Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

When we were debating the Corporations Amendment (Meetings and Documents) Bill 2021 late last year, I was making the point that this bill is the latest attempt to capitalise on the COVID pandemic for political purposes—in this particular case, to capitalise on the COVID pandemic for the sake of the rich and the powerful by making permanent the temporary dispensation from having to hold in-person AGMs that was previously granted to companies. Can I just be clear that the Australian Greens, as I said last year, absolutely accept that this measure was necessary during the period of extended lockdowns, and we also continue to support making permanent the capacity for companies to hold hybrid AGMs. But we do not support the provisions in this bill that would allow companies to hold wholly virtual AGMs, because annual general meetings are among the few occasions when big corporations have to account for themselves publicly. They are an opportunity for investors to scrutinise what is actually being done with their money.

The pursuit of profit under the laissez-faire, neoliberal, late-stage disaster capitalist system that we find ourselves living in relies on those who run corporations being able to abstract themselves from the human or ecological cost of their actions, and that is why the executive class finds AGMs so uncomfortable. The billionaires and their lackeys hate having to face the public, because they hate being held to account and they hate having to answer uncomfortable questions, which is precisely, of course, why companies—listed companies in particular—should be required to continue to hold in-person annual general meetings, either as standalone meetings or as hybrid virtual meetings.

Given all of the power and wealth concentrated in their hands, and given the public responsibility associated with being publicly listed, the least that the captains of industry and finance should be expected to do is to face the music once a year and allow themselves to be held to account for their actions. But this government doesn't want that, because—let's face it—this government is here for the big corporations. This government is here for the billionaires and their lackeys. This government is here for its political donors. How do we know that? Because this government takes millions of dollars in donations from the big fossil fuel companies, as, in fact, does the Australian Labor Party. That's why neither of the major parties in this place is proposing to take action on climate change anywhere near in line with what the science is telling us we need to do if we want to avoid catastrophe and calamity.

Virtual AGMs may well provide greater accessibility for a greater number of shareholders and greater public transparency at some point in the future, but the point is that right now neither the technology nor the governance arrangements are in place to ensure this. The committee inquiry into this bill heard detailed accounts of the problems with virtual AGMs conducted during the period of temporary dispensation as a result of the pandemic. The bill has, of course, failed to address the issues flagged during that inquiry, yet it has made the leap to allowing companies to hold wholly virtual AGMs. This is nothing other than a naked ploy to give corporate Australia a chance to recalibrate standards around accountability and transparency.

Let no-one make the mistake of thinking this bill exists in a vacuum—because it doesn't exist in a vacuum. It sits alongside the government's watering down of continuous disclosure laws. It sits alongside the regulations that the government attempted to put through this place to cancel the licences of proxy advisers. And can I say what a great show it was by the Senate earlier today to disallow that move by the government and disallow that naked attempt to cancel the licence of proxy advisers, who do such a great job in making sure the market can be informed by accurate information. This bill sits alongside the latest attempt to use the pandemic as cover to consolidate the power of the tycoons at the expense of mum and dad shareholders, whom the Liberal Party once made a virtue of representing.

Allowing hybrid AGMs should be the limit of current reforms. To that extent, I will move the amendment on sheet 1472 circulated in my name. This amendment would prevent listed companies from holding wholly virtual AGMs. It's been revised to align it with the amendments agreed to in the House to establish a review into these provisions of the bill. By their nature, listed companies have a public responsibility and the parliament should ensure that their AGMs are conducted in a publicly observable manner. Allowing listed companies to hold hybrid AGMs will provide an opportunity for all of the issues associated with virtual meetings to be sorted out and for there to be a real-world confirmation of their purported benefits. Until then, wholly virtual AGMs for listed companies should not be allowed and shareholders should retain the opportunity to sit in the same room as the executive and the board to bear witness to exactly what they are up to and have the capacity to hold them to account for their actions.