Director earns the money of power

so Forrest’s pay had not been looked at by the board for some time. It was still well below the ‘‘$2 million club’’ of executives running New Zealand’s largest companies, such as Skycity Casino and Chorus.

The Marlborough Lines net profit for the year ended June 30, 2018 was $12,862,000.

In July, Marlborough Lines purchased the remaining shares of Yealands Wine Group bringing the total cost of the acquisition to $122m.

Strategic Pay chief executive John Mcgill said the time scale for a pay review was usually a couple of months with the individual being evaluated throughout the year.

‘‘It can be done in weeks if it had to be,’’ Mcgill said. ‘‘If it gets any longer than a couple of months you’re probably missing deadlines and people would be getting frustrated.

‘‘People like to keep things tidy. The longer it is delayed the more problems are likely to come up.’’

Forrest has been the managing director since Marlborough Lines was corporatised in 1993.

‘‘Most people in Marlborough would think that’s a high salary. I don’t think they realise how important Marlborough Lines is,’’ Dew said.

‘‘The reason why we have a quality network is years and years of dedication. People with the skills of Ken are in short supply in New Zealand. As the managing director, he’s fulltime and deals with the company. I don’t get up at 1am if the power goes off. It’s not my job.’’

Forrest declined to comment. Marlborough Lines’ nonexecutive directors were paid between $46,000 and $49,500. Dew, as chairman, received $92,000 in 2018.