8 questions lodged at 2026 Star Entertainment (SGR) hybrid AGM

Q1. Could chair Soo Kim comment on how he is finding dealing with the Mathieson family? They are known for being very aggressive as seen by the 19 directors that Endeavour Group has churned through in 5 years.

Answer: Relations were obviously very warm between Bally boss Soo Kim and the Mathiesons as they were laughing and joking throughout the meeting. Watch video of exchange via Twitter, plus these additional comments by Soo.

Q2. Which proxy advisers issued reports ahead of today's meeting and did any recommend against George Papanier? Was he as popular as chair Soo and what does George think of the Mathieson family partnership? Why isn't he here today and how much time has he spent in Australia so far as part of this a Star adventure?

Answer: "George is definitely not as popular as I am", was chair Soo's opening joke. Amidst all the jokes, George said he'd visited Australia six times and was very supportive of the Mathieson partnership. Soo reckons he's up to 9 visits. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Q3. Could new director Don Pasquariello please spell out his full history with the Mathieson family and how well has he got to know the Bally crew since joining the board? Based on the smiles and laughing, top table relations appear to be great. Is Don asking enough hard questions on the accounts?

Answer: New audit committee chair Don Pasquarello explained his career at KPMG and Deloitte, including that, many years ago, he was auditor of the ALH pokies joint venture between Woolworths and the Mathiesons. Turns out he knows the Mathiesons and their beloved pokies industry very well. Watch video of exchange via Twitter, plus this video of Don's stump speech.

Q4. Did we use a recruitment firm to source Brooke Lindsay as a director and, like Don, could she spell out her full history with the Mathieson family? What are the best decisions made since she joined the board and does she have time for this role as a CDC exec?

Answer: Brooke seemed a bit offended by this question and didn't answer any of it whilst claiming to have previously dealt with all of it. She did pre-empt in her earlier stump speech by saying she has no history with the Mathiesons. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Q5. Which recruitment firm, if any, assisted with the rebuilding of the board, including the recruitment of Grant. And how competitive was the process? Did we interview many candidates who were rejected or who rejected us because of the challenges of rebuilding a debt-laden casino business. Could Grant summarise his full history with the Mathiesons.

Answer: Of course the Mathieson-Bally team didn't bother with a recruitment firm when the whole board walked out last year. They just reached into their gambling networks and went with people they knew or knew Star, like this Grant Bowie chap, who also made the point that they didn't want to waste any cash on recruiters. Watch video of exchange via Twitter, plus Grant Bowie's stump speech. There was laughter all round when he proved even more popular than the chair electorally.

Q6. How is it that the Mathiesons and Ballys were able to vote on the rem report? Which law firm provided they legal advice that they shouldn't be excluded. Has the against vote on this incentive grant been larger than the 169m votes against the rem report?

Answer: The chair Soo Kim at first said: "I don't know how to answer that question, I am not a lawyer", before the question wrangler piped up that external legal advice had suggested it was fine for both Mathieson and Bally to vote on the rem report, which they did as can be seen in these poll results. Watch video of exchange via Twitter, plus this video capturing my surprise when the rem proxy votes were first disclosed.

Q7. There was a big leak from inside Star Entertainment which led to journalists Nick McKenzie and Zoe Samios, publishing what was billed as "the Star files" in The AFR on August 29 this year. Did you investigate and get to the bottom of who leaked all that internal communication and why? Do you agree it damaged us in terms of regulators turning up the heat on us yet again?

Answer: waiting for the webcast archive as was jammed in other meetings when this was asked.

Q8. According to press reports, our chairman's father, Bruce Mathieson Senior, who is in his early 80s, is slowing down and not participating as much in the family business. Is he still influencing how Bruce Mathieson junior leads our business and how active is Bruce Senior in terms of meeting management, engaging with Bally, reading the board papers, dealing with regulators and deciding whether to buy more shares as this resolution allows?

Answer: waiting for the webcast archive as was jammed in other meetings when this was asked.

Copyright © 2026 The Mayne Report. All rights reserved

• share
  Share
  • 
    Facebook
  • 
    Twitter
  • email
    Email
  • print
    Print
  • link
    Copy Link
  • cancel
    Cancel