ETC – AUSTRALIA

New governor-general’s $200k pay rise slammed as indefensible

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Original article by Rhiannon Down, Greg Brown, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-Jun-24

Sam Mostyn will be officially sworn in as Australia’s 28th governor-general on 1 July. The federal government has revealed that Mostyn will receive an annual salary of $709,000 in her new role. Outgoing Governor-General David Hurley has been paid just $495,000 annually, although his salary was reduced because he also received a military pension during his five-year term. However, National Party MP Keith Pitt says the big pay rise for Mostyn is inappropriate during a cost-of-living crisis.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Australian federal politicians awarded 3.5% pay rise by independent tribunal

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Original article by Sarah Basford Canales
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 18-Jun-24

The Remuneration Tribunal has defended its pay rise for federal public office holders, stating that it took into account factors such as the minimum wage case, changes in private and public sector wages and the budget position. MPs, senators and bureaucrats will receive a pay rise of 3.5 per cent from 1 July, and the independent tribunal notes that they have received a ‘modest’ cumulative pay rise of just 18.25 per cent since 2015. The salary of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will rise by more than $20,000 a year, to $607,471; Opposition leader Peter Dutton will in turn be paid $432,239 a year, an increase of about $25,000. The salary of Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet secretary Glyn Davis will rise $34,202 a year to more than $1m.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

AICD warns of dangers from AI

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 18 : 12-Jun-24

The Australia Institute of Company Directors has released a new guidebook on artificial intelligence technology. Amongst other things, it advises company directors to examine the potential benefits and key risks associated with using AI within their organisation, while they should take action to ensure that the data that is being used by their company’s AI applications is ‘fit for purpose’. The AICD’s Mark Rigotti says directors may face significant commercial, reputational and regulatory damage if they lack sufficient oversight regarding the company’ use of AI.

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AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS

Court urged to make example of CBA on pay

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Sep-23

The Federal Court has been urged to impose the maximum penalty on the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for underpaying about 7,4000 employees some $16m over more than a decade. Michael Seck, the lawyer representing the Fair Work Ombudsman, contended that the penalty must be sufficient to deter other large companies from underpaying their staff. The bank had self-reported the underpayments to the FWO and has provided back-pay to all affected employees. The underpayments occured after CBA shifted affected employees from an enterprise agreement to individual agreements.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

Backbench MPs now on $225k a year

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Original article by Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 6 : 30-Aug-23

The Remuneration Tribunal has approved a pay rise of four per cent for federal MPs; it will take effect from 1 September and will be backdated to 1 July. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will receive a pay rise of $22,573 a year, lifting his salary to $586,929. The base salary for cabinet ministers will rise by $14,977 to $389,406, while the base salary of backbench MPs will rise from $217,060 a year to $225,742. The independent tribunal has described the increase in MPs’ salaries as ‘conservative’, given that wages for public sector workers have grown much faster over the last decade.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

C-suite executives’ pay increases rise past inflation

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 14-Jun-23

A new report from the Governance Institute shows that 42 per cent of directors at ASX-listed companies and 71 per cent of senior executives received a pay rise in 2022. The salaries of CEOs rose by an average of 15 per cent, while the salaries of managing directors rose by an average of 14 per cent. This compares with overall wage growth of just 3.4 per cent in 2022, according to Wage Price Index data; the inflation rate in turn was 7.8 per cent at the end of 2022. Governance Institute CEO Megan Motto says the sharp rise in executive remuneration follows several years of relatively small rises in fixed pay.

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GOVERNANCE INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

25pc childcare pay rise could be unsustainable

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 7-Jun-23

Unions and early childhood education providers have applied to the Fair Work Commission for authorisation to negotiate pay deals via the federal government’s new multi-employer ‘supported bargaining’ stream. The proposed pay rise of 25 per cent would apply to 65 employers in the sector and about 12,000 early childhood educators. However, Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says a big concern is that other employers will ultimately be "roped into" the pay deal, despite not being involved in the negotiations.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

ABC staff have called off Tuesday’s planned strike to consider a new pay offer

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: Online : 7-Mar-23

ABC employees will not proceed with industrial action on Tuesday after the public broadcaster offered a sweetened pay deal. The ABC has offered a pay rise of 11.5 per cent over three years, backdated to the start of October 2022, and a sign-on bonus of $1,500. ABC employees have been pushing for annual pay rises of six per cent for three years, and negotiations with the broadcaster will continue. The 40-minute strike by ABC journalists had been timed to coincide with the latest interest rate announcement from the Reserve Bank.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

ABC boss seeks peace deal as strike looms

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Original article by James Madden, Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 19 : 6-Mar-23

ABC MD David Anderson will meet with representatives of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance on Monday, in a bid to avert industrial action over a new pay deal. The MEAA and the public broadcaster’s journalists have rejected an offer of a pay rise of 10.5 per cent over three years and are pushing for an annual increase of six per cent for three years. The proposed 40-minute strike on Tuesday has been timed to coincide with the Reserve Bank’s interest rate announcement. Longer strikes have been flagged in coming weeks if the ABC does not return to the bargaining table.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

REDcycle declared insolvent after handing plastic stockpile to supermarket giants

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Original article by Chris Vedelago
The Age – Page: Online : 28-Feb-23

The NSW Supreme Court has issued a winding-up order for RG Programs & Services Pty Ltd, which operated the failed REDcycle scheme for soft plastics packaging. A liquidator has appointed to the company, which is likely to signal the end of the REDcycle scheme. However, this will not affect a recent deal for Coles and Woolworths to assume control of a 12,400-tonne stockpile of soft plastics that is currently being stored in 32 warehouses in three states. The supermarket giants will continue to store the stockpile until they determine how to recycle the waste material.

CORPORATES
RG PROGRAMS AND SERVICES PTY LTD, REDCYCLE, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW