3 questions lodged at 2026 Woodside Energy (WDS) hybrid AGM

Q1. When was the external audit last tendered and when will it next be tendered?

Answer: The chair Richard Goyder initially thought that PwC only replaced the long-serving EY two years earlier, only to be informed it was 4 years ago. That said, there's no need for another tender this early in the PwC term. This question was pitched to be asked when they called for auditor questions before dealing with questions on all 8 resolutions as one job lot, which is a terrible practice. In the end, it was combined with Q2 below in the general questions section. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Q2. The proxy votes flashed up for a few seconds showed that one of the directors received a 7% against vote, which was below the 18% vote against rem and the 34% vote against the CEO's LTI grant, but still noteworthy. Did any of the proxy advisers recommend against any of the directors and are you aware why there was a modest protest vote on the director resolutions? Also, at next year's AGM please disclose the proxies to the ASX earlier along with the formal addresses to provide more timely market disclosure and allow for a more fully informed AGM debate.

Answer: Woodside chair Richard Goyder said all proxy advisers recommended in favour of all 5 directors today and claimed the 7% vote against Larry Marshall was probably tenure related. Asked to disclose the proxies earlier he reacted as if this was a suggestion he'd never heard of before, when he was asked last year and agreed to do it when Qantas chair. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Q3. Thank you to Ian McFarlane for his nearly 10 years of service on the board. It is always helpful for investors to have access to some exit perspectives from retiring independent directors. In his final contribution as a Woodside director, could Ian please comment on what he regards as the best 2 decisions Woodside made during his time on the board and were there any decisions that he would have done differently, with the benefit of hindsight?

Answer: Not only did Woodside chair Richard Goyder refuse to respect the AGM process and follow the agenda, he prematurely shut the AGM down after just 105 mins when there were many questions that hadn't been asked, such as this one. The 2 questions at a time limit turned into a 2 questions for the whole meeting limit, which was very poor for a $58.5 billion company with 550,000 shareholders. Given the issues at hand, this meeting should have gone for at least 3 hours. Watch video of Goyder prematurely closing the meeting via Twitter.

Video grabs of other meeting highlights

Here is a summary of some other highlights from the Woodside AGM

Two Dockers supporters get into climate combat

Woodside chair Richard Goyder and Tassie Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson had a bit of banter about their joint love of the Fremantle Dockers, but it got heavier after that over Woodside's claimed $5 billion commitment to invest in energy transition projects. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

After Senator Whish-Wilson's second powerful floor question, Woodside CEO Liz Westcott opened her response with “Wow, there's quite a bit in that”. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Woodside AGM becomes a Greens Senate committee meeting

Victorian Greens Senator Steph Hodgins-May is chairing this Senate inquiry attempting to tax new gas projects such that they become unviable. They cleverly timed their Perth hearings tomorrow around the Woodside AGM and she cheekily fronted the AGM demanding the CEO turn up tomorrow. The CFO and Tony Cudmore, who replaced me as a Kennett spindoctor when I returned to the Murdoch empire in 1994, will be attending the hearings. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Will Woodside hold its promised 2027 Climate Transition Action Plan vote (CTAP)?

Asked by a shareholder from the floor if the CTAP vote next year would be delivered, Woodside chair Richard Goyder claimed he is being lobbied by some shareholders to ditch this promise, which would be an outrageous move after the company's 2024 plan was spectacularly defeated. “At this stage”, he said this vote will proceed, but sounds like that commitment is a bit wobbly. Watch video of his comments via Twitter.

ASA persists and gets an explanation for 34% vote against CEO's LTI grant

Well done to ASA rep Geoff Read for persisting and insisting that Woodside chair Goyder explains why there was a 34% protest vote against the LTI grant to new CEO Liz Westcott. Seems it was too big a bonus with insufficiently challenging performance hurdles. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Copyright © 2026 The Mayne Report. All rights reserved

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