TRANSCRIPT
- Qantas shareholders vote against the company's executive pay report
- Indigenous advocate Mechelle Turvey named WA's Australian of the Year
- Daniel Ricciardo downplays talks of potential move to Red Bull
Qantas shareholders have voted overwhelmingly against the company's executive pay report, after a series of scandals damaged the airline’s reputation.
At the company's annual general meeting, 83 per cent of shareholders voted against a resolution to adopt the company's remuneration report, compared to 17 per cent in favour.
The vote has no immediate consequences, but if shareholders vote against a company's remuneration report for a second year, they may hold another vote on whether to remove the entire board.
It is the first time Qantas has received a no vote of 25 per cent or more on its remuneration report.
The CEO of the Australian Shareholders' Association, Rachel Waterhouse, told SBS, says shareholders want to see Qantas do better.
"When a lot of these revelations came out, which was the end of August into early September, we had a lot of meetings with members on other matters, but Qantas kept on coming up. And it was really interesting to hear the general sentiment was disappointment. Disappointment in the company, short-term focus - not long-term focus. How do we have confidence as consumers and retail shareholders this situation will be addressed?"
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Mechelle Turvey, the mother of Indigenous Perth teenager Cassius Turvey, says she plans to use her new platform as the newly named WA Australian of the Year for 2024 to help victims of crime.
Ms Turvey says her life took a different path after the death of her 15-year-old son, who was fatally assaulted coming home from school in Perth in 2022.
His death sparked a national day of action across Australia, with his mother leading the march in Perth.
She gave a powerful speech about her son, calling for calm and non-violence and the need for proper care for victims of crime and their families.
Ms Turvey says she will continue to advocate for victims of crime.
"Victims of crime, such as myself, we're not going to hold flags up and say: 'I'm a victim of crime, I lost my son through this tragedy'. It's about giving advice to them. How you actually connect with people, what to say and what not to say. So I want to keep doing that. And I would like to extend it out of Perth throughout our state and the country."
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The father of a woman repatriated from a Syrian refugee camp is devastated that a court has rejected a push for women and children held alongside her to be returned.
A Federal Court judge ruled the federal government does not have a legal obligation to repatriate 31 Australian women and children who have been forcibly held in a Syrian detention camp for four years.
Save the Children launched the legal fight for their return, hopeful previous repatriations of women and children would be relied on by the court to force the federal government's hand.
The Morrison government repatriated a group in 2019, and four women and 13 children were returned by the Albanese government in October 2022.
Save the Children CEO Matt Tinkler says the not-for-profit organisation is exploring avenues to appeal the court decision.
"Save the Children remains of the view that the Australian government does not need a legal ruling in order to do the right thing. They've demonstrated in the past, on a number of occasions, that they can repatriate Australian citizens to safety, and whilst innocent and highly vulnerable children remain in one of the most difficult places in the world to be a child, the Australian government should really just get on and do the right thing, and get the job done and bring those kids home."
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In formula one, Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo has attempted to downplay last weekend's seventh-place finish in the Mexican Grand Prix ahead of this weekend's race in Brazil.
The AlphaTauri driver has shut down all speculation over replacing Sergio Perez at Red Bull, pointing out that he is currently focused on winning points for his team.
Ricciardo says while last weekend's race gives the team a confidence boost, they'll need to try hard if they want to repeat their success.
"It's nice coming into a weekend after a good result but you know we have to start you know from scratch here in terms of we've got one practice session. I think we have a bit more confidence in you know where to start the car with set up but different track, different conditions so yeah, we'll come in with the confidence but yeah let's say definitely staying grounded."
