Canberra water company ACTEW is seeking to block the release of an independent review into managing director Mark Sullivan’s pay, just weeks after fellow utility company ActewAGL refused to disclose the wages of its top executives.
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The Canberra Times requested a copy of correspondence between ACTEW and one of its two shareholders, Chief Minister Katy Gallagher, from the Chief Minister’s office, but a number of documents were withheld after objections raised by individuals including Mr Sullivan and former ACTEW chairman John Mackay.
On Friday, an ACTEW spokesman said the company liaised with the Chief Minister’s office and respected a decision by an officer to withhold the documents.
Mr Sullivan’s $855,000 pay packet has been the subject of scrutiny since it was under-reported by the territory-owned water company by more than $234,000 in 2011. The resulting saga led to the resignation of Mr Mackay, and to a $140,000 pay cut for Mr Sullivan.
Despite the controversy, electricity supplier ActewAGL, which is half-owned by ACTEW, refused to reveal the wages paid to its top executives, which includes a pay packet believed to be in excess of $1 million for chief executive Michael Costello.
Following the executive pay saga, The Canberra Times asked for copies of documents sent between ACTEW and Ms Gallagher under freedom of information laws. But ACTEW claimed documents containing information relating to business affairs and personal information should be considered exempt from public release.
One of the documents withheld included a report by independent remuneration consultants Egan Associates commissioned by ACTEW on Mr Sullivan’s salary package.
According to a letter sent from Mr Mackay to the Chief Minister, the Egan Associates report provided guidance to the board on the setting of Mr Sullivan’s pay.
‘‘The independent external reviews undertaken by Egan Associates provide guidance to the board on an appropriate level of remuneration, which reflects these responsibilities and is comparable with business of a similar scale to ACTEW,’’ Mr Mackay wrote.
The freedom of information officer who processed the request said several people objected to the release as it would breach privacy and break a confidentiality agreement between ACTEW and Egan Associates.
‘‘I have formed the view that the information contained in the three reports has commercial value and that value could reasonably be expected to be destroyed or diminished if the information is disclosed,’’ the officer’s response stated.
Mr Sullivan and Mr Mackay also claimed exemptions for other documents on similar grounds, including reviews of Mr Sullivan’s performance, outcomes, and priorities, and minutes of meetings held from 2009 to 2012.
The ACTEW spokesman said on Friday the decision to withhold the documents was ‘‘good and true to the requirements of freedom of information legislation’’.
‘‘ACTEW has released information regarding Mr Sullivan’s salary consistently when requested, and indeed it has been available in our annual report and on our website throughout.’’
The decision is subject to an appeal.
Last week ACT Auditor-General Maxine Cooper tabled a review calling for the power to routinely audit the remuneration data of ACTEW’s senior executives. She criticised the company for the delay in flagging the $234,000 salary reporting error.
