Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Video | Agriculture | Confidence | Economy | Energy | Employment | Finance | Media | Property | RBNZ | Science | SOEs | Tax | Technology | Telecoms | Tourism | Transport | Search

 

English criticises Super Fund CEO's pay rise

Monday 20 February 2017 04:02 PM

English criticises Super Fund CEO's pay rise, puts directors on notice

By Sophie Boot

Feb. 20 (BusinessDesk) - Prime Minister Bill English has criticised the board of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund for lifting its chief executive's pay 36 percent last year, and suggested there could be a shakeup in how CEOs of the largest state entities are paid.

At a press conference this afternoon, English said he was disappointed with the board's decision to lift Adrian Orr's salary over $1 million in 2016. As finance minister, English opposed the raise as "too large in the current economic climate" and suggested a 2.5 percent hike instead. The prime minister said the raise would be taken into account when it comes to reappointing board members.

"The discussion we've had about pay is no reflection on the performance of the fund or the professional and managerial competence of the board," English said. "They're public entities, and the government has a view about large remuneration increases. The board's taken a different view. I think any board who takes a different view when it's a 100 percent subsidiary takes risks about tenure."

As finance minister, English said he had engaged in an "unsatisfying annual haggle" with the boards of large public organisations like the Super Fund, that were "a bit overenthusiastic" about how much their CEOs should be paid.

He nominated the Reserve Bank, Accident Compensation Corp and Housing New Zealand as others in the category of very large government entities where chief executives' pay could be an issue.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

"There's been pressure on all these salaries - I think it would be better to find a more stable process for these very significant appointments. These are all $20 billion-plus organisations, much larger than almost all of our private sector organisations, but they're still public organisations," English said. "It may be better to, for instance, set a level at the start of an appointment and leave it at that. We've got four of these very large public organisations where this issue keeps coming up, because they're benchmarked against a standard that's not the local standard."

There was also no shortage of applicants for their leadership, he said.

English said there was an opportunity to get a "long-term view" with the pending appointment of a new Reserve Bank governor. Earlier this month, current governor Graeme Wheeler announced he won't serve a second term when his expires in September and will be followed out the door by his deputy, Grant Spencer, in March next year after filling the position on a temporary basis while the next government hunts out a replacement.

(BusinessDesk)

ends

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Business Headlines | Sci-Tech Headlines

 
GenPro: General Practices Begin Issuing Clause 14 Notices

GenPro has been copied into a rising number of Clause 14 notices issued since the NZNO lodged its Primary Practice Pay Equity Claim against General Practice employers in December 2023.More

SPADA: Screen Industry Unites For Streaming Platform Regulation & Intellectual Property Protections

In an unprecedented international collaboration, representatives of screen producing organisations from around the world have released a joint statement.More

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.