Gold-plated ‘lunacy’

Windfall of $650,000 for top Games executives

GOLD Coast Commonwealth Games executives are set to pocket fat bonuses totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars – just for staying in the job.

Five GOLDOC bosses including chief executive Mark Peters, who called spectators forced to wait more than an hour for buses “lunatics” for expecting perfect public transport, will collect cash windfalls of more than $650,000 now that the event is over.

They will receive the payouts despite Games bungles including the shambolic closing ceremony in which athletes were snubbed from the official broadcast and admissions by organisers that they scared large numbers of people away from the Gold Coast with warnings of traffic chaos.

The lucrative bonuses are described in GOLDOC’s annual report as retention payments and are calculated on 10 per cent of each executive’s annual salary for every year of service.

The retention payments were introduced in 2013-14 by the GOLDOC board in a move aimed at stopping key executives leaving before the Games.

Mr Peters, appointed Games boss by the Bligh Government in 2012, had earned more than $2.6 million in the role up until last June and stands to be paid a retention bonuses of more than $300,000 once this year’s salary is taken into account.

His $543,000 pay packet last year included a base salary of $436,000 plus a $54,000 retention payment and another $53,000 in “post employment expenses”.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s base salary is $527,000, plus allowances.

Deputy chief executive Brian Nourse, whose base salary last year was $302,000, stands to collect a retention payment of more than $100,000.

GOLDOC’s commercial boss Cameron Murray, who was on $301,000 last year, and general manager of finance and business, Helen More ($270,000 annual salary), are also in line for a $100,000 bonus.

Sport and operations manager Nancy Romano, whose base salary last year was $138,000, will also collect a fivefigure bonus after just over a year in the job.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said the bonuses were outrageous and should be scrapped.

“To quote Mark Peters, Annastacia Palaszczuk would be a ‘lunatic’ for letting these outrageous bonuses go through,” she said.

“If the Premier was serious about the closing ceremony debacle then she’d take some responsibility and stop GOLDOC executive bonuses.”

GOLDOC refused to comment, referring The Gold Coast Bulletin to its annual report.