Tabcorp chair Paula Dwyer survives AGM protest vote

Tabcorp has dodged a second strike against its remuneration report, but chairman Paula Dwyer received a large protest vote.

Tabcorp chairman Paula Dwyer said the company would have ‘zero tolerance to animal cruelty’ after recent media revelations about the racing industry. Picture: Michael Dodge

Tabcorp has dodged a second strike against its remuneration report, but chairman Paula Dwyer received a large protest vote against her re-election as investor concerns about the bedding down of its merger with Tatts Group grow.

Ms Dwyer, who has been on the Tabcorp board since 2005, copped a 34.65 per cent shareholder vote against her continuing in her role, while the poll regarding the granting of $3m worth of performance rights to chief executive David Attenborough received a slightly higher protest vote.

Both measures passed at the wagering giant’s annual general meeting in Sydney on Tuesday, and Tabcorp also had its remuneration report passed by about 86 per cent of shareholder votes.

The latter vote meant Tabcorp avoided a “second strike” after about 40 per cent of investors voted against the report at the company’s AGM last year.

Ms Dwyer told Thursday’s meeting that her company had “listened carefully” and had taken into account both shareholder feedback and “contemporary public expectations” in subsequently tweaking pay policies. Tabcorp cut its chairman and non-executive director fees by about 10 per cent and its remuneration benchmark group was changed from the ASX50 to companies ranked 25 to 75.

Paula Dwyer at the 2018 Melbourne Cup. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Ms Dwyer will continue her 14-year stint on the Tabcorp board for another two years after surviving her re-election vote.

She said she wanted another term to oversee the continued integration of Tabcorp with Tatts, which merged in a $11bn deal in late 2017.

‘’I feel an accountability to shareholders to deliver continuity of leadership throughout this period and I remain energised by the opportunity to complete the transaction,” Ms Dwyer said. She also played down concerns about the integration, with some investors questioning whether the strong-performing Tatts lotteries business would perform better decoupled from the sluggish Tabcorp wagering arm. “The integration program is a complex one, involving around 100 discrete projects, over and above what we would describe as business as usual activity,” she told the meeting.

Ms Dwyer confirmed the gambling giant will have a tilt at buying the West Australian TAB, an asset that could cost up to an estimated $300m. Expressions of interest are due on October 28 and Tabcorp could face competition from global competitors such as Flutter Group and Ladbrokes, though it is expected to be the favourite for the asset in a field growing smaller given the pending global merger between Flutter and The Stars Group.

Ms Dwyer also said Tabcorp required a “zero tolerance approach to animal cruelty” after recent media revelations about animal welfare problems in the horse racing industry.

“Although Australian racing bodies have made progress in prioritising animal welfare, the vision of horses being mistreated at a Queensland abattoir was shocking and unacceptable to us,” she told the meeting.

The meeting also re-elected former ABC chairman Justin Milne to the Tabcorp board.