Crown in danger of second payout strike

CROWN Resorts is facing the prospect of a second strike against its remuneration report at its annual general meeting next Thursday after the Australian Shareholders’ Association (ASA) said it opposed millions in “excessive termination payments” doled out to executives who left the company during a year of controversies.

However, the ASA won’t support the board spill motion that is triggered if more than 25 per cent of shareholders vote against the pay packets of Crown’s executives and directors for a second consecutive year, believing it “is not in the future interest of Crown shareholders”.

Meanwhile, former Crown Resorts chairman and largest shareholder James Packer is set to appear via video at the WA royal commission into the company on October 29, his first public appearance in more than a year. The commission is investigating whether the Crown is suitable to operate the state’s only casino – a grilling set to occur about the time the verdict of a Victorian royal commission into Crown’s Melbourne casino will be released.