Giant pay rise for TV boss
Kevin Kenrick’s pay packet was boosted by $72,000 last year, reports Glenn McConnell.
TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick has had his pay bumped up to $1.43 million, thanks to big bonuses and higher holiday pay.
His increasing pay package has come under scrutiny, with the journalists’ union saying he is overpaid compared with other statehired bosses in similar positions. The union also criticised the growing gap between TVNZ’s chief and his staff, especially after cuts to its newsroom in 2017.
His latest bonus was confirmed in Parliament about the time the Government promised to crack down on public service bonuses.
Although Kenrick’s base salary of $840,857 has not changed, his performance bonuses have been growing. In the 2018 financial year, he was awarded a $588,050 bonus. He also got $18,567 more in holiday pay.
Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi backed the ‘‘processes in place’’ to set the TVNZ chief executive’s remuneration. But he urged TVNZ to be wary of how much it was paying its top man.
‘‘While the salary is a board decision, my hope would be that it remains mindful of the need to deliver value to its shareholders,’’ he said. Its ‘‘shareholders’’ are taxpayers.
The Government has been cracking down on bonuses for its other chief executives.
State Services Minister Chris Hipkins put an end to performance pay last year, saying it would save taxpayers about $4m. Until then, government CEOs could receive a discretionary payment of up to 15 per cent for ‘‘exceptional performance’’.
Faafoi said the performance bonus ban did not affect Kenrick because TVNZ was a Crown entity and therefore it was out of LAWRENCE SMITH/STUFF reach of the State Services Commission.
TVNZ board chairwoman Dame Therese Walsh said Kenrick’s pay had been ‘‘considered carefully’’.
‘‘It’s based on independent market advice and the board’s rigorous assessment of his performance against specific objectives,’’ she said.
The Sunday Star-Times asked what specific targets Kenrick had met to justify his $588,050 bonus. TVNZ did not respond.
His pay package has grown by $214,012 since 2016.
E Tu¯ Union media organiser Paul Tolich said that level of growth was unfair and inequitable.
He also criticised the TVNZ board for paying its CEO more than his counterparts at many other government departments and state-owned enterprises.
The highest paid state-owned enterprise chief executive, apart from Kenrick, was Transpower boss Alex Ball. He took home $1.24m last year.
Unlike Radio NZ, the stateowned television channel operates with a commercial motive above public service. It returns profits to the government, rather than consuming taxpayer money.
Tolich said the broadcaster’s move to award its boss large bonuses, while decreasing the size of its news team, was a sign the station focused too heavily on commercial objectives.
‘‘They must pursue those public service goals with as much vigour as they approach their other activities,’’ he said.
The restructure affected more than 30 people, but news boss John Gillespie said fewer than 10 ‘‘net’’ jobs were cut.
‘While the salary is a board decision, my hope would be that it remains mindful of the need to deliver value to its shareholders.’ KRIS FAAFOI