This was published 4 years ago
NSW Labor to introduce bill to end bonuses for icare executives
By Lucy Cormack
NSW Labor will today introduce a bill to strip bonuses from executives at embattled state insurance agency icare after its top eight executives enjoyed $8 million in combined salary and bonuses in two years.
Opposition spokesman for finance and small business Daniel Mookhey said he would introduce the bill in the upper house on Wednesday, calling for the removal of a performance related bonus or incentive payment for icare's staff and chief executive.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said this month an immediate review of icare's bonus and remuneration framework would be undertaken.Credit: Steven Siewert, Kate Geraghty
The bill also seeks limits in icare's responsibility in relation to the employment of staff and the chief executive.
"Icare's top executives ruined the NSW workers' compensation scheme. Icare should never have paid them millions in salaries and bonuses," Mr Mookhey said.
"I expect [NSW Treasurer] Dominic Perrottet to vote for Labor's legislation. If he doesn't, he's voting to pay icare's top executives more bonuses."
Icare provides workers' compensation insurance to more than 326,000 businesses, insuring 3.6 million employees.
The agency recently faced damning claims before a state parliamentary inquiry after revelations of the underpayment of injured workers and hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.
This month, Mr Perrottet announced former NSW Labor leader John Robertson would be the new chairman of icare, replacing Michael Carapiet from this Friday.
At the time he also said there would be no bonuses for this year and that an immediate review of icare's bonus and remuneration framework would be undertaken.
"The decision was made to pause wage increases for 12 months across the public service, this applies to state-owned corporations, departmental secretaries, executives and public financial executives," he said on Wednesday.
“We are fast tracking the independent review of icare to be headed by Robert McDougall QC, with a report due in April next year."
Mr Mookhey said the administrative choice by icare was not good enough. "I’m removing their legal power to pay bonuses altogether," he said.
Between 2015 and this year, icare executives received about $75,000 worth of gifts, such as international flights and accommodation, concert tickets and online shopping vouchers.
Gifts included two tickets to the musical Muriel's Wedding in December 2017 worth $270, which were given to an icare executive and his wife by the head of insurance broker JLT Re. The company won a $7.3 million three-year contract with icare in July 2018.
Mr Perrottet recently released an audit of staffing arrangements in his office for the past five years, which identified three staffers who had been incorrectly appointed - two from icare and one from the former Department of Finance Service and Innovation.
Two of the people appointed to his office were paid by icare, in breach of regulations. They included senior policy adviser Ed Yap, a former US Republican staffer.
With Pallavi Singhal