Qantas shareholders demand ‘clear accountability’ from board
Qantas’ largest superannuation investors are demanding “clear accountability” from the airline’s board after it chose to reduce its former chief executive Alan Joyce’s annual pay by just $500,000 despite the company facing significant customer and regulatory acrimony.
The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, which represents major pension funds, said the issues that angered customers were far-ranging and had yet to be fully addressed by the board and management.
“The Qantas report is interesting for what it doesn’t say,” said ACSI’s chief executive, Louise Davidson. “There is no discussion of board accountability for ongoing customer issues, the recent High Court decision and the [Australian Competition and Consumer Commission] investigation. That is what investors would like to understand.”
Qantas chairman Richard Goyder said he would not step down, adding he had the support of major shareholders. Rhett Wyman
The airline on Wednesday said Alan Joyce could be paid $23.6 million for his last year at Qantas, although $10 million of that remains up in the air pending more details of the ACCC investigation. The competition regulator has alleged the airline wrongly sold thousands of tickets on flights that it had already decided to cancel, sometimes weeks earlier.
A further $6.1 million, which is contingent on the company hitting performance targets over the next two years, is also subject to a clawback at the Qantas board’s discretion. If paid, it would take Mr Joyce’s total final payout to $29.7 million. The company cut just $500,000 from Mr Joyce’s bonuses to reflect the customer discontent from poor service and high fares.
Debby Blakey, HESTA’s chief executive, separately said that while the potential clawback
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