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Articles

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"CHANTICLEER: The first strike against the remuneration report of Australian Pharmaceuticals Industries (API) is arguably one of the most powerful to have occurred since the new law was brought in last year."January 18, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"CHANTICLEER: An IOOF spokeswoman has demanded a clarification after yesterday’s comment that IOOF had failed to disclose the salary of its highest paid fund manager, John Murray, who is managing director of its funds management arm, Perennial Value Management."January 13, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"SHORTAGE CITED FOR $2.75M CEO SALARY: Fast-growing construction contractor Forge Group has defended a decision to pay its new chief executive $2.75 million in his first year, saying it was necessary given fierce market competition for qualified personnel."January 13, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"CAMERON VOWS TO LET SHAREHOLDERS VETO CEO PAY: Chief executives in 87 of the FTSE 100 companies took home £5.1 million in basic pay, bonuses, share incentives and pension contributions in 2010-11, a report reveals."January 11, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"UK SHAREHOLDERS TO GET BIGGER SAY IN ‘FAT CAT’ PAY: Shareholders are to win a legal right to block sky-high pay awards to company executives under radical plans for an assault on “fat cat” earnings drawn up by the British government."January 9, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"NEW APPROACH TO EXECUTIVE PAY: If you thought the executive pay debate would quietly slip off the list of priorities for 2012 and gather dust along with last year’s long list of negative first-strike votes, then think again."January 5, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"US BOSSES’ PAY CHEQUES REINFLATED: Pay for chief executives in the United States has roared back after two years of stagnation and decline."December 16, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"NEW POLITICIANS’ SALARY DEAL MAKES SENSE: Saturday, December 3, was the fourth anniversary of the swearing in of the first Rudd ministry."December 16, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"MPs GAIN BIG RAISES, LOSE PERKS: Federal MPs will get a 30 per cent – based on the value of their work – and lose contentious perks as the Gillard government establishes a more transparent parliamentary pay system."December 16, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"SUPER FUNDS RESIST PUSH TO REVEAL PAY: Superannuation funds are resisting pressure from the regulator to disclose executive salaries, a move that would bring retirement schemes into line with the disclosure practises of listed companies."December 12, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PAY RULES LET FUND BOSSES OFF LIGHTLY: On the face of it, the new “two strikes” rule aimed at curbing fat-cat salaries has had little impact on the listed property sector."December 12, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EQUAL PAY DEAL TO COST STATES $2BN: The cash-strapped NSW and Victorian governments are concerned the Gillard government’s plan for equal pay for community workers could cost them almost $2 billion."December 8, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"DART SQUEEZES CLEAR OF STRIKE ON OPTIONS: Emerging global coal seam gas explorer Dart energy has narrowly avoided incurring a “strike” over executive pay after some major shareholders objected to the issue of options to directors."November 30, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY: THE VIEW FROM THE SHOP FLOOR: Big executive pay packets are usually justified with the claim that CEO pay is linked to performance, even though there are plenty of examples where there is a disconnect between the two."November 29, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"KEEP SALARIES QUIET: Disclosure of executive salaries has long been advocated as a way to make management more accountable."November 24 - 30, 2011 BRW

"REPORTS HIDE A WEALTH OF INFORMATION: Have a look at a chart showing the rise in total remuneration of chief executives at the top 100 companies over the past 10 years and compare it with the less than spectacular performance of the S&P ASX 100 Index over the same period and you will understand why there is growing concern among small and large shareholders about executive pay."November 23, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"MAGIC PROTEST NUMBER CAN BE FAR LES THAN 25%: The shake-up of the influential proxy advice industry has delivered some unpredictable results this year, often dependent on the shareholders involved."November 23, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"WHAT ARE CEO’S REALLY TAKING HOME?: Alan Joyce’s pay slip varies drastically, depending on who you talk to."November 23, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"INVESTORS USE THE TWO STRIKES RULE JUDICIOUSLY: No less than 30 listed companies have received their first “strike” on pay this year, in the wake of the government’s two-strikes rule which empowers shareholders to spill an entire board."November 23, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"COMPANIES LEARN THE ART OF COMMUNICATION: Most companies escaped having strikes cast against them at annual general meetings this year, but only because they were wooing investors behind the scenes."November 23, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"BONUS A BIG CARROT, BUT ALSO A BIG STICK: It was to be the most controversial annual meeting of the season. Tail company QR National had lowered the performance hurdles for chief executive Lance Hockridge in order to ensure he would receive share rights worth about $1 million."November 23, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"CASH BONUSES DELIVER FOR TOP CEOS: An 11 per cent jump in annual cash bonuses this year has helped deliver a healthy pay rise for the bosses of our top 300 companies, despite the market slumping more than 16 per cent since its peak in April."November 23, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"REALITY CHECK ON CEO PAY: salaries for the nation’s top executives have failed to recover to their pre-financial crisis highs, confirming the end of the previous explosion in pay packages."November 23, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"INVESTOR ABOUT-TURN ON CHALLENGER PAY: More than 90 per cent of Challenger shareholders have approved senior management’s pay, reversing the protest vote last year."November 23, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"CHALLENGER CONFIDENT OF REMUNERATION APPROVAL: Challenger is expecting to turn around last year’s biggest protest vote over executive pay today to avoid a strike, following a six-month campaign by chairman Peter Polson to engage with shareholders."November 22, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"TWO STRIKES RULE TO BE UNDERMINED: Company directors could soon face the prospect of being sacked every year, undermining the basis of the government’s “two-strikes” rule on executive pay, a leading director David Crawford, said yesterday."November 22, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"QUERIES OVER TRUST CHIEF’S PAY: Frothy salaries and excessive cash bonuses at two of Australia’s largest listed real estate investment trusts, Goodman Group and Charter Hall Group, have again attracted censure from the country’s most influential corporate governance firms."November 16, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EARTH MOVED BUT EXEC PAY STUCK OUT: Heavy equipment rental firm Emeco Holdings has become the latest company to register a strike under new legislation on executive pay."November 16, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"12PC PAY RISE FOR NAB’S CLYNE: National Australia Bank chief executive Cameron Clyne is no longer the lowest paid big four banker, with his remuneration jumping 12 per cent to $8.67 million last year."November 15, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PAY TRAP: Steve Jobs was the antithesis for the argument that management does not make a difference."November 11, 2011 AFRBOSS.com.au

"SIMS BOSS BACKS SALARY SCRAPS: Sims Metals Management chief executive Dan Dienst says shareholders are right to raise questions about executive pay and company performance, after his pay packet came under fire at yesterday’s annual general meeting in Melbourne."November 11, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EXEC PAY: DOWNER ON RIGHT TRACK: Embattled engineering group Downer DEI is set to avoid a big protest vote against its executive remuneration strategies for the first time in three years after receiving a tick of approval from proxy advisers."November 9, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"COMMONWEALTH BANK EXECUTIVE PAY VOTED THROUGH AT AGM DESPITE SHAREHOLDER BACKLASH: Commonwealth Bank bosses have dodged the executive "first strike" pay bullet despite a backlash from shareholders over failing to meet their customer satisfaction targets."November 9, 2011 News.com.au

"CHIEF’S PAY SLASHED: A weak sharemarket performance has clipped the pay of BT Investment Management chief executive Emillio Gonzalez by about 14 per cent for 2011, according to the company’s annual report."November 4, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"SHAREHOLDERS UNHAPPY AT PERPETUAL: Perpetual, a noted critic of board practises suffered a first “strike” under new executive pay rules as small and large shareholders accused the investment group of making it too easy for executives to get bonuses."November 4, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"BANKERS BRACE FOR A BLEAK CHRISTMAS: With only eight weeks to wait for Santa’s arrival that delicate time of the year is upon that not-so-delicate breed – investment bankers –when manoeuvring around end-of-year bonuses heats up."November 3, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"TWO STRIKES RULE WON’T WORK: In slapstick, part of the fun is seeing the pratfall coming."November 2, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"DEXUS PLEDGES PAY ATTENTION: DEXUS Property Group will initiate a wide-ranging review of its executive remuneration after investors voted sown the management’s salary packages at its annual meeting yesterday."November 1, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"FUND MANAGERS TAKE OWN LINE ON PAY: Leading fund managers have hit back at directors who have accused them of abrogating their responsibilities and outsourcing their votes to proxy firms."November 1, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"DEXUS FIRST REIT TO FACE ‘STRIKE’: DEXUS Property Group has become the first listed real estate investment trust to suffer an investor revolt over its remuneration report, raising the possibility of a board spill at its annual general meeting next year."November 1, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PROXY FIRMS UP ANTE ON REMUNERATION: The executive pay practises of two of Australia’s largest corporations, Leighton Holdings and the Kerry Stokes-controlled Seven Group, have been questioned by proxy firms and the major super funds."October 31, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"WHEN AN EXECUTIVE GETS MORE THAN DOUBLE HIS BOSS: Governance advisors are split on the Wesfarmers pay structure, including a controversial move to alter the performance hurdles for its chief executive, Richard Goyder."October 31, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PACKER COMES OUT SWINGING AFTER FIRST STRIKE ON PAY: James Packer made clear yesterday the limits on the new executive pay rules."October 28, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"VOTERS LIKE EARNINGS BUT NOT SALARY: Engineering and property services firm UGL received a third large protest vote against its remuneration practises in four years yesterday as it forecast 5 per cent growth in net earnings this financial year."October 28, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"KAROON GAS DEFENDS DIRECTOR OPTIONS: Karoon Gas has defended its practise of giving options to directors after receiving a large but unsuccessful protest vote at its annual meeting."October 27, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"SOLOMON LEW LEADS FIRST STRIKE ON GLOBE EXEC PAY: Corporate life has caught up with the skater dudes who rode the markets enthusiasm for youth brands to paper fortune in 2001."October 27, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"IAG SHOWS OTHERS HOW TO GET IT DONE: Insurance Australia Group chairman Brian Schwartz has distanced the company from comments by boardroom doyen Don Argus that investors who didn’t like executive pay practises at a accompany should sell the shares."October 27, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PROFITABLE SECTORS PUSH FOR PAY INCREASES: Property professionals are finally getting long-awaited pay rites, but economic uncertainty and wavering business confidence its restricting future confidence is restricting future increases, a report says."October 27, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"FOSTERS CEO’S BONUS SCRAPES IN: Foster’s Groups’s board has come under sustained attack over its decision to embrace a takeover by a major foreign competitor just as it was starting to see the fruits of a year-long turnaround program."October 26, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"ANTI-MURDOCH VOTE EMPHATIC: If News Corp shareholders whose surnames are not Murdoch had had their way, James and Lachlan Murdoch would have been tossed off the board of their father Rupert’s media empire at its annual meeting late last week."October 26, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"TRANSURBAN WINS ON REMUNERATION: Transurban left behind its status as executive pay pariah when shareholders yesterday voted overwhelmingly in favour of its remuneration report."October 26, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PACBRANDS HUNG OUT TO DRY OVER BONUSES: Pacific Brands, one of the worst performing listed consumer goods companies, has recorded a strike from shareholders unhappy with its executive remuneration."October 26, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"DEXUS REMUNERATION REPORT UNDER FIRE: DEXUS Property Group may have a shareholder revolt on its hands at its annual general meeting next week after an influential corporate governance firm rejected the trust’s remuneration report."October 26, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"SHAREHOLDERS PASS STOCKLAND PAY REPORT: Stockland investors have voted in favour of the diversified property group’s remuneration report, despite weeks of harsh criticism of chairman Graham Bradley, managing director Matthew Quinn and key executives."October 26, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"WATPAC ‘NO’ PROVOKES CHAIRMAN’S IRE: Diversified construction contractor Watpac has been given its “first strike” on executive remuneration drawing a threat from its chairman to quit."October 26, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"SHAREHOLDER EXEC PAY REVOLT BITES: Superannuation funds and major investors have flexed their muscles at annual shareholder meetings across the country with three listed companies receiving their first “strike” under the government’s new executive pay laws."October 26, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"FEDERAL POLICE WON’T COP PAY OFFER: The federal government’s push to cap annual pay rises within the public sector at 3 per cent is being tested in bargaining at the Australian Federal Police."October 25, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"BATTLE OVER CEO’S $5M REWARD: John Pollaers faces a stormy exit from Foster’s as shareholders today consider rejecting the award of more than $5 million in performance rights to the chief executive, who will have spent less than a year in the job if a takeover bid by SABMiller is approved later this year."October 25, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"KAGARA SPELLS OUT BOSS’S DEAL: Kangara Mining said it was able to claim an exemption from requiring shareholder approval for a sign-on bonus for chief executive Geoff Day that included nine million options."October 24, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"WAGE CLAIMS PRESURE BUDGET SURPLUS: The Gillard government is counting on big cuts to the public service wages bill to help it deliver a budget surplus in fiscal 2013 as it confronts union pay demands that would exceed inflation and breach wages forecasts."October 24, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"STOCKLAND FACES PAY GRIPES: Stockland managing director Matthew Quinn and chairman Graham Bradley will have to answer to disgruntled investors at the company’s annual meeting tomorrow about their swelling pay packets."October 24, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PIG OF A YEAR FOR THE OVERPAID: It’s payback time for executive pay."October 23, 2011 The Sun-Herald

"STRIKE ONE FOR GUD EXEC PAY: The board of household appliance maker GUD Holdings will review its executive pay practises after 45 per cent of shareholders voted against its remuneration report, making it the first company to record a strike under new pay laws."October 21, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"STARRING INCENTIVES COME INTO ALIGNMENT: GPT Group, Stockland Group and Goodman Group have been singled out as the internally managed property groups with executive long-term incentive (LTI) packages most aligned to shareholders’ interests."October 20, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"ANSELL BOSS WEATHERS PAY STOUCH: Condom and rubber glove maker Ansell got a slap but avoided a strike over its executive pay packages at the company’s annual general meeting in Melbourne yesterday."October 18, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"TOP PUBLIC SERVANTS IN PAY BONANZA: The federal government has defended double-digit pay increases for top bureaucrats even as it fights rises for ordinary public servants that would only cover inflation."October 17, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PACKER: I’LL LOSE ON EXEC PAY: Billionaire James Packer says his Crown casino group is likely to fail in the eyes of proxy advisers weighing it’s remuneration report, a move which places him at risk of a shareholder rebuke and a board spill next year under new shareholder powers."October 14, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"COMPANIES LEAVE PAY CLARITY ONE STRIKE TOO LATE: Critics and criticism of executive pay continue to receive plenty of media coverage."October 14, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"REMUNERAITON CONSULTANTS – JUST FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS? The integrity of all concerned in the executive remuneration decision is now in the spotlight."October, 2011 Keeping Good Companies

"THE DON GOES INTO BAT AGAIN: Perhaps inspire by his recent report into the state of Australian cricket, the doyen of the board room, Don Argus, came out swinging yesterday."October 13, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"ABC REWARDS CHIEF: ABC managing director Mark Scott has been given a hefty pay rise that takes his remuneration to about $750,000 but still leaves him trailing his counterparts at the commercial TV networks."October 13, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"ARGUS SLAMS EXEC PAY CRITICS: Business doyen Don Argus has told investors that if they don’t like executive pay levels and big bonuses, “they can sell the shares”."October 13, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"BANK’S PAY RECTICES IN SPOTLIGHT: Bank’s are under regulatory pressure to disclose more details about their remuneration practices, including pay for material risk takers such as traders and institutional bankers."October 13, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"INVESTOR NOISE OVER JB HI-FI’S ‘FREE KICK’: It wasn’t quite the caning some expected for JB HI-FI chief executive Terry Smart before the retailer’s annual meeting in Melbourne yesterday, but he did cop a mild rebuke from one unimpressed shareholder."October 13, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"WOOLIES CEO STARTS ON LOWER BASE PAY: New Woolworths chief executive Grant O’Brien will have the opportunity to treble his salary based on undisclosed performance hurdles agreed with the board, after accepting a lower base pay than his predecessor, Michael Luscombe."October 12, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PAY FREEZE: ANZ DELIVERS BAD NEWS TO 900 EXECS: ANZ Banking Group has put more than 900 of its top earners on an effective pay freeze, reflecting the bleak trading conditions that have descended on the major banks."October 11, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"OVERPAID BOSSES: JUST CALL THEIR BLUFF: Warren Buffet had a dangerous idea when he recently suggested that the wealthy should contribute more to exorcising the global financial mess (GFM)."October 11, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"TOP NEWS SALARIES SOAR UNHACKED: James Murdoch’s decision last month to relinquish a $US6 million bonus might have chopped his 2010-11 remuneration by about a third, but he is still one of the media industry’s highest paid executives."October 3, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"VILLAGE TOPS SECTOR’S HIGH EARNERS LIST: The tough times that have squeezed media and entertainment companies over the past 18 months have not been reflected in the remuneration of their most senior executives."October 3, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY ‘ABSOLUTE JOKE’: Institutional shareholders are preparing to give overpaid executives in the listed real estate sector a bloody nose at the coming annual general meeting season as frustration grows over years of lackluster returns."September 29, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"DIRECTORS NEED NOUS AND MORE: Non-executive directors have a fundamental role in maintaining the integrity of our capital markets and ensuring investor confidence. "September 27, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"BROWN SLAMS CEO’S SALARIES: The Greens have labeled government reforms on executive pay pathetic following multimillion-dollar bonuses being paid to the country’s biggest bosses, despite savage market falls."September 27, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"WAGE COSTS RISE AMID SKILLS SHORTAGE: Technology recruitment specialists are warning that skilled IT workers have regained the whip hand from their employers, and are agitating for higher salaries as a nationwide skills shortage begins to bite."September 27, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"NO SLOWDOWN FOR CEO PAY AMID MARKET TURMOIL: The leaders of some of the country’s largest companies have enjoyed almost a 12 per cent pay rise this year despite the fall of many share prices." September 26, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"UP, UP: COLES BOSS TOPS PAY AT $15M: Coles supermarket boss Ian McLeod has become the country’s highest paid executive after earning reported total remuneration of $15.63 million, over double, the amount paid to his boss, Wesfarmers, chief executive, Richard Goyder. " September 23, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"BHP EXECUTIVES GAIN MODEST PAY RISES: BHP Billiton’s most senior Australian based executives took real pay cuts in the 2011 financial year as the impact of the strong local currency crimped their US dollar-denominated pay rises." September 22, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PHOTON CHIEF GOT $900,000 BONUS AMID SELL-OFFS: An accounting “adjustment” enabled Jeremy Phillips, chief executive of marketing services business Photon Group, to collect a bonus of $900,000 for 2010-11." September 21, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"CHANTICLEER: Losing a talented executive is bad enough but when it happens without any succession planning questions will inevitably be raised about corporate governance." September 20, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"TALENT WAR PUSHES STAR LAWYERS’ PAY TO $2M: The $2 million a year partner is now a reality in the top Australian law firms, as intense competition for talent between large national and foreign players drives a recruitment and pay war." September 16, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"TWO STRIKES TO UPSET BOARD: A shareholder wishing to lodge a protest against excessive executive pay used to have one options - doing the “Wall Street walk” and selling out of the offending company." September 15-21, 2011 BRW

"131%: The rise in median fixed pay of top 100 company chief executives over the past decade." September 8-14, 2011 BRW

"I FEEL THAT DECLINING THE BONUS IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO: Embattled News Corporation deputy chief operating officer James Murdoch on his decision to forgo the $US6 million bonus after the News of the World phone hacking scandal." September 8-14, 2011 BRW

"EXECUTIVE PAY WEIGHS ON TRUSTS: The top brass in the listed real estate sector are reeling in bumper pay packages despite years of criticism over fat cat salaries." September 6, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"US EXECS EARNINGS ABOVE COMPANY TAX: Twenty-five of the best-paid chief executive officers in the US earned more in salary and other compensation in 2010 than their companies’ federal income tax expense as disclosed in public filings, according to a report by the Institute for Policy Studies." September 2, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"RUDD PAY CURBS GET SHORT SHRIFT: An official at the prudential watchdog joked to US embassy officials that then prime minister Kevin Rudd could not tell the authority how to act on executive pay reform, according to a leaked cable." September 2, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"BHP’S TOP TEAM REAP THEIR REWARDS: Fresh from reporting $US23.6 billion annual profit, BHP Billiton’s senior executive team has been granted shares worth a combined $48.2 million in return for their work in previous years." August 31, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"MASSIVE PAY RISES FOR TOP REGULATORS: The heads of Australia’s three main financial and corporate regulators have won pay rises of more than 22 per cent from the Remuneration Tribunal, which is likely to trigger large pay rises for federal department secretaries." August 31, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"VOLATILITY SPARKS EXECUTIVE PAY SHAKE-UP: Global sharemarket turmoil is forcing boards to rethink the way top executives are remunerated, with many considering boosting potential bonuses linked to internal company targets instead of shareholder return." August 24, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"FORMER HP CHIEF EXECUTIVE RICHLY REWARDED FOR ORACLE MOVE: Mark Hurd, the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive who resigned last year following a scandal, has been handsomely rewarded since making the switch to industry rival Oracle." August 24, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"JOB CUTS CREATE A RIPPLE EFFECT: The conditions that contributed to job cuts in the steel industry may soon push employers in retailing, finance and property to start firing staff too." August 26, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"SALMAT EXECS PAY DROPS: Direct marketing company Salmat included details of tis senior executives’ remuneration with its 2010-11 accounts, revealing chief executive Grant Harrod’s total pay fell 10 per cent to $1.47 million. August 22, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EMPLOYERS EMBRACE 4PC WAGE RISES: Employers have agreed to annual pay rises of 4 per cent over the coming four years as they seek to rein in costs in the economic hot spot of offshore oil and gas construction projects off Western Australia and the Northern Territory." August 24, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PAY ISSUE STIRS SMALL INVESTORS TO VOTE: Almost half of company shareholders plan to vote at this year’s annual meeting season to send a resounding message to boards on executive pay, up from around 30 per cent of shareholders in previous years." August 23, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"BUNGLED PAY LAWS RILE CRITICS: Directors, lawyers and pay experts are angry with the federal government for bungling executive pay laws that they claim may result in a board being thrown out on a technicality." August 11, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"AMWU SEEKS 15PC PAY RISE IN WA: The union behind the campaign to win more work for Western Australia’s engineering workshops has been accused of scoring an own goal by demanding big pay rises from the same companies it sought to help." August 11, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"SENIOR EXEC POSTS STILL A MALE BASTION: The number of women on the boards of ASX 200 companies has risen significantly in the past 18 months, particularly among the country’s largest companies, but the same progress has not been made in senior executive ranks, a study by the Australian Institute of Company Directors has found." August 11, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"ADVISERS CALL FOR A LIMIT TO REACH OF EXECUTIVE PAY LAWS: Top corporate advisers have urged the federal government to tighten new laws on executive pay to prevent advice on market practise triggering disclosure rules applying to boards that use remuneration consultants." August 1, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"FIRMS FACE SALARY PRESSURES: Pressure to increase lawyers’ salaries in a constrained market for revenue growth is one of the biggest challenges facing Australia’s top law firm managing partners." July 15, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"CSR MEETING TO DWELL ON HIGH PAY, LOW SHARE PRICE: CSR investors will be looking for detail on how the business is dealing with a depressed housing market and the rising threat of imports at today’s annual general meeting as the group seeks shareholder approval for its remuneration report." July 7, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"CASHED UP CFOs READY TO HIRE: Chief financial officers of major Australian companies are optimistic and sitting on plenty of cash, which bodes well for experienced workers seeking a new job in coming months." July 6, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"KEY RULING DUE ON DIRECTORS’ DUTIES: The fate of eight Centro Properties Group directors and officers will be decided by a Federal Court judge today, in a decision that will be closely watched by boards and their auditors. " June 27, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"BAR RAISED ON EXECUTIVE PAY DEALS: The corporate regulator has warned that directors are breaching disclosure laws on executive pay, in a move that will rattle boards still reeling from a landmark court win against eight Centro directors and executives over related reporting obligations." June 27, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EQUAL PAY OUTCOME WILL TEST GILLARD: The union running a major test case to fight for equal pay for women says it could lead to wage increases of between 17 per cent and 80 per cent, posing a challenge for the Gillard government’s support of the case." June 27, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"NERVOUS EMPLOYERS LOOK OVERSEAS FOR SKILLS: As the skills shortage continues to bite, companies are looking overseas for staff." June 23 - 29, 2011 BRW

"TWO STRIKES TWO MUCH: Company directors have blasted executive pay laws as excessive and fundamentally flawed even as advisers prepare companies for the changes." June 22, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"LAW GIVES INVESTORS MORE SAY ON PAY: Shareholders will have more say over corporate pay packages from July 1, after federal laws requiring greater disclosure and accountability on executive remuneration passed the Senate last night." June 21, 2011 The Australian

"FIRMS STRUGGLE WITH WAGE PUSH: A wages push is hitting a small and medium enterprise sector still unnerved by the threat of interest rate rises." June 21, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"KEY SENATORS PASS ‘TWO STRIKES’ BOARD RULE: Shareholders will be given the power to turf out an entire company board from this year’s shareholder meeting season after the Greens and independent senators Nick Xenophon and Steve Fielding supported federal changes on executive pay."June 21, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PUT EMPLOYEE SHARE PLANS BACK ON THE TAX AGENDA: There have been diverse champions of employee share plans in the past, from Brendan Nelson to Mark Latham. Now is the time for the idea to get the priority it deserves." June 20, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"MATHER TO RUN SYDNEY AIRPORT FOR NO EXTRA PAY: The seven-month search for a successor to Russell Balding as chief executive of Sydney Airport has ended at the head office of its major shareholder, Map Airports." June 10, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"MIN WAGE, MAX HEADACHE: Employer groups don’t welcome wage increases at the best of times but Fair Work Australia’s decision to grant Australia’s lowest-paid workers a 3.4 per cent annual pay rise has come at the worst of times." June 9-15, 2011 BRW

"WHY PAY DECISION IS RETROGRADE STEP: In its annual pay review last week, Fair Work Australia increased all award wages by 3.4 per cent, roughly in line with the headline inflation rate." June 8, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PUSH TO DISCLOSE PAY FOR ACADEMIC CHIEFS: State and territory governments have been urged to follow NSW’s lead and compel publicly funded universities to disclose full details of their executive pay." June 6, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"SALARIES TO RISE IN SECOND HALF: Lawyer’s pay packets will gain weight in the second half of 2011, according to recruiter Hudson’s 2011 salary survey, with salaries having been stable in the first six months of the year." June 3, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"SPOTLIGHT ON MINIMUM WAGE REVIEW: Fair Work Australia will bring down its 2011 minimum wage review today and set a precedent for future cases. June 3, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PAYDAY: TOP ACADEMICS REVEAL SALARIES AND BONUSES: The executives of NSW universities have been forced to disclose details of their salaries and performance bonuses for the first time." June 1, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"MINOR PARTIES MAY ALTER NSW PUBLIC SECTOR IR BILL: Minor parties in the NSW upper house could force a back down today on proposed laws allowing the government to take control of public sector wage setting." June 1, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"REALITY CHECK FOR EXECUTIVE PAY REPORTS: Top executives will benefit from greater secrecy about their performance hurdles and will have to disclose only take-home pay rather than inflated accounting values, under proposals from the federal government’s corporate law adviser." May 26, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY: KEEP IT SIMPLE: allowing companies to withhold “commercially sensitive” information concerning performance conditions for executive remuneration would be a big step backwards and should be rejected by the federal government." May 26, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"VIC ALCOA STAFF WIN BIG PAY RISE: A pay rise for employees of Alcoa aluminium smelters in Victoria has taken into account the strong Australian dollar and the possibility of a carbon tax." May 23, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"STAFF HAPPIER TO MOVE: a recent online study by human resources service provider Randstad found employees are now more confident about labour mobility than they were 12 months ago." May 19 - 25, 2011 BRW

"IT PAYS TO SERVE AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC: A high ranking US Treasury official will have left Australia yesterday not only envious of our relatively strong economic position, but possibly jealous of the much higher pay packets of the local public servants he met, some of whom earn more than five times what he does." May 18, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"GREENS PUT $2M SALARY CAP ON EXECS: The Australian Greens will demand that the salaries of chief executives be capped at just under $2 million a year as a condition for giving the government vital support to pass landmark reforms on executive pay." May 13, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"DIRECTORS ‘FED UP’: Company Directors are worried about their public image, concerned that a stream of negative stories in the press means they are seen as overpaid and unethical." May 12 - 18, 2011 BRW

"BOARDS ON BACK FOOT AS AGMs APPROACH: Company boards and their top executives are used to battling with shareholders, the media and the boarder public over their companies but this year the stakes are higher – they are fighting for their jobs as well." May 12, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"CHANGE IN ROLE SHOULD BE REWARDED WITH RICHER RETURNS: The role of chairman is one in which flexibility and tolerance are necessary in facing the demands of a complex, global business environment governance compliance regime." May 12, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EMPLOYEE EQUITY A PRODUCTIVITY PLUS: Leading up to the tax forum in October, current debate ignores a critical enabler for our productivity, now in an alarming 10-year decline, according to the Grattan Institute report Australia’s Productivity Challenge, published in February." May 5, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"HOW THEY GET PAID: Bruno Cecchini, the principal of human capital at Ernst & Young, says the global financial crisis has had an impact on the structure of bankers’ pay." May, 2011 In the Black

"EXEC-PAY TARGETS LISTED: Twenty per cent of the top 100 listed companies would have faced a “strike” on executive pay over the past two years, research by analysts at Citi shows." May 3, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"CEO PAY A BALANCING ACT: “The other side just doesn’t get it” is a common refrain in Australian policymaking these days." May 3, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"MOORE DEFENDS STAFF EXPENSES: Macquarie Group chief executive Nicholas Moore has dismissed claims that the bank’s headcount is too high or that it cannot match the remuneration offers by rival banks used to lure top staff, saying the assertions are based on “insufficient information”." May 2, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"GOODMAN CEO WILL COME FROM SHALLOW POOL: Goodman Fielder chairman Max Ould has defended the delay in appointing a new chief executive at Australia’s largest food processing company, saying that filling the role has been challenging." May 2, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"FAT PAY RISES FOR TOP MANDARINS: A 40 per cent pay rise for top mandarins will hardly be applauded in the court of public opinion, especially at a time of wage restraint and severe budget cuts. " April 29, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"CASHING-OUT PLANS CRASH OUT: Investment bankers face toiling away in pinstripe suits for longer than expected as new global pay structures derail plans to mage mega-fortunes and retire early." April 29, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EXPERTS QUESTION EXEC PAY REFORM: A government-backed review of executive pay is set to announce recommendations for yet more changes to simplify bonus structures and remuneration reports, despite a growing outcry from advisers and business groups. AFR " April 29, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"HURLEY PAYOUT ‘WAY OVER TOP’: Valad Property Group’s shareholder has called a $1.9 million golden handshake for former managing director Peter Hurley “completely over the top”." April 19, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"WARBURTON QUIT DESPITE $4M OFFER: An annual pay packet of more than $4 million and the promise he would become chief executive within 12 months were not enough to stop James Warburton from quitting Kerry Stokes’s Seven Media group to move to the Ten Network." April 13, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"WAGE DEMAND THREAT TO GAS PROJECTS: The federal government is being urged to act quickly to cap a looming wages blowout in the resources sector as gas companies face union demands for 40 per cent pay rises that in some cases would hand skilled welders $425,000 for 28 weeks’ work." April 11, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"GEN YS GET THE BREAKS: Generation X – those born between the early 1960s and the late 1970s – are getting trampled in the workforce by ambitious, younger Generation Y workers." April 7 - 13, 2011 BRW

"DIRECTORS SLAM BONUS PAYBACK PROPOSAL: Boards and their advisers criticised the federal government’s proposal to force executives to pay back bonuses if they mislead investors, claiming the measure was simplistic, impossible to administer and unwarranted." Mar 31, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"GETTING REAL: The pay debate is moving to more dangerous ground for Australia’s executive rich." Mar 24 - May 25, 2011 BRW

"UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: Debate has been fierce about how federal governments amendments to executive pay rules will affect the top 100 companies." Mar 24 - May 25, 2011 BRW

"STOP PAY HYPOCRISY AT INDUSTRY FUNDS: Executive and director remuneration remains a hot topic." Mar 29, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"WORK FOR THE COMPANY AND OWN IT: It would seem the moment has at last arrived in Australia to embrace employee ownership." Mar 23, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"GOLDEN HANDSHAKE FOR FOSTER’S CHIEF: Foster’s Group managing director Ian Johnston could be in line to collect more than $11 million if shareholders agree to demerger the wine and beer business next month. " Mar 22, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"MACQUARIE’S SCHWARTZ BACKS BONUSES: The vice-chancellor of Sydney’s Macquarie University, Steven Schwartz, who earned a salary package in excess of $800,000 in 2009 and was up for a $300,000 bonus at the end of last year, has defended executive salaries at his institution after being forced to release the information for the first time under new NSW laws." Mar 21, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY DEBATE: New executive pay laws to clamp down on big bonuses are scheduled to be debated in Federal Parliament this week." Mar 21, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"RIO EXECUTIVES WIN PAY RISE FOR REBOUND: Rio Tinto’s rebound from the brink of disaster in early 2009 to report a profit in 2010 has boosted the pay packets of it’s management team." Mar 17, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"SIGNIFICANT PAY RISES PROVE ELUSIVE: The days of significant pay rises are yet to return to the property sector, but that may be about to change." Mar 17, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"CHAOS STALKS CEO SUCCESSION: Why does media coverage of a CEO succession always come as a surprise, spooking markets and sending share prices gyrating and scraping like the needle on an electrocardiograph? " Mar 8, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"ASPEN REBELS VOW TO HALVE MD PAY: The agitators behind a coup at Perth-based developer Aspen Group have ramped up their bid for control, pledging to almost halve the managing director’s pay if voted in. " Mar 7, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"AXA APH EXEC PAYOUTS QUERIED: The Australian Shareholders’ Association is readying to question payouts totalling about $74 million to AXA Asia Pacific Holdings’ top managers as a result of the company’s merger with AMP." Mar 1, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY CHANGE GOES AHEAD: The federal government will push ahead with its controversial “two strikes” rule, empowering shareholders to turf out an entire board if they fail to rein in excessive executive pay, despite intense lobbying by business and directors. " Feb 24, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"SHAREHOLDERS BACK EXECUTIVE PAY CHANGES: Major shareholders have backed far-reaching changes to executive pay introduced into Parliament yesterday, claiming the new powers will be used sparingly." Feb 24, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY CHANGE GOES AHEAD: the federal government will push ahead with its controversial “two strikes” rule, empowering shareholders to turf out an entire board if they fail to rein in excessive executive pay, despite intense lobbying by business and directors. " Feb 23, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"PAY RULES POP TOP BOARDS IN CROSS-HAIRS: Shareholders were advised to vote against the executive pay plans of more than 40 per cent of Australia’s largest listed companies last year, leading to 12 of the top 100 companies facing a protest vote of 23 per cent or more." Feb 14, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY IS ON THE MONEY: The government’s planned crackdown on executive pay are largely unnecessary, independent research by BRW shows." Feb 10 - 16, 2011 BRW

"DRAGON’S BONUS BRAWL BITES WESTPAC: A group of former St George bankers is suing Westpac for punitive damages over unpaid 2008 bonuses. " Feb 10, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"SINDEL SUFFERS SHAREHOLDER SHELLACKING: Shareholders are all for making hurdles as high as possible for executives to jump over and earn their pay packets. " Feb 9, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY LAWS DEEPLY FLAWED: ORIGIN: Origin Energy director Trevor Bourne has joined other business heavyweights to criticise the government’s legislation on executive pay, claiming that it is deeply flawed and goes further than recommended by the Productivity Commission." Feb 1, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"DIRECTORS’ EXECUTIVE PAY PLEA: Some of the most senior figures in the business world have personally asked David Bradbury, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, to drop a plan designed to give shareholders a lot more power over how much corporate executives are paid. " Jan 31, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"WAGE RISES NOT FOR EVERYONE: Most workers are missing out on strong wage rises despite the increasingly tight labour market. Jan 28, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"DIRECTORS WARN ON PAY: Thousands of listed companies could be harmed by heavy-handed, excessive and fundamentally flawed government regulations designed to rein in executive pay, the Australian Institute of Company Directors has claimed." Jan 28, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"AXA CHIEF WALKS AWAY WITH $17M: AXA Asia Pacific Holdings shareholders will have the right to veto a $17 million final payment to chief executive Andrew Penn arising from his company’s merger with AMP." Jan 18, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"WE’RE WATCHING DIRECTOR TRADES: ASX: Leading fund managers have backed a crackdown by the Australian Securities Exchange to prohibit trading by directors and senior executives during blackout periods, warning that company boards and their management have unfair access to inside information." Jan 12, 2011 Australian Financial Review

"HUMAN ERROR BEHIND SHARE GAFFE: ANZ: ANZ Banking group has promised to strengthen its internal compliance procedures after “human error” caused a delay in the reporting of a change to shares held by chief executive Mike Smith by the stock exchange’s deadline." Dec 21, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY RULES TO TEST BOARDS: three of Australia’s top 100 companies would have faced a spill of their boards this year under controversial new executive pay rules, while nine others would have been put on notice that their boards were at risk from an investor revolt." Dec 21, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"DIRECTORS FACE BONUS CLAWBACK: the federal government will today ramp up its political attack on big business by outlining new measures to force directors and executives to repay bonus paid on the basis of materially misleading financial statements." Dec 20, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"MACQUARIE STAFF TAX WIN: Macquarie Group employees have avoided any immediate tax sting from the bank’s equity remuneration scheme, after it was cleared by the Australian Taxation Office yesterday." Dec 9, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"TWO-STRIKE RULE PUTS ALL DIRECTORS AT RISK: Leading directors and company secretaries have warned the federal government’s two-strikes option for executive pay could be used to destabilise boards during critical transactions, including hostile takeovers." Dec 8, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"PM FRONTS UNION LEADERS ON EQUAL PAY: Prime Minister Julia Gillard faces close scrutiny from Australia’s trade union leadership over her support for equal pay for women when she addresses the ACTU national executive tomorrow." Nov 29, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME: Retaining top talent will be a key challenge for business in 2011." Nov 18 - Dec 8, 2010 BRW

"BANKERS SUE ST GEORGE OVER BONUS: A group of 19 former St George bankers claim they are entitled to their 2008 bonus because the bank met the earning per share target required." Nov 18, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"POLITICIANS STEAM OVER EXECUTIVE PAY: Prime Minister Julia Gillard has declared she is “uncomfortable” with high levels of executive pay, as the country’s top-paid executive, Commonwealth Bank of Australia boss Ralph Norris, defended his $16 million remuneration yesterday." Nov 18, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"IT’S RAINING MONEY FOR BANK CHIEFS: The combined pay cheques for the big foru bank chiefs have grown by 70 per cent over the past five years to hit $44.3 million, and in that time no chief has missed out on receiving an annual or long-term bonus." Nov 17, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"RESOURCES CHIEFS LEAD THE WAY: A gap is opening up in the pay packets of Australia’s leading executives: the big money on offer in the booming resources sector is starting to cast a shadow on other industries." Nov 17, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"TACKLING BALLOONING PAY PACKETS: The new Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, David Bradbury, has set a deadline of next July for far reaching reforms of executive pay to take effect." Nov 17, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"SHAREHOLDERS SAY NO TO BONUSES: Annual bonuses are back and shareholders have hit the warpath." Nov 17, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"BIG PAY DAY CAN HAVE MANY HURDLES: It’s an axiom of business theory; what gets measured gets managed." Nov 17, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"TOP TIER START OUT MORE MODESTLY: Hard as it may be to believe, pay inequality exists even among company chief executives." Nov 17, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"ARGUS AGREES IT’S AN ISSUE, BUT INVESTORS NEED TO THINK HARDER: On his retirement as chairman of BHP Billiton, Don Argus mused, only half jokingly, that he might become a shareholder activist." Nov 17, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"WHEN SHARES RISE SO DO PAY PACKETS: It’s hard to argue against a chief executive receiving a near fourfold increase in salary when he’s delivered share price growth of 220 per cent in the past year." Nov 17, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"OPTIONS AND BONUSES MAKE A TIDY PROFIT FOR EXECUTIVES: Not all company directors have copped a hard time from shareholders about their share potion of their remuneration this year." Nov 17, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"DISCLOSURE FUELS THE SALARY SPIRAL: It is obvious from the noises coming out of Canberra that Australia’s determination to remain at the forefront of the governance, monitoring and disclosure of executive pay will continue, and that means that we risk having all the unintended negative consequences." Nov 17, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"MIRVAC DIRECTORS’ PAY OPPOSED: Mirvac Group has been unable to avoid growing resentment from investors over high executive pay as almost one-quarter of votes were cast against the adoption of the remuneration report at its annual general meeting in Brisbane yesterday." Nov 12, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"PAY V PERFORMANCE: We’re all team players these days – or that’s the theory anyway." Nov 10, 2010 AFRBOSS

"LEND LEASE TALKS UP STAFF: Lend Lease’s board came prepared to address investors’ concerns about executive remuneration, staff diversity, and its $6 billion Barangaroo project at its annual general meeting yesterday." Nov 12, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY DETAILS EMPOWER PACKER: James Packer’s push for changes to Ten Network has been given fresh impetus by the release of details of the 2009-10 earnings of the company’s executives." Nov 9, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"PAY-PACKAGING GETS ALL-CLEAR: Fears a common tax and saving strategy will be rendered obsolete by new workplace laws were dispelled after Fair Work Australia this week ruled there was no limit on the benefits that can be included in a salary package." Oct 27, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"INVESTORS LASH TRANSURBAN OVER EXEC PAY: Transurban and Billabong shareholders have resoundingly rejected." Oct 18, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"SHAREHOLDERS SET TO BATTLE: Directors and executives should get ready for a wave of shareholder activism during this year’s round of annual general meetings with climbing pay packets, the rise of short-term incentive bonuses, and the board diversity amoung issue in investors crosshairs." Oct 18, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"TOP SALARIES DON’T REFLECT TOUGH TIMES: Most media companies experiencing tough times in 2009-10 as the lingering effects of the downturn in advertising markets during 2009 squeezed their revenue and earnings." Oct 11, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"TOP EXECS MAKE MILLIONS DESPITE MEDIOCRE RESULTS: More Australian companies delivered pay rises and golden handshakes to senior executives even as some limped back to recovery, according to annual reports filed yesterday." Oct 1, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"DOWNER CUTS PAY CHEQUES: The total wages bill for Downer EDI’s top brass has been slashed substantially as the engineering and infrastructure services company battles the perception that its $1.9 billion Waratah rail contract faces a serious funding shortfall." Sept 28, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"SALARIES, STAFF BACK ON THE MOVE: With the worst of the economic downturn behind them, most of the top 30 law firms are returning to the traditional salary review process and lifting salary freezes and staff redundancy schemes." Sep 16 - 22, 2010 BRW

"METCASH BLUE WITH EX-EMPLOYEE DRAGS ON: Metcash’s legal action against the former head of its grocery distribution business over a $2 million investment in a rival wholesaler threatens to drag on for the rest of this week." Sept 16, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"TOP BOSSES MUST PERFORM, OR PREPARE TO PASS THE BATON: It’s a tough and unforgiving world at the helm of a major corporation, and chief executive officers who do manage to hang on to the top job when results fall short of market expectations may be living on borrowed time." Sept 10, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"DISPUTE OVER EXECUTIVE PAY INFLATION: Major shareholders have rejected claims by directors that a crackdown on termination payments only inflated executive pay levels." Sept 10, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY PACKETS GETTING FATTER: The pay packets of the top executives are rising again despite the federal government’s plans to curb remuneration growth." Sep 9 - 15, 2010 BRW

"LESS CREDIT FOR WOMEN CEOs: The data collected on the gender pay gap had been in the spotlight recently but it is still surprising to learn that, even at the top, women are significantly underpaid for their work, and their mere presence on a board can depress the share price." Sept 7, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"SKILLS SHORTAGES SET TO DRIVE UP WAGES: Australian Industry Group chief executive Heather Ridout has warned that the tight labour market is pushing up wages, in part because the states are competing to attract qualified workers." Sept 7, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"MAKE STAFF FEEL AT HOME – FEED THEM: It’s referred to as “the Google 15” – the 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) gained by some employees who work for the IT organisation." Sept 7, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"POOR OUTLOOK ON JOB CREATION FRONT: The outlook for job creation is expected to dim for the first time this year as uneven profit growth and retail uncertainty deter employers from hiring." Sept 7, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"EVERYONE NEEDS A HOLIDAY: Heli-skiing enthusiast Wal King of Leighton Holdings, ancient city explorer Ann Sherry of Carnival Corp and golfer Don Argus, the former BHP Billiton chairman, love going on holidays. That helps explain why they have spent a lot of time working on one of the most widespread but little discussed problems facing business: staff who won’t take leave." Sept 6, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"SKILLS SHORTAGES KEEP RECRUITERS BUSY, PUSH UP PAY: More than half of all employers are battling skill shortages caused by a stronger economy and a talent shortage in many sectors, including banking, regulation, law and engineering." Aug 26, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"QUINN NETS 30PC PAY INCREASE: Stockland managing director Mathew Quinn has been rewarded handsomely over fiscal 2010 with a total remuneration of $4.485 million, up almost 30 per cent on last year." Aug 12, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"RECRUITERS HUNT TALENT OFFSHORE: Recruitment firms are targeting expatriates as a growing shortage of locally skilled workers puts upward pressure on salaries." Aug 6, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"NEWS RESISTS TOP EXECUTIVE PAY: News Corp’s four most senior executives could collect up to $US89.5 million ($98.2 million) in cash and share bonuses under a new incentive scheme, including $US29 million for chairman, chief executive and largest shareholder Rupert Murdoch." Aug 5, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"NEWS INVESTORS THROWN A BONE: Shareholders in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation have been given some very small concessions in return for changes to the company’s short and long-term incentive plans that entrench excessive executive salaries and leave room for the top managers, including Murdoch and his son James, to wriggle out of suffering financial penalty for bad decisions." Aug 5, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"US PAY STANCE COULD CATCH ON: Significant changes to executive pay as part of the overhaul of the United States’ financial system are likely to have an impact here, say legal experts." July 30, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"COMPANIES OPT OUT OF OPTION REWARDS: Big companies are giving up rewarding their top executives with share options, according to CRA Plan Managers, an executive pay consulting firm." July 29, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"EXEC DEALS STALL PHOTON DEBT PLANS: Photon Group’s plan to raise money to reduce its debt had stalled as it hammers out new earn-out payment deals with executives at several of its marketing services businesses." July 14, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"SHARE PLANS STILL TAXING START-UPS: It was sold as a crackdown on a tax rort for the rich, but a year after the federal government’s botched changes to the taxation of employee share plans, start-up companies are still hamstrung by the changes." July 2, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"SHARE PLAN DEADLINE HITS EMPLOYERS: Companies have been given just two weeks to comply with new reporting requirements to disclose any shares, rights or options granted to their employees or face fines from the Australian Taxation Office." July 1, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"PROFESSIONALS ARE IN DEMAND AFTER SAVAGE STAFF CULLS OF 2008: For those running a fixed-income business in Australia, times will never be as profitable as they were in 2009." June 2, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"BANKERS BACK IN THE MONEY: Unprecedented political scrutiny of bonuses, coupled with the near-death experience of many investment banks during the financial crisis, has had a major impact on banker pay." June 2, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"CHANGING INCENTIVES: If companies start changing their practices, it will be a recognition that the debate has moved on." June, 2010 In the Black

"DEFINING ‘INDEPENDENCE’: Singapore has set up a new council assigned to review the Code of Corporate Governance, create guidelines for board committees and raise training opportunities for directors." June, 2010 In the Black

"REINING IN REMUNERATION: Shareholders and the public have lost confidence in executive remuneration practises." June, 2010 In the Black

"RIO SHAREHOLDERS VOTE ‘NO’ ON PAY REPORT: Rio Tinto’s local shareholders voted down the company’s remuneration report for the first time in its history as the debate over foreign ownership of Australian resources escalates." May 27, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"SMALL BUSINESS BOOSTS SALARIES: Salary rises at small companies are outstripping those at large businesses due to competition for staff." May 25, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"MORE HEAT ON EXECUTIVE PAY: The federal government has asked its corporate law adviser to review executive pay in an effort to overhaul bonus schemes, simplify remuneration reports and allow shareholders to see what directors actually take home in pay." May 4, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"PAYS TO PERFORM: About half the pay of executives is linked to the performance of their employers." May 6 - May 12, 2010 BRW

"REGULATOR SUPPORTS EXECUTIVE PAY REFORMS: Long-time Australian Prudential Regulation Authority executive John Trowbridge has backed the government’s reforms to executive pay, claiming the changes are consistent with the APRA’s new guidelines on pay for the banks." May 4, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"SUPER FUNDS BACK EXEC PAY REFORM: Federal reforms to executive pay were “balanced and practical”, major investors said in response to criticism by boards of plans." April 23, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"REFORMS LAMBASTED: Lawyers have slammed the federal government’s crackdown on executive remuneration, labelling many of the proposed reforms to pay and bonuses impractical and unnecessary." April 19, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"PAY VERDICT A TAXING POINT: Corporate governance and executive pay advisers have criticised the federal government for rejecting a Productivity Commission recommendation to defer the taxing point on employee shares when executives leave the company, claiming ex-bosses will be less likely to keep “skin in the game” in their old businesses." April 19, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"LOCAL EXECUTIVES ESCAPE STRICT REGULATION ON PAY: Things can’t be all that bad when the Australian head of investment bank UBS warns further changes to reign in banker bonuses are still needed." April 15, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"THE PAY LEADERS: The amount of executive remuneration paid by S&P/ASX 100 companies every year generally corresponds to the size of the organisation, but there are some who pay more than others, Citigroup Global Markets remuneration analysis shows." April 8 - 14, 2010 BRW

"GILLARD WARNS BOSSES ON PAY: The federal government has stepped up its warnings to employers not to use its award modernisation program to cut pay and conditions, but the government faces fresh queries from employers about the process and union tactics." April 9, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"EXEC PAY REFORM SLOW BUT LIKELY: The federal government is set to endorse most of the recommendations made by the Productivity Commission (PC) as part of its review into executive pay, but with the end of the financial year looming outcomes could be delayed for more than a year." April 6, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"PUSH GROWS FOR MORE SALARY RISES: Pressure to raise salaries is increasing in every market as more employees push for pay rises now that the economy is on the mend." April 6, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"ALLCO EMPLOYEES FIGHT FOR ENTITLEMENTS: Fifty former Allco staff members have begun a fight in the Federal Court for $5 million in unpaid entitlements, which will test the ability of corporate groups to avoid such costs by employing staff via subsidiaries with no recourse to group assets." March 30, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"ATO CLASS RULINGS FACE NEW SCRUTINY: The inspector-general of taxation has launched an inquiry into rulings handed down by the Australian Taxation Office in response to claims by taxpayers about delays and inappropriate requests for information." March 26, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY BACK IN PLAY: After a decade on hell, the vice on Australian boards over executive pay is about to tighten further." March 25 - May 5, 2010 BRW

"ALL ABOARD FOR WEALTH: It is not just chief executives and managers who amass significant shareholder wealth in their companies." March 25 - May 5, 2010 BRW

"HARVEY TO LOWER HURDLES ON EXEC STOCK OPTIONS: Retailer Harvey Norman wants to re-price stock options for its six executive directors after the share price failed to regain its 2007 highs." March 25, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"POACHING RAMPANT IN HIRING FRENZY: The sport of post-bonus poaching had been forgotten over the past couple of years, but this year it was back stronger than ever." March 24, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"TIME TO ALIGN PAY WITH PROFIT: As the dust settles on the latest biannual company profit reporting period, and attention turns more to the extent and nature of company momentum, it’s an appropriate time to also examine inter-company comparisons – especially given the apparent discrepancy between the performance of companies operating in similar industries and the remuneration of the executives responsible for that performance." March 16, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"DEFERRAL RISK IN SHARE SCHEME TAX RULE: Executives will be able to defer tax on shares and options granted under company plans for up to seven years, provided they complete at least one year’s service, a ruling by the Australian Taxation Office says." March 16, 2010 The Sunday Telegraph

"BLOWOUT IN BANK BONUSES: The big four banks spent between $28 million and $54 million in salaries and bonuses on their top executives last financial year." March 7, 2010 The Sunday Telegraph

"REGULATORS RESHAPING EXECUTIVE REWARDS: Boards are being forced to rethink executive rewards and remuneration in the post-recession world." March 4 - 10, 2010 BRW

"SALARIES EXPECTED TO RISE: Almost a quarter of Australian small and medium enterprises are planning to raise salaries above the rate of inflation during 2010, and three-quarters plan a pay increase of some sort, research by Grant Thornton shows." March 4 - 10, 2010 BRW

"WOODSIDE CHIEF DUMPS SHARES: Woodside Petroleum chief executive Don Voelte is unlikely to be the last senior Australian director selling large tracts of share holdings." March 5, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY AN EASY TARGET FOR PROXY ADVISERS: It is often said that a chief executive’s role is the loneliest one in corporate life." March 2, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"BIG EQUALS BONUS: For Australian chief executives it is the case of bigger the company, the more the pay. " February 25 - March 2, 2010 BRW

"PRIVATE SECTOR PAY SLOWS DOWN: a massive burst of public building work has failed to prevent a record slowdown in private sector pay rates adding to signs that inflation pressures are easing. " February 25, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"GRAIN CORP PAY REVOLT: GrainCorp has received a stinging rebuke from shareholders, who voted overwhelmingly against its remuneration report at its annual meeting in Sydney yesterday." February 25, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"EXECS CLOSE IN ON HIGHER BONUS: Nine senior executives at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia are a step closer to earning at least $17 million in bonuses this year after the bank moved up the ranks of a key customer satisfaction survey used to determine the vesting of long-term incentives." February 25, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"FIX SHARE PLAN BUNGLE NOW: The time has come for the government to end its bungled attempts to change the tax treatment of employee share and option schemes and fix the policy once and for all." February 18, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"PRESSURE FOR MORE SHARE PLAN REFORMS: The Board of Taxation is set to recommend that the federal government revisit its botched reforms to employee share schemes, after an outcry that the changes have disadvantaged small start-up and junior mining companies." February 16, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"BANKER CALLS FOR PAY TRANSPARENCY: One of the region’s top investment bankers has calls on his counterparts to introduce more transparency on employee remuneration as scrutiny of banks intensifies and the potential for regulatory intervention on pay heightens." February 16, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"ROW OVER ANZ TOP JOB TO STAY ON TARGET: Steve Targett has lost a bid to delay his $57 million claim against former employer Australian and New Zealand Banking group, despite arguing that his new job will be compromised if he is forced to return to Australia for Federal Court hearings next month." February 16, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"HIGHER CEO SALARIES DON'T ALWAYS PAY OFF: There is now intense debate about how the pay levels of top executives compare with the compensation given to rank-and-file employees." February 12, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"$2.7BN TO BE DIVIDED UP AMONG TROOPS: Employees of Australia's global investment bank will share a total of about $2.7 billion in compensation this financial year as the organisation lifts its bonuses towards the levels that prevailed before the global financial crisis." February 10, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"FLEXIBLE WORK: AN IDEA HERE TO STAY: As organisations ramp up for a happier new year employers are looking around to discover there is a "new normal" in the way business gets done in this country." February 9, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"EMPLOYERS ALARMED AT RETURN OF SKILLS SHORTAGES: Employers have warned that lack of clarity about the Rudd government's overhaul of its immigration program could spark new skills shortages in sectors including accountancy, hospitality and tourism." February 9, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"SALARY INCREASES NOT UNIFORM: The improvement in the economy will lead to a moderate lift in demand for accountants in the first half of the year but salary increases will be dependent on individual functions and not across the board." February 5, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"PAY FREEZES GIVEN COLD SHOULDER: Major firms have been handing out special bonus payments and pledging salary increases to their staff as competitive tension at the top of the market drives a rethink of last year's salary freezes. " January 29, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"REWARDS OVER RETURNS: The chief executive has the most control over a company, so their pay should be the most sensitive to the performance of the organisation, right?" January 21 - 27, 2010 BRW

"PAY REFORMS WILL ENGENDER PUBLIC TRUST: Has the Productivity Commission's final report on executive remuneration been watered down?" January 18, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"REMUNERATION CONSULTANTS IN SPOTLIGHT: The Productivity Commission has recommended improvements to the way companies retain and use remuneration consultants in an effort to alleviate potential conflicts in an effort to alleviate potential conflicts of interest and improve disclosure for investors." January 14, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"CBA CHAIRMAN WARNS ON EXEC PAY: Commonwealth Bank of Australia chairman John Schubert has warned that new rules cutting cash payments to bank executives could drive top talent out of the major banks and undermine moves by the prudential regulator to discourage excessive risk-taking." January 14, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"LONDON UPS ANTE FOR BANK EXECS: A tough new requirement by the UK's securities regulator that top banking executives and earners must defer 60 per cent of their total compensation for a three-year period is pushing some US banks with extensive London operations to say they won't take it anymore." January 12, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"ABBOTT CAUTIONS ON FAIR WORK CHANGES: Opposition Leader Tony Abbot has called for a six-month moratorium from prosecution for small businesses that breach new workplace laws and industrial awards, warning that changes were still being made to awards and many employers were not aware of the new requirements." January 5, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"BOWEN BACKS SOFTER LINE ON PAY CHALLENGE: The Rudd government has given a strong indication it backs a watered-down Productivity Commission recommendation to allow shareholders to challenge executive remuneration, Corporate Law Minister Chris Bowen saying the changes are more workable." January 5, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"FOR A HEFTY REWARD, VALUE MUST BE IN THE EQUATION: Some in the corporate world may disagree, and of course there are vested interests aplenty in that world, but there is little genuine doubt executive and boardroom remuneration has exceeded the reasonable man defence in recent years." January 5, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"CLEAR REPORTS A HIGH PRIORITY: Plain English summaries of the actual pay given to executives and clearer guidelines on best practice for remuneration reporting are among a number of Productivity Commission recommendations designed to give shareholders clearer information about pay in annual reports." January 5, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"PRUDENCE HOLDS SWAY ON PAY: There is no shortage of envy among the Australian public over executive pay packets, but it has taken the Productivity Commission seven months to reach the conclusion that there are no glaring inequities in how much our top corporate brass are paid." January 5, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"BRICKBATS FOR EXECUTIVE PAY REFORMS: Business is still opposed to key parts of the Productivity Commission's recommendations on executive pay and is calling on the federal government for further consultation before new laws are brought in this year." January 5, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"EMPLOYERS FACE WAGES BREAKOUT: Employers are facing new demands from the union movement as it pushes for the minimum wage review covering more than 1 million workers to include a "catch-up" amount to offset the pay freeze imposed in 2009." January 5, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"BITE ON BOSSES AS BETTER TIMES ROLL: The war for talent is set to resume this year as skill shortages surface and employees who hunkered down last year look to switch jobs." January 4, 2010 Australian Financial Review

""TWO STRIKES" EXEC PAY PLAN SOFTENED: The Productivity Commission has substantially toned down its controversial recommendation for a "two strikes" proposal in the final version of its report on executive pay released by the government today." January 4, 2010 Australian Financial Review

"TWO STRIKES PAY PLAN LIKELY TO BE EASED: The Productivity Commission is expected to substantially water down its controversial "two strikes" proposal in the final report on executive pay that will be handed to the federal government today." December 21, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SHARE SCHEME REFORMS OFFER CERTAINTY: The Rudd government's controversial tax changes to employee share scheme laws were passed by parliament yesterday, more than six months after the bungled budget announcement that provoked a backlash from business and unions." December 3, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"BIGGER BONUSES AT BANKS THIS YEAR: As the British Treasury moves to seize control of bonuses at the state-backed Royal Bank of Scotland, Australian banks are deep into their own bonus period and the spoils are expected to be better than last year after a bumper annual profits season." December 3, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"EXEC PAY RULES WIN OVER BANKERS, BUT NOT CRITICS: Bankers and their advisers backed the executive pay guidelines issued by the Australian Preudential Regulation Authority on Monday, but some governance groups complained that the changes did not go far enough." December 2, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"BOSSES SHOWN THE DOOR: The number of chief executives forced to resign has skyrocketed as a result of the financial crisis and more assertive action from company boards, a study of the to 200 listed companies has found." November 27, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"ASPEN PAY UNDER ATTACK: Influential proxy adviser RiskMetrics has blasted the remuneration practises of property fund manager Aspen Group ahead of the company's annual meeting in Perth tomorrow, labelling the salaries of its executive directors excessive." November 18, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"ROLES, SALARIES OUT OF SYNC: Despite the prevailing financial climate giving senior information technology executives greater board visibility during the past year, few saw that higher level of strategic importance reflected in their salary packages." November 17, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"HOLES APPEAR IN PAYOUT CAPS: Executives will face legislated caps on their termination payments from next week after the government gained Senate approval yesterday for tough new laws - only to find that companies are devising a way around them." November 17, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"EXECS NAB SUPERIOR RETURNS: Ralph Norris and the crew at Commonwealth Bank of Australia have won plaudits for promising pay cuts for senior executives." November 17, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SHAREHOLDER PROTESTS MOUNT OVER PAYOUTS: No iconic image or rousing quote will mark what happened yesterday in the silent revolution in shareholder activism, but Australian corporate boards received a clear message: inflated pay packets and poor standards of corporate governance won't wash anymore." November 13, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"CORPORATE PACKAGES TOP THE PAY SCALES: Eleven general counsel at top-listed companies earned million-dollar salaries in the most recent reporting period, even as total packages for many corporate lawyers were hit by the declining value of bonuses in a weaker sharemarket." November 13, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"THE CYCLE REPEATS: As the late and grammatically incorrect American comedian Rodney Dangerfield might have put it, Wall Street bankers just don't have no respect these days." November, 2009 BOSS

"MYTH BUSTING: The issue of executive remuneration has ever greater relevance in recent times, with regard to the global economic climate and increased levels of public and government scrutiny." November, 2009 BOSS

"PAY FRAY: As the anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse came and went in September, a rash of reports in Australia and overseas confirmed that pay rises and termination payments were being distributed to senior executives of companies that had recorded substantial losses." November, 2009 BOSS

"BONUS BLUE AT COMPUTERSHARE: Computershare has suffered its biggest protest vote at an annual general meeting, with shareholders coming close to voting down its revised bonus plan for top executives." November 12, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"RECOVERY ACCELERATES PUSH FOR EXECUTIVE PAY RISES: The economic recovery and a big rebound in the share market over the past seven months are likely to intensify pressure for executive pay rises after a double-digit decline in total pay packets during 2009-09." November 12, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"IN PLAIN ENGLISH: CAST YOUR VOTE: The problem with the endless debate about executive remuneration is that it's not really capable of going anywhere." November 11, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"UNDERPERFORMING CAN STILL PAY: Not all executives are showing restraint with salary packages in spite of the tough conditions." November 11, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"BIG REWARDS COME WITH A LOT OF HOT AIR: Allan Campbell could be forgiven for wearing a wry smile as the global financial crisis slashed the multimillion-dollar bonuses of many bankers." November 11, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SLASHED PAY - IT'S AN ACCOUNTING ILLUSION: Greg Goodman might have thought things could not get any worse when he was forced to sell a large parcel of shares in his listed Goodman Group last year amid concerns about potential margin problems." November 11, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"CHIEFS MAKE HAY AS SUN SHINES: Barry Lambert received some handy financial advice from an unexpected source late last year." November 11, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"MANY TRICKS USED TO GET TREATS: Executive remuneration took on a whole new meaning this year." November 11, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"UGLY DISASTERS DON'T STOP HANDSOME PAY: The idea that chief executives are only paid handsomely when they perform is a nonsense." November 11, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"CHIEFS ESCAPE TOUGH SANCTIONS ON PAY: Allan Fels was never the preferred choice of many chief executives as the person to help spearhead the federal government's assault on executive pay." November 11, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"YEAR OF LIVING WITH LESS LUXURY - BUT MORE NECESSITIES: The pay packets of the nation's top executives have experienced an unprecedented double-digit decline over the past year as the global financial crisis forced boards to slash bonuses and revised valuations on many long-term incentive plans." November 11, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"TIME TO FOCUS ON PERFORMANCE: Halfway through this year's annual general meeting season its clear that executive pay is the dominant issue fuelling shareholder discontent." November 11, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"PRODUCTIVITY OMISSION: Overall, the Productivity Commission's (PC's) executive pay report is sensible, especially since much reflects market practice." November, 2009 Company Director

"DEBATE RAGES OVER 'TWO STRIKES' SPILL MOVE: Critics of the Productivity Commission's proposed "two strikes" rule, under which shareholders could triger a board spill if 25 per cent voted against a company's remuneration report in successive years, should be ignored because investors would not abuse powers, the Australian Shareholders Association (ASA) said." November 9, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"BOARDS FORCED TO RETHINK EXEC PAY: Large sharemarket-listed companies are being forced to review their remuneration practises after almost a quarter of those in the top 200 that have already held their annual general meeting suffered protest votes of 25 per cent or more from investors." November 9, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"OPTIONS TAX 'WOULD STIFLE INNOVATION': Tech and other start-up companies that rely heavily on the use of options to reward staff have stepped up calls for the federal government to revise its controversial tax changes after Macquarie Group said the laws had effectively killed off option schemes." November 2, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"PAY RULE WOULD SPILL FIVE BOARDS: Toll-road operator Transurban, Mozambique coal exporter Riversdale Mining and engineering company Crane Group would have faced board spills if a controversial proposal that gives shareholders more power to curb executive pay had applied last week." November 2, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"DON'T EXTEND MY BRIEF, SAYS US EXECUTIVE PAY SUPREMO: The Obama administration's executive pay supremo has warned Congress against micro-managing the pay policies of corporate America despite simmering public outrage about Wall Street bonuses." October 30, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SHOCK MOVE FOR CONTROL OF ALL GOLDEN HANDSHAKES: Every executive termination payout, or golden handshake, will have to be approved by shareholders withn three years under an onerous change quietly approved by the Senate this week." October 29, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SHAREHOLDERS RESIST EXECUTIVE PAY PLAN: Bendigo and Adelaide Bank shareholders delivered their highest protest votes when asked to approve the remuneration of top executives, marking a tough start to the bank sector' s annual meeting season." October 27, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"CEOS SHUFFLE PAY CARDS TO COME OUT ON TOP: Chief executives in Australia's biggest listed technology companies have increased their base pay and cash bonuses, while shielding their remuneration packages from fluctuations in their companies' stock price." October 27, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"LEUPEN DRAWS SHAREHOLDER IRE: Engineering and property firm United Group has become the next large company after peers Downer EDI and Qantas Airways to suffer a big protest vote against executive pay." October 23, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY TO BE CUT BY 50%: the Obama administration's pay supervisor is set to slash compensation for top executives at seven organisations that received billions of dollars in bail-out funds from the federal government." October 23, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"MAKE EXECS WAIT FOR BONUS: REPORT: The federal government has introduced tax changes to employee share schemes that conflict with recommendations by the prudential regulator and the Productivity Commission to rein in executive pay experts warned." October 22, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"INCENTIVE SCHEMES HIT HARD: Private businesses are putting succession planning and management incentive programs on hold until proposed changes to share scheme are finalised." October 20, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY DEPENDS ON WORKERS' WAGES: The Productivity Commission says salary caps won't work but at the organic grocery chain Whole Foods Market, executive salaries have been capped at 19 times what the average worker earns." October 20, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"EXEC PAY TO BE HOT ISSUE AT AGM'S: The boards of Qantas Airways, United Group and Asciano will be in the firing line at annual general meetings this week as shareholders increasingly take a more hardline stance against generaous executive remuneration for companies with flagging profits." October 19, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"TWO-STRIKE TALK SIDELINES ECONOMICS OF CEO PAY: Like Goldilocks, people have found the Productivity Commissions's discussion draft on executive remuneration either too strong, too weak or just right." October 16, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"FLOATS REVEAL THE MERITS OF HAVING SKIN IN THE GAME: When it comes to private equity flotations, much of the discussion has focused on the merits or otherwise of the financial sponsor retaining a stake." October 14, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SHAREHOLDERS ENDORSE TWO-STRIKE PROPOSAL: Investor groups have broadly backed the Productivity Commission's contentious proposed two-strike rule on executive pay, pointing out that a majority of shareholders would still have to support a motion to vote directors off a board." October 12, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"BOARDS SLAM EXECUTIVE PAY REFORM: Some of Australia's most senior chairman have slammed a key proposal in the Productivity Commission's executive pay reforms that would give a minority of shareholders the power to oust boards, claiming it could be used to destabilise companies." October 12, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY RULES WON'T WORK: BRADLEY: A "two strikes" rule on executive pay would distract boards from crucial tasks and cause mischief and unnecessary cost, a senior company chairman said yesterday." October 8, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"TWO-STRIKES THREAT SUFFICES: Boards will have to be more careful about pay once they face the threat of being ousted unless they can secure investor agreement on remuneration issues says Allan Fels, co-author of the Productivity Commission's report on executive pay." October 6, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"BANK SUED BY FORMER EXECS: Eighteen former St George bankers are expected to launch legal action against the bank, claiming their redundancy payouts fell short after the bank merged with Westpac Banking Corp last year, in a dispute that could cost the bank millions of dollars." October 2, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"FOR CBA'S NORRIS, A $7.8M SHARE PLAN. Shareholders of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia will be asked to approve $7.86 million in long-term share incentive grants to chief executive officer Ralph Norris." October 2, 2009 Australian Financial Review

""'TWO STRIKES' VOTE ON EXEC PAY A RECIPE FOR CHAOS: The idea may be fine in baseball, but when it comes to corporate governance "two strikes and you're out" may not work." October 2, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"GENDER IS THE PLIGHT: Women managers are bridging the pay gap that separates them from their male peers, but the Australian Institute of Management's annual analysis of gender-based executive remuneration shows that progress is slow." October 1-7, 2009 BRW

"RE-ELECTION TRIGGER COULD EASILY BACKFIRE: While the Productivity Commission's draft proposals steer clear of heavy-handed measures such as pay caps or direct government intervention in pay setting, there's still a sting or two in the tail." October 1, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"DEFER RECKONING, PC SAYS: The large tax bills from company share packages that are imposed on executives once they resign should be deferred to encourage a longer-term interest in a business's fortunes, the Productivity Commission has urged." October 1, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"TWO STRIKES LAUDED, CONDEMNED: Company directors have grave concerns about the Productivity Commission's proposed "two strikes and you're out" rule for boards that fail to curb executive pay, warning that the proposal would cause massive unintended consequences." October 1, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SPOT FIRES CLEAR COMMON GROUND: Only nine days ago, the idea that executive pay packets should be decided primarily by shareholders sparked one of those spot fires that enliven a quiet day in national politics." October 1, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"INVESTORS WIN EXECUTIVE PAY POWERS: Company boards will face re-election if a quarter of shareholders votes are against their pay policies at successive annual general meetings, under proposals by the Productivity Commission to curb excessive salaries." October 1, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"BETTER GOVERNANCE WILL PAY OFF: Corporate governance is one of the easiest things in the worlld to talk about and one of the hardest to achieve." October 1, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"REPORT A GOOD BASIS FOR ACTION: The Productivity Commission has taken a measured and very well informed approach to the review into executive pay." October 1, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"RESIST POPULIST PUSH ON PAY: The Productivity Commission's draft report into executive remuneration will allow the government to be seen to be taking action to deal with the perceived problem of weak boards being manipulated by greedy executives." October 1, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"IN A BIND OVER THE NON-BINDING VOTE: Shareholders have had a say on executive pay for five years." October 1, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"FATTER CHEQUES FOR GLOBAL BOSSES: The unprecedented economic boom Australia experienced over the past 17 years has been matched by a pronounced spike in executive remuneration." October 1, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"FURORE OVER WAGE RISE FOR SUPER FUND BOSS: The head of Western Australia's $9 billion superannuation fund has been handed successive pay rises of about $100,000 a year since her position was removed from the scope of the Salaries and Remuneration Tribunal due to a planned privatisation that has since been shelved." September 30, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"POWER TO THE PEOPLE WHO BUY THE SHARES: Executive remuneration advice from the Productivity Commission today is expected to fall short of recommending giving shareholders a binding vote of executive pay." September 30, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"WAL KING AMONG THE LEADERS ON EXEC PAY: Leighton Holdings chief executive Wal King is still one of Australia's highest paid bosses with a $12.5 million salary package, even after taking a 24 per cent pay cut." September 30, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"BONUS BONANZA DESPITE GLOBAL CRISIS: Only five of the top 100 company bosses missed out on a bonus last year, with significantly more bonuseas paid out, despite the onset of the global financial crisis." September 29, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"PAY DISTORTIONS CREATE FURORE: Companies should report the "actual take-home" pay of their chief executives in simplified remuneration reports to better communicate company pay policies to their shareholders, the Productivity Commission is expected to recommend in its draft report on executive pay, to be released on Wednesday." September 28, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"G20 PROMPTS DISPUTE OVER EXEC SALARIES: The federal government will use a tougher stand by global leaders towards executive compensation to bolster its own arguments for curbing excessive bonus payments and push legislation that limits payouts to risk-takers in the financial sector." September 28, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"MPS' PAY RISE 'SLAP IN THE FACE FOR WORKERS': Prime Minister Keven Rudd and Treasurer Wayne Swan keep telling us we're not out of the woods yet, but the government is confident enough about the economy to end the polititions' pay freeze." September 28, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY IS AN UNNECESSARY MYSTERY: Each year most boards of directors ask their in-house human resources people to devise an executive remuneration framework, and then proceed to seek specialist independent advice on what's happening in the marketplace." September 23, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVE PAY NOT THE REAL PROBLEM: World leaders at this week's Group of 20 meeting should force banks to build up their reserves substantially to avoid another global financial crisis, a leading association of regulatory expertx said on Monday." September 23, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"DIXON PARACHUTE WOULD STILL HAVE OPENED: Experts say new laws to rein in golden handshakes." are unlikely to have prevented former Qantas chairman, Geoff Dixon reaping a $10.7 million payout for five months of full-time work." September 23, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"QANTAS' DIXON FLEW OFF WITH $10.7M ...: Former Qantas Airways chief executive Geoff Dixon left the airline with a $10.7 million send-off when he resigned in March, despite being in the cockpit for less than half of the financial year." September 22, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"... BUT PEARSE WILL COLLECT $11.5M FROM BORAL: Outgoing Boral chief executive Rod Pearse's final salary package will total $11.5million, boosted by the non-compete fee he will receive on stepping down from the building materials group at the end of December." September 22, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"... AND EVANS PAID $825,000 AT PMP: Troubled printing and distribution business PMP has revealed how much it paid former chief executive Brian Evans, who left in late January and later sued the company for unpaid benefits." September 22, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"REVOLT AGAINST LOFTY EXECUTIVE PAYOUTS: Unions and shareholders have slammed multimillion dollar payouts to three chief executives of major sharemarket-listed companies, claiming they demonstrate the need for tougher restraints on executive pay." September 22, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SHORT-TERM PAY BEATS LONG-TERM GOALS: Senior executives at some of Australia's leading listed companies have received increased short-term incentives such as cash bonus in lieu of long-term performance incenitves." September 17-23, 2009 BRW

"SENATORS TAKE SIDES ON CASH TAKEAWAYS: The government's bid to crack down on massive payouts to executives may face amendment in the Senate today as the coalition moves to make it harder for shareholders to get a say in the payment of golden handshakes." September 15, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"EXECUTIVES FACE TOUGHER PAY SCRUTINY: The Productivity Commission's review of executive pay will consider transferring more power to shareholders to rein in excessive bonuses and share payments by strengthening the non-binding vote on company remuneration reports." September 15, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"CEO PAYOUT CAPS FACE SENATE STOUSH: The federal government's push to clamp down on massive payouts for executives is set to come under scrutiny in the Senate this week amid concerns the proposed changes will inadvertently drive an increase in base salaries." September 14, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"CBA TOP EXECUTIVES GET PAY RISE: Commonwealth Bank of Australia increased the pay of most of its top executives in the 2009 financial year, including chief executive Ralph Norris who pocketed $9.2 million, amid the tail end of a financial crisis in which many off-shore lenders have been bailed out but the Big Four banks have been almost unscathed." September 10, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SHORT-TERM FOCUS ON CEO PAY: Companies have switched from a long-term to a short-term focus in awarding incentives to their top executives, reflecting the uncertain nature of the longer term outlook during the weakened economic conditions of the past year." September 9, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"TAXMAN TARGETS SALARY SACRIFICE AND SHARE SCHEMES: Bonuses, salary sacrifice arrangements and employee share plans could be hit by a contentious Australian Taxation Office ruling designed to crack down on schemes where employees swap salary for a loan to avoid paying tax." September 8, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"BACKLASH OVER NEW REMUNERATION LAWS: A government-dominated senate committee examining laws that cap executive termination payments has recommended that parliament pass the laws, although opposition senators warned the changes "over-reached" and would create unintented consequences." September 8, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"REGULATOR GIVES IN ON EXECUTIVE PAY: The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has bowed to pressure from the banks to water down key components of its executive pay guidlines, after an outcry that the new rules were too restrictive and impractical." September 8, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SWAN FACES PRESSURE TO ACT ON PAY CAP: Australia is facing pressure to take stronger action to cap executive pay across the banking sector after the European Union endorsed a French plan to impose rules that could ration bonus payments according to a bank's operating income." September 4, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"BROWN JOINS CALL FOR CRACKDOWN ON EXECUTIVE BONUSES: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday he wants to rein in excessive bonuses for bankers in the wake of the global financial crisis, a key issue at this month's G20 meeting in Pittsburgh." September 2, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SHARE-SCHEME TAX SLUG FOR EXPATRIATES: New rules on employee share schemes will impose higher taxes on expatriates returning to work in Australia and foreign employees moving here, in another blow to Australians working overseas." August 31, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"EXPERTS DIFFER OVER EFFECT OF TERMINATION PAY CAPS: Federal laws to cap executive termination payouts would not increase base salaries, Treasury executives told a parlimentary committee yesterday." August 26, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SHARE SCHEMES VIABLE: Weren't they taxed out of existence in the last federal budget?" August 26, 2009 Sydney Morning Herald

"LOOPHOLES EMERGE IN SHARE-PLAN RULES: Companies will be tempted to offer executives interest-free loans and pay more of their salaries in cash to avoid new tax rules for employee share schemes, remuneration and tax professionals say." August 25, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"REGULATING PAY PUTS AN END TO PERVERSE INCENTIVES: Although some financial firms are reforming how they pay their employees, governments around the world are seriously considering regulating such firms' compensation structures." August 21, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SHARE SCHEME BILL A SHAMBLES: When someone in Treasurer Wayne Swan's office ticked the box on his budget to-do list marked "crack down on tax avoidance in employee share schemes" they clearly had no idea of the quagmire they'd be creating." August 20, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"LONG,HARD LOOK NEEDED AT EMPLOYEE SHARE SCHEMES: Last Friday the federal government released draft legislation to reform the taxation of employee share schemes.." August 20, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"PUTTING OUR SELFISH GENES TO WORK: Australia recently came close to witnessing the demise of employee share ownership plans, thanks to changes proposed by Treasury." August, 2009 the deal

"DRAFT SHARE LAWS CREATE REAL CONUNDRUM: Employers will be closely studying the "at risk" provisions of the draft legislation on employee share schemes released on Friday, as they are the main way staff will be able to avoid paying upfront tax on shares acquired under the schemes." August 17, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"CHANGES LOOM ON EMPLOYEE SHARES: The controversial overhaul of the employee share schemes, new tax secrecy laws and other long-awaited legislative changes to the tax system will be introduced in the spring session of federal parliment over the next four months." August 12, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD ON EXECUTIVE REWARDS: One of the most obvious consequences flowing from the global squeeze has been the renewed focus on various issues related to executive remuneration." August 11, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"BONUSES IN PAY TSAR'S SIGHTS: On Wall Street, banks have become so eager to lure and keep top dealmakers and traders that they are reviving the practice of offering ironclad, multi-million dollar payouts - guranteed, no matter how an employee performs." August 11, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"GOLDEN HANDSHAKES LEGISLATION 'A WRECKING BALL': Long-serving employees could be hit by new government laws to curb golden handshakes to departing executives, the peak body for company secretaries said." August 11, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"DETAILS ON NEW SHARE RULES DUE: Draft laws implementing federal changes to employee share schemes are expected to be released as early as today, and will determine whether thousands of frozen employee share schemes will be reactivated." August 10, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"CEO SALARIES UNDER STRESS: Chief executives' salaries have fallen about 7 per cent in the past year as incentive payments based on corporate results have been affected by the economic downturn." August 10, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"TAX OFFICE WIDENS BLITZ ON EXECUTIVES: The Australian Taxation Office will target more wealthy people, company executives and businesses conducting cross-border transactions this tax year, amid signs the economic downturn has triggered a return of tax dodges prevalent during the last recession." August 6, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"CALL FOR RESTRAINT AT THE TOP: The federal government has come under pressure from the ALP conference to ensure executives and the wealthy pay a fairer share of tax as a result of government measures such as the Productivity Commission inquiry into the issue." July 31, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"TREASURY KNOCKS CEO PAYOUTS: Treasury estimates the federal government's planned crackdown on "golden handshakes" will require 50 to 60 percent shareholder approval of executive termination benefits if payout levels continue." July 30, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"FURTHER CONCESSIONS SOUGHT ON SHARE PLANS: Business is putting pressure on the federal government to make further concessions on the taxation of employee share schemes, warning the current position does not fully align the interests of directors and executives with shareholders." July 20, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"TOP EXECUTIVES AREN'T OVERPAID AFTER ALL: Pay increases for chief executive officers are a largely accurate reflection of improved executive performance and growing risk." July 16, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"BENDIGO BANKING ON VOLUNTARY PAY CUT: Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has put a new twist on the trend of cutting costs, by having employees take 10 days' unpaid leave and dangling a possible future salary top-up if the bank comes in ahead of budget." July 16, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"FURURE IGNORED BY RICH EXECS: Excessive executive pay combined with a short-term focus was a powerful barrier to improving corporate governance or dealing with risks such as climate change, former US vice-president Al Gore said." July 16, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"PAY CHECK: There's nothing like a financial crisis to focus the mind on the excesses of executive pay, particularily for those in the rarefied ranks of financial institutions." July 9, 2009 AFRBOSS

"FREEZE TOP EXECS' PAY: UNIONS: Unions have called on company chiefs to share the pain of a total wage freeze for the country's lowest paid workers, claiming that business leaders need to lead by example." July 9, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"OPTIONS DOUBTS KEEP START-UPS PRESSING FOR FIX: Start-up companies said yesterday the new tax rules disadvantaged option schemes they used and while special tax breaks were being considered for emerging companies, any concessions would not flow through until next year." July 3, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"ADJUSTMENTS MAY REVIVE EQUITY SCHEMES: Most listed companies are considering reviving employee share plans after the federal government unwound controversial budget changes, although some tax experts said the final position might still leave some employees out of pocket." July 3, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"EMPLOYEES WIN ON SHARE SCHEMES: The federal government has bowed to sustained pressure over budget measures to employee share schemes, proposed changes that restore tax concessions for the vast majority of company ownership plans." July 2, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"CHAOS AND CONFUSION ENDS: The budget-night change to the tax arrangements of employee share schemes has caused unnecessary confusion for workers and business owners, the opposition says." July 2, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SAVINGS WITHOUT ALL THE FUSS: The final employee share scheme framework announced yesterday is not very different from the scheme that was in place before the government changed it in the budget in May." July 2, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"ADVISERS BACK THE CHANGES: Remuneration and tax advisers have backed the government's changes to employee share schemes but said many plans would need to be redesigned to comply with the details of the as yet to be seen final legislation." July 2, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"EMPLOYEE SHARE PLANS IN LIMBO: New tax laws on employee share schemes take effect today, although the federal government has yet to reveal their detail, leaving thousands on company schemes in limbo at the start of the new financial year." July 1, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"ANZ'S CEO JOB ROW HEADS FOR THE COURTS: Steve Targett and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group are moving towards a final showdown to test allegations that the former executive was promised the role of chief executive officer." June 30, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"UNITED CHIEF TO STAY ON WITH LOWER PAY: United Group has extended chief executive Richard Leupen's contract until 2014, longer than expected, after strong support from the board despite a tough year, although he will take pay cut." June 25, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"HARDIE TO RESTRUCTURE EXECUTIVE PAYMENTS: James Hardie is aiming to revamp its remuneration for senior management by proposing to more closely align long-term incentives with performance benchmarks." June 24, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"TELSTRA FREEZES EXECUTIVE PAY: Telstra's new chief executive, David Thodey has told the company's 200 top executives their fixed pay will be frozen for the financial year begining next Wednesday and all other eligible employees will receive pay increases of no more than 2 per cent on average." June 23, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"LARGE US EXECUTIVE SALES MAKE INVESTORS NERVOUS: Executives at US companies are taking advantage of the biggest stockmarket rally in 71 years to sell their shares at the fastest pace since credit markets started to size up two years ago." June 23, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"BUSINESS LEADERS LAY DOWN THE LAW ON RED TAPE BURDEN: Business leaders have warned the federal government against the dangers of excessive and illconceived regulation, saying that an extraordinary increase in regulatory red tape has the potential to paralyse company boards and threaten economic recovery." June 23, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"WOMEN GAIN POWER, NOT PAY: Female executive managers continue to face a significant gender pay gap, and earn less than half of males in the equivalent positions on chief executive officer and top finance roles." June 18, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"BIG MAC WARY OF PAY CHANGES: The employee-share scheme imbroglio has forced Macquarie Group to make another round of changes to its remuneration structure." June 18, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"SHARE SCHEME TAX CHANGES SHOULD BE SCRAPPED: There is a simple and practicle solution to the perceived integrity problem identified by the government on employee share schemes; introduce better compliance throught new reporting obligations on employers and leave the current deferral rules intact." June 17, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"TAX CHANGES WILL DRIVE CASH PAY BIAS: The federal government's tax changes to employee sahre schemes would stymie moves to better align long-term executive incentives with shareholders, Productivity Commission heard yesterday." June 17, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"FROZEN SCHEMES WILL STAY ON ICE: Miners have warned the federal government that its plan to impose an income threshold on employee share schemes means that many companies will refuse to re-activate their frozen schemes." June 16, 2009 Australian Financial Review

"START-UPS STRESS NEED FOR SHARE PLANS: Abolishing employee share schemes would be the most retrograde move for Australian innovation in 15 years, a leading venture capitalist has warned." June 16, 2009 Australian Financial Review

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