AGMs

9 online questions lobbed at the 2021 Brambles AGM


October 30, 2021

The 9 online questions lobbed at the 2021 Brambles AGM held at 4pm on Tuesday, October 19.

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?