Finance Minister Grant Robertson in his Beehive office, Parliament, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Finance Minister Grant Robertson in his Beehive office, Parliament, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has written to almost all Crown-owned companies directing them to step up their game when it comes to revealing how much their top brass gets paid.
He has asked the chairs of most of the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in New Zealand to get on "at least"the same level as NZX-listed companies when it comes to disclosing chief executives' pay rates.
This includes TVNZ, RNZ, and Air New Zealand just to name a few.
The move comes after Robertson wrote to the chairs of some of the biggest Crown-owned companies last year, asking them not to give themselves, and fellow board members, a pay rise.
Asked about the new director pay disclosure rules, Robertson told the Herald: "These companies are assets that are owned by the Government on behalf of all New Zealanders".
"We feel it's important that New Zealanders are able to access [the same] information about them as they are about other companies."
The Shareholders Association has welcomed Robertson's move – its chief executive Michael Midgley said taxpayers are all investors of SOEs and, therefore, should be able to see how much these chief executives are being paid.
"If SOE disclosure is not as good as other listed companies' disclosure, then it ought to be – it's arguable that it should be even more transparent."
A memo from Treasury officials, released under the Official Information Act (OIA), outlined that at the moment, SOEs need to do a better job of disclosing directors' pay.
"With a few exceptions such as Transpower, current disclosures by SOEs are poor."
The Treasury, and Robertson, want SOEs to be more like listed NZX companies which are much more upfront about executive remuneration.
"Our expectation is that the disclosure of chief executive and senior management remuneration should at least match the disclosures of listed companies," Robertson said in the letter, also released under the OIA.
He offered up Mercury – which is 51 per cent owned by the Government – as an example of how other SOEs should disclose top director's pay.
Its 2019 annual report, for example, shows CEO Fraser Whineray earned $1.96 million, including benefits and bonuses, last financial year.
Mercury's annual report clearly outlines how much its ehief executive makes a year, compared to prior years and how much their pay has increased.
Its 2019 annual report, for example, shows CEO Fraser Whineray earned $1.96 million, including benefits and bonuses, last financial year.
That's up $172,000 – or almost 9 per cent – on the year before.
And according to the NZX, the pay of directors leading listed companies should be "transparent, fair and reasonable" and should be clearly disclosed in annual reports.
Robertson asked SOE board chairs to bring the reporting of their top director's pay in line with Mercury and the NZX guidelines in time for the company's half-yearly reports, due to be on his desk last month.
A spokesman for Robertson said that information was still being analysed and coming into the minister's office.
Midgley hoped the new rules would help make all companies more transparent.
He said investors can choose whether or not they want to invest when it comes to listed companies.
But voters don't have that option when it comes to SOEs.
"Everyone who has invested in a company has the right to see what people are getting paid.
"We don't want to see director's fees and CEO's pay ratcheted up to the ridiculous levels they have become in North America."
