The Heavy Hand

As predicted, most companies report that they won't even bother with the toothless ASX corporate governance guidelines this year. However, some good news for the little person as new and enforceable corporate accountability reforms (CLERP 9) have been tabled and will encourage shareholder activism by allowing small investors the opportunity to make regular comments on company performance, including a say in the remuneration of executives. Unhappy with these fair and modern reforms however, the Business Council of Australia have responded by proposing a range of heavy-handed tactics to curb 'disruptive' (code for inquisitive) behaviour by shareholders at AGM's, including forcible removal by security guards.

PICKS OF THE WEEK

Executive pay to be revealed

COMPANIES will be forced to reveal salary packages for top executives under business reforms designed to give greater power to ordinary shareholders. Small "mum-and-dad" shareholders will be given the power to challenge salaries paid to executives and question the way a company is run.

Full story: http://www.careerone.com.au/newsviews/story/0,8523,7336773-22562,00.html

Pay rise for CBA chief as earnings fall

Commonwealth Bank shareholders watched the bank's net profit drop 24 per cent in 2002-03, but chief executive David Murray's base salary rose 5 per cent and his annual bonuses climbed 12 per cent.

Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/23/1064082995815.htm

Former Village chief demands $148m payout

Three years ago, Village Roadshow was happy to pay executive director Peter Ziegler a $5.2 million success fee for arranging finance for its venture into big budget film production.

Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/22/1064082935448.htm

Creditors Of Australia's Pan Pharmaceuticals Vote For Liquidation

SYDNEY, Sept 24 Asia Pulse - Creditors of disgraced medicine maker Pan Pharmaceuticals Ltd last night voted to liquidate the company, rejecting a rescue bid by founder Jim Selim and millionaire businessman Fred Bart and leaving 128 workers jobless.

Full story: http://au.news.yahoo.com//030923/3/ltis.html

More executives forced to jump options hurdles

More companies are introducing performance hurdles for executive options schemes following public outrage at the largesse of some executive pay packets, according to a new study.

Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/22/1064082929323.htm

Finance: male domain now women's business

The finance sector may appear to be a male domain, but a new survey shows more than half the industry's workers are women.

Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/24/1064083056374.htm

Options put Amcor CEO well ahead of the Joneses

The granting of three million options at last year's annual meeting propelled the overall pay of Amcor chief Russell Jones to more than $5 million in the year to June 30.

Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/19/1063625217954.htm

Big Issue editor sacked, staff locked out

THE editor of street magazine The Big Issue has been sacked and the editorial staff locked out of their Melbourne offices.

Full story: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7361662%255E26462,00.html

Annual retail salary survey released

Salaries for Brisbane retail professionals have risen past those in Melbourne for the first time ever, according to the annual Frontline Retail Salary Guide.

Full story: http://www.careerone.com.au/newsviews/story/0,8523,7361149-22570,00.html

Banks might just keep card fees high

Retailers fear banks will seek to undermine the Reserve Bank of Australia's credit card reform process by refusing to reduce merchant service fees charged to provide card terminals.

Full story: http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/21/1064082863884.htm

LEGISLATION NEWS

Half of all companies shun corporate code

Fewer than half of Australia's publicly listed companies will immediately adopt new corporate governance guidelines that were designed to improve the amount and type of information provided to investors.

Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/24/1064083058124.htm

Rowdy rebels to face ouster

New annual meeting guidelines from the Business Council of Australia, which crack down on dissidents, had mixed reviews yesterday as a big bank was put on notice for a grilling at its shareholder gathering.

Full story: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,7357903%255E643,00.html

ASIC eases rules for takeovers

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission have modified the complex rules governing company takeovers in an effort to make them more practical and flexible.

Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/23/1064082995806.htm

New moves in cross-media rules

A proposal to remove cross-media and foreign ownership restrictions in metropolitan markets with more than two newspaper proprietors is being floated as a compromise to end the Senate media reform deadlock.

Full story: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,7344488%255E643,00.html

Retail lease disclosure statements 'lacking'

Tenants remain exposed by a lack of information in disclosure statements under the new Retail Leases Act despite an increased emphasis on paperwork for landlords, a commercial property seminar has been told.

Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/23/1064082992484.htm

INTERNATIONAL

Prodi hits back as fraud revelations rock EU executive

STRASBOURG (AFP) - European Commission chief Romano Prodi staged a defiant defence of his senior colleagues after official findings painted a damning picture of multi-million-euro fraud at an EU agency.

Full story: http://au.news.yahoo.com//030925/19/luhq.html

Bill Gates is richest in the US for 10 years in a row

Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates, worth $US46 billion ($69 billion), has topped an annual list of the 400 richest people in the US which is published by Forbes magazine.

Full story: http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/19/1063625220657.htm

Big Three to shed 50,000 jobs in next four years: analysis

NEW YORK (AFP) - The Big Three domestic automakers could shed 50,000 jobs over the next four years under the terms of new labour contracts, according to an analysis by Goldman Sachs.

Full story: http://au.news.yahoo.com//030923/19/ltet.html

Banker holds fort at Wall St for $1 a year

The directors of the New York Stock Exchange, trying to inject a dose of independence into a board seen as cosy, concupiscent and conflicted, have named John Reed, a former chief executive of Citicorp, as the exchange's interim chairman and the man who will oversee its efforts at reform.

Full story: http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2003/09/22/1064082932728.htm

Former audit firm executive arrested, charged with destroying documents

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A former Ernst and Young audit firm partner was arrested Thursday and slapped with criminal charges of destroying documents to obstruct a federal probe into accounting at a failed California banking firm.

Full story: http://au.news.yahoo.com//030925/19/luiq.html

SATIRE

Care of our friends at The Chaser... "Striving for mediocrity in a world of excellence."

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Digital TV passes exciting tenth subscriber milestone

CANBERRA, Wednesday: Television executives celebrated with Federal Communications Minister Richard Alston after Australia's new digital TV networks chalked up their tenth subscriber earlier this week. "They said we'd never make it to double figures, but we've shown them," Alston said. "And what's even better is that we've shown them in high-quality widescreen!"

Alston believes that the future is bright. "We taxpayers gave all of that free broadcasting spectrum to the Packers, and it's inconceivable that public-spirited people like them would give us nothing in return," he said.

The new subscriber, Bertrand Williams, joins an exclusive club of digital TV owners including Alston himself, John Howard and the Packer family. Mr Williams is also unique because he is the first subscriber who has actually paid for their set. Williams says he was convinced to buy one of the extremely expensive digital televisions after a salesperson at the SonyCentral store in Chatswood told him that conventional televisions would soon become obsolete.

"I should have asked her for more details before I paid for it," Williams said. "Her subsequent estimate of 2030 might be wrong, though - some experts have said digital TV may become dominant as early as 2025."

But Williams' family says it was a good decision nonetheless. "Digital TV is really cool, it has heaps of great features" his teenage son Billy said. "Because it's widescreen, I can get much more out of the cricket. You can see much more grass on either side of the batsman. Plus you can change camera angles, although when I try that, I generally find myself watching Stumpcam while someone takes a brilliant catch in the deep."

Williams' daughter Louise has also really enjoyed the widescreen technology, which she says makes it far easier to fit all five Backstreet Boys onscreen at the same time Alston claims that digital TV is already incredibly popular, at least at his place. "Once you've tried digital, it's hard to go back," Alston insists. Williams agrees, saying that he has tried, but the shop

insisted that his TV was completely non-refundable.

For further information

Contact:   Chris Owen
Email:   c.owen@labor.org.au
WWW:   www.bosswatch.labor.net.au