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. On 2 March 2016, the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) and the Financial Services Council launched a new guide on corporate disclosure of ESG information to shareholders. Research by ACSI suggests that the ESG disclosure practices of ASX 200 companies are inadequate.

CORPORATES
FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Top women closing gap on pay as earnings hit $580k

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 2 : 1-Mar-16

Data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that the three per cent of taxpayers in the highest marginal tax bracket accounted for nearly 30 per cent of the total income tax paid in fiscal 2014. Meanwhile, the average salary of male CEOs and directors rose by 10 per cent to $A667,000 during the financial year, while the average salary of their female counterparts increased by 20 per cent to $A580,000. Medical specialists and financial industry professionals were also among those with the highest incomes.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Year of the $3m CEO pay

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Original article by Edmund Tadros, Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 10-Dec-15

The annual executive salary survey of "The Australian Financial Review" shows that former Amcor CEO Ken MacKenzie was paid $A20.92m in 2015, making him the best-paid head of a listed company in the nation. Overall, Australia’s 300 highest-paid CEOs have received a combined pay increase of five per cent in 2015, and the average annual salary of the top CEOs has exceeded $A3m for the first time. Some 31 of the highest-paid CEOs have stepped down in 2015, which significantly bolstered their remuneration for the year.

CORPORATES
AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CIMIC GROUP LIMITED – ASX CIM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, EGAN ASSOCIATES MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES PLC – ASX JHX, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, IMPEDIMED LIMITED – ASX IPD, 1-PAGE LIMITED – ASX 1PG, BLACKMORES LIMITED – ASX BKL, VITA GROUP LIMITED – ASX VTG, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AUSNET SERVICES LIMITED – ASX AST, ANSELL LIMITED – ASX ANN, ALS LIMITED – ASX ALQ, DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW

BHP bonuses cut by Samarco disaster

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Original article by Matt Chambers, Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 20 : 8-Dec-15

Shares in BHP Billiton have shed 23 per cent in the wake of the tailings dam failure in Brazil in early November 2015. The resources giant has responded by reducing the number of bonus shares allocated to senior executives under the 2014-15 long-term and short-term incentives scheme. CEO Andrew Mackenzie will be allocated 339,753 long-term incentive plan performance shares and 69,566 short-term incentive plan deferred shares.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA

Westpac under fire over pay

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Original article by Adele Ferguson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 30-Nov-15

Westpac has refuted claims by Ownership Matters that its executive bonuses for 2013-14 and 2014-15 were inflated by a decision to exclude a software write-off from its cash earnings. Ownership Matters argues that Westpac’s ex-CEO Gail Kelly and other senior executives would not have received bonuses if the $A354m software write-down had been included in the bank’s cash earnings. The firm has advised Westpac shareholders to vote against the bank’s remuneration report at its 2015 annual meeting.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Gerry Harvey faces possible strike and spill

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 24-Nov-15

The "two strikes" rule could be invoked at the 2015 annual meeting of retailer Harvey Norman, after more than 25 per cent of shareholders voted against its remuneration report in 2014. Executive chairman Gerry Harvey argues that the group’s executives are paid less than the bulk of companies that are of a comparable size. Harvey and the family of late co-founder Ian Norman have sufficient voting power to thwart a board spill if they choose to do so. Harvey traditionally does not vote on the remuneration report.

CORPORATES
HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION

Tweaking super won’t help women

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 20-Nov-15

The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) says the gap in the superannuation savings of men and women can only be eliminated by paying women higher salaries and raising their workforce participation rates. The AIST believes that super policy reforms will have a limited effect on the savings gap, which is now 17 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SUPERANNUATION TRUSTEES, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Westpac’s Gail Kelly gets $11m in final year

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 12-Nov-15

Westpac’s 2015 annual report shows that former CEO Gail Kelly received $A11.76 million for her last four months at the helm of the bank. This figure comprises $A2.25 million in cash in the year to September 2015 and $A9.51 million in performance share options awarded in prior years. Kelly retired in February 2015.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

ANZ’s Smith is $10.8m a year man

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 10-Nov-15

The ANZ Bank’s 2015 annual report shows that CEO Mike Smith was paid a cash salary of $A3.3m in 2014-15, while bonuses and an incentives scheme lifted his total remuneration to $A10.8m. In contrast, Commonwealth Bank CEO Ian Narev was paid $A8.32m in total for 2014-15. ANZ CFO Shayne Elliott will succeed Smith at the beginning of 2016, and he is expected to be paid around $A6.5m in total in his first year as CEO.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Anti-gay marriage campaign cruel: Shorten

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 23-Oct-15

The Australian Government will provide funding for both the Yes and No campaigns on the issue of same-sex marriage in the lead-up to a proposed plebiscite. The Australian Labor Party favours a parliamentary vote on gay marriage rather than a plebiscite, and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has expressed concern that the No campaign could prompt a rise in mental health problems in the gay community.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GAY AND LESBIAN HEALTH VICTORIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA