1.
Why did you not just use a shareholders' HIN
number or SRN to join this meeting online rather than coming up with a separate
Voter Access Code. Most companies which use LUMI allow shareholders to use
their common HIN/SRN number. Was it Boardroom which insisted on this separate
VAC or a Brambles call? Fine for the company secretary to answer this question.
2.
Is it true that a lack of access to timber is
contributing to a global shortage of timber pallets? Are supply shortages less
pressing for our competitor Loscam with its plastic pallets? Also, is it true
big clients such as Amazon are stockpiling pallets, exacerbating supply
challenges in Australia. Have we considered limiting the ability of big
customers to stockpile our timber pallets both in Australia and worldwide?
3.
Item 4: Question to Scott Perkins on his
re-election: CVs matter with public company directors. As does accurate public
statements. As the chair of the Woolworths audit committee, why did Scott allow
the CEO and chair's claim that poker machine gamblers only lost $700 million a
year on the company's 12,000 machines remain uncorrected for two years. Now
that the Endeavour demerger is completed, does he agree that the true figure is
closer to $1.5 billion. Why didn't he intervene and correct the attempt to
downplay the ESG damage caused by Woolworths? The answer will determine how I
vote on this resolution.
4.
When disclosing the outcome of all resolutions
today, will the chair agree to publicly disclose how many shareholders voted
for and against each item, similar to what happens with a scheme of
arrangement? This will provide a better gauge of retail shareholders sentiment
on all resolutions and was a disclosure initiative recently adopted by Metcash
and Southern Cross Media after their AGMs.
5.
Well done for publishing a full transcript of
past AGMs, along with the full webcast, on your website. Can the chair promise
that this practice will continue with the lively discussion that has unfolded
at this AGM?
6.
Did any proxy advisers recommend against the rem
report or the LTI grant and the can the proxies on each item please be
disclosed before the debate so we can ask questions if there has been a big
protest vote. This is ASA AGM policy.
7.
Why go so hard with on-market buybacks? The
Commonwealth Bank recently did a $6 billion off-market buyback. Have we
considered that or do we not have enough franking credits to make it
worthwhile. Why not pay a special dividend or do a capital return rather than
this drip, drip, drip of ongoing on-market buybacks? Can you name any ASX
listed company going harder with on-markets buybacks than Brambles?
8.
Question for Elizabeth Fagan: Since 2019,
ASX-listed Treasury Wine Estates has voluntarily moved to annual elections for
directors in line with best practice that occurs in both the US and the UK.
Dual listed companies like News Corp, BHP and Rio Tinto all do this due to the
laws in the US and UK. We would be doing this had we not abandoned our own DLC
in 2006. Given that Elizabeth is a UK-based Brambles director, what does she
think about this idea of voluntarily moving to UK-style annual elections of
directors? And as an old POM himself, is the chair up for following the TWE
lead? If not, why not? Will he discuss the matter with TWE chair Paul Rayner?
9.
Which law firm advised on the constitutional
amendment and are we going to pay their bill given that the item had to be
withdrawn after opposition from proxy advisers and shareholders. What
percentage of proxies cast were against the proposal and what were we thinking
in proposing a constitutional amendment that could have allowed all future AGMs
to be online only? Whose idea was this?
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