Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

The government is absolutely unashamed and is indeed proud of the fact that we have given shareholders a greater say in how their companies are run and how key executives are paid. This is a very important reform. This is unequivocally a government that is pro-business, pro-consumer and, in this case particularly, pro-shareholder. That is consistently evident in our approach to tax reform, our approach to broader industrial relations and our approach to strengthening the rules around executive remuneration.

This government stands for fairness and balance. We believe there must be fairness and balance in the important issue of how executives pay themselves. There needs to be important accountability and transparency to shareholders in the first instance, but it is also important to maintain faith in the integrity of our capital market economy with the broader Australia community. Of course unlike those opposite, who have absolutely no policy in this area— (Time expired)