Joyce ‘retires’ early 👍
1) You call in someone else only when you have NFI and frankly if you have NFI you shouldn’t be in the position in the first place - you should actually be competent in the skill set you are paid to be. Which leads to:
2) You actually don’t have a clue - you are hanging onto the role with your fingernails and if ANYTHING goes wrong - you need a consulting group to blame.
In short - you get a consulting group in when you KNOW you are incompetent. If you were competent you wouldn’t wait to get your hands on the beast! Steve Purvinas’ letter said it all. There are competent people being destroyed at work because they are not allowed to do their jobs. Whilst watching something they care about deeply being raped every which way for every cent it can give.
Boston consulting…There is NO MORE evidence needed that Ms Hudson and all her (sorry if the pronoun is wrong) cohorts are by very definition totally incompetent at the role they’ve taken on.
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The process is twofold.
1) You call in someone else only when you have NFI and frankly if you have NFI you shouldn’t be in the position in the first place - you should actually be competent in the skill set you are paid to be. Which leads to:
2) You actually don’t have a clue - you are hanging onto the role with your fingernails and if ANYTHING goes wrong - you need a consulting group to blame.
In short - you get a consulting group in when you KNOW you are incompetent. If you were competent you wouldn’t wait to get your hands on the beast! Steve Purvinas’ letter said it all. There are competent people being destroyed at work because they are not allowed to do their jobs. Whilst watching something they care about deeply being raped every which way for every cent it can give.
Boston consulting…There is NO MORE evidence needed that Ms Hudson and all her (sorry if the pronoun is wrong) cohorts are by very definition totally incompetent at the role they’ve taken on.
1) You call in someone else only when you have NFI and frankly if you have NFI you shouldn’t be in the position in the first place - you should actually be competent in the skill set you are paid to be. Which leads to:
2) You actually don’t have a clue - you are hanging onto the role with your fingernails and if ANYTHING goes wrong - you need a consulting group to blame.
In short - you get a consulting group in when you KNOW you are incompetent. If you were competent you wouldn’t wait to get your hands on the beast! Steve Purvinas’ letter said it all. There are competent people being destroyed at work because they are not allowed to do their jobs. Whilst watching something they care about deeply being raped every which way for every cent it can give.
Boston consulting…There is NO MORE evidence needed that Ms Hudson and all her (sorry if the pronoun is wrong) cohorts are by very definition totally incompetent at the role they’ve taken on.
Airline Nightmares? I’m actually not joking. Gordon Ramsey’s various nightmares are business 101. The script writes itself…
‘Qantas is a great brand. But since the parents have taken all the profits they’ve forgotten about what what made them successful in the first place - and their children are struggling to make it work…. Can Chef Ramsey bring everyone back to the table and see reason - or is it too late?’
Joe is back with another ripper.Rear Window 
If Alan Joyce was the king of the asterisk – an enabling device in the most brazen lies by omission – then his successor as Qantas chief executive, Vanessa Hudson, is emerging as the queen of the footnote.
When Qantas had its arse surgically removed and handed to it by the High Court of Australia on Wednesday, the company didn’t lodge a statement with the Australian Securities Exchange. Qantas put out a press release, like it was upgrading the Qantas Club in Hobart or unveiling a new line of flammable socks in Business class.
Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson has a long road ahead to rebuild the airline’s trust and reputation with customers. Bloomberg We got towelled up on a technicality, Qantas insisted, before reverting to the “sorry, not sorry” form of apology last put to grim use by Rio Tinto’s Chris Salisbury. We’re not sorry for firing you illegally, but we’re kinda sorry that it ruined your life. It’s a real bummer and we’ve said that from the beginning – yet we did it anyway. We fought you for three years and cost ourselves gazillions in fines, but we’re not sorry about that because the fines are so much less than the recurrent savings we achieved by firing you!
There is something seriously wrong with a country where breaking the law and being punished for it is still cheaper than doing the right thing.
This press release included a footnote. It said, “Qantas made a provision against this potential liability following the original Federal Court decision in 2021.” Don’t worry shareholders, we knew this would happen and we planned ahead. We did the right thing by you – we made a non-cash provision in the 2021 accounts that we never told you about. We buried it in the great COVID accounting bloodbath and now we’re telling you about it in a footnote to a media statement we’re not sending you. It’s all good, we are so fine!
This amateur chicanery was authorised by Vanessa Hudson, finesser of footnotes. There’s no blaming the asterisk king now. It was her call to do this.
Last week, Herald Sun reporter Ben Butler stumbled upon another footnote, previously unnoticed on page 44 of Qantas’ 2022 annual report, revealing that Hudson’s “superannuation benefits are provided through a defined benefit superannuation plan”.
Hudson joined Qantas in October 1994, back when the airline was still government owned. She joined a division of the Qantas Super scheme which was closed to new members in April 1995.
Under that scheme, Hudson is entitled to a lump sum payment upon retirement of at least 9.3 per cent of her final fixed annual remuneration multiplied by her years of service. For instance, if Hudson resigns as CEO three years from now, after 32 years of service, her cheque will be at least $4.8 million (in addition to her short- and long-term bonus shares). That figure will continue to snowball the longer she remains CEO.
When Hudson assumed the job two weeks ago, the $920,000 fixed annual remuneration she received as CFO increased to $1.6 million.
Stop and think about this. Her final super benefit will now rise by at least triple the amount of that base pay increase. Happy days. If she departs in 2026, this will have delivered her an additional amount of at least $675,000 per year.
So Hudson’s base pay to 2026 is not really $1.6 million, it’s at least $2.4 million – which is 4.5 per cent more than Alan Joyce’s was in his 15th year of service. That is just Vanessa’s get out of bed money, her price for turning up.
Why wouldn’t Qantas chairman Richard Goyder negotiate a much lower base salary for Hudson to adjust for her top-up benefit? Was he even across it? Hudson would scarcely have been drawing it to his attention. She would’ve been fairly confident based on recent form that Uncle Rich, Mr Detail, would miss the whole play.
Is this the humility Goyder was promising? Vanessa’s too humble to brag about being in the defined benefit scheme. She doesn’t want the rest of us to feel bad!
It’s an extraordinary situation. Hudson is surely the only chief executive in the ASX 100 on a defined benefit and, also true to form, the Qantas board has not disclosed any of the particulars of this entitlement to shareholders.
It wasn’t even mentioned in Hudson’s new contract terms lodged with the ASX on May 5. Unless the footnotes to that contract were written in invisible ink, that is; perhaps you can only read them when you’re standing inside an airport body scanner?
On her first day in the job, Hudson flew from Melbourne to Sydney in Economy. The emptiness of that gesture is just glorious. She sits in Economy but also in the First class super scheme. She flies 90 minutes in Economy, but that’s the only perquisite she’s economising.
She’s in the cafeteria having coffee with Qantas pilots at 5am as they arrive for duty. A few silver-haired captains would be in the same super scheme – maybe it’s a little club they have, even better than the Chairman’s Lounge. They start at 5am because it takes the rest of the day just to figure out how to spend it all.
Keep in mind that my calculations of Hudson’s defined benefit rely on some unverifiable assurances provided by Qantas, which, given recent form, are dangerous to accept on face value. Hudson’s entitlement could actually be a lot higher than this.
Qantas’ 2023 annual report has been detained in the ether. Goyder is still working out how to look like he’s docking Joyce’s bonuses while really setting them aside to pay him later. But there’s a second factor behind the delay. The audit committee is still tracking down a cryptographer fluent in Egyptian hieroglyphs to compose the footnotes on Vanessa’s real entitlements. There’s a Qantas delay worth waiting for
Vanessa Hudson, queen of footnotes
Joe AstonColumnistSep 17, 2023 – 7.30pmIf Alan Joyce was the king of the asterisk – an enabling device in the most brazen lies by omission – then his successor as Qantas chief executive, Vanessa Hudson, is emerging as the queen of the footnote.
When Qantas had its arse surgically removed and handed to it by the High Court of Australia on Wednesday, the company didn’t lodge a statement with the Australian Securities Exchange. Qantas put out a press release, like it was upgrading the Qantas Club in Hobart or unveiling a new line of flammable socks in Business class.
Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson has a long road ahead to rebuild the airline’s trust and reputation with customers. Bloomberg We got towelled up on a technicality, Qantas insisted, before reverting to the “sorry, not sorry” form of apology last put to grim use by Rio Tinto’s Chris Salisbury. We’re not sorry for firing you illegally, but we’re kinda sorry that it ruined your life. It’s a real bummer and we’ve said that from the beginning – yet we did it anyway. We fought you for three years and cost ourselves gazillions in fines, but we’re not sorry about that because the fines are so much less than the recurrent savings we achieved by firing you!There is something seriously wrong with a country where breaking the law and being punished for it is still cheaper than doing the right thing.
This press release included a footnote. It said, “Qantas made a provision against this potential liability following the original Federal Court decision in 2021.” Don’t worry shareholders, we knew this would happen and we planned ahead. We did the right thing by you – we made a non-cash provision in the 2021 accounts that we never told you about. We buried it in the great COVID accounting bloodbath and now we’re telling you about it in a footnote to a media statement we’re not sending you. It’s all good, we are so fine!
This amateur chicanery was authorised by Vanessa Hudson, finesser of footnotes. There’s no blaming the asterisk king now. It was her call to do this.
Just shocking
So, how much is the provision? Is it the $30 million cost of their legal advice? Is it the $200 million of potential compensation to their axed workers? Is it the $100 million maximum penalties that Justice Michael Lee can impose? Please tell us. This is material to the price of Qantas shares and instead of telling the ASX they’ve whacked it in the footnote of a press release! It is just shocking.Last week, Herald Sun reporter Ben Butler stumbled upon another footnote, previously unnoticed on page 44 of Qantas’ 2022 annual report, revealing that Hudson’s “superannuation benefits are provided through a defined benefit superannuation plan”.
Hudson joined Qantas in October 1994, back when the airline was still government owned. She joined a division of the Qantas Super scheme which was closed to new members in April 1995.
Under that scheme, Hudson is entitled to a lump sum payment upon retirement of at least 9.3 per cent of her final fixed annual remuneration multiplied by her years of service. For instance, if Hudson resigns as CEO three years from now, after 32 years of service, her cheque will be at least $4.8 million (in addition to her short- and long-term bonus shares). That figure will continue to snowball the longer she remains CEO.
When Hudson assumed the job two weeks ago, the $920,000 fixed annual remuneration she received as CFO increased to $1.6 million.
Stop and think about this. Her final super benefit will now rise by at least triple the amount of that base pay increase. Happy days. If she departs in 2026, this will have delivered her an additional amount of at least $675,000 per year.
So Hudson’s base pay to 2026 is not really $1.6 million, it’s at least $2.4 million – which is 4.5 per cent more than Alan Joyce’s was in his 15th year of service. That is just Vanessa’s get out of bed money, her price for turning up.
Why wouldn’t Qantas chairman Richard Goyder negotiate a much lower base salary for Hudson to adjust for her top-up benefit? Was he even across it? Hudson would scarcely have been drawing it to his attention. She would’ve been fairly confident based on recent form that Uncle Rich, Mr Detail, would miss the whole play.
Is this the humility Goyder was promising? Vanessa’s too humble to brag about being in the defined benefit scheme. She doesn’t want the rest of us to feel bad!
It’s an extraordinary situation. Hudson is surely the only chief executive in the ASX 100 on a defined benefit and, also true to form, the Qantas board has not disclosed any of the particulars of this entitlement to shareholders.
It wasn’t even mentioned in Hudson’s new contract terms lodged with the ASX on May 5. Unless the footnotes to that contract were written in invisible ink, that is; perhaps you can only read them when you’re standing inside an airport body scanner?
Detained in the ether
This from an airline that has remorselessly chipped away at its employees’ pay and conditions. We’re adapting pay for productivity, we’re modernising our labour agreements, we’re getting rid of ancient work practices, except for the highest paid worker in our labour force.On her first day in the job, Hudson flew from Melbourne to Sydney in Economy. The emptiness of that gesture is just glorious. She sits in Economy but also in the First class super scheme. She flies 90 minutes in Economy, but that’s the only perquisite she’s economising.
She’s in the cafeteria having coffee with Qantas pilots at 5am as they arrive for duty. A few silver-haired captains would be in the same super scheme – maybe it’s a little club they have, even better than the Chairman’s Lounge. They start at 5am because it takes the rest of the day just to figure out how to spend it all.
Keep in mind that my calculations of Hudson’s defined benefit rely on some unverifiable assurances provided by Qantas, which, given recent form, are dangerous to accept on face value. Hudson’s entitlement could actually be a lot higher than this.
Qantas’ 2023 annual report has been detained in the ether. Goyder is still working out how to look like he’s docking Joyce’s bonuses while really setting them aside to pay him later. But there’s a second factor behind the delay. The audit committee is still tracking down a cryptographer fluent in Egyptian hieroglyphs to compose the footnotes on Vanessa’s real entitlements. There’s a Qantas delay worth waiting for
Can we get GordonfvckingRamsey in? Really urgently?
Airline Nightmares? I’m actually not joking. Gordon Ramsey’s various nightmares are business 101. The script writes itself…
‘Qantas is a great brand. But since the parents have taken all the profits they’ve forgotten about what what made them successful in the first place - and their children are struggling to make it work…. Can Chef Ramsey bring everyone back to the table and see reason - or is it too late?’
Airline Nightmares? I’m actually not joking. Gordon Ramsey’s various nightmares are business 101. The script writes itself…
‘Qantas is a great brand. But since the parents have taken all the profits they’ve forgotten about what what made them successful in the first place - and their children are struggling to make it work…. Can Chef Ramsey bring everyone back to the table and see reason - or is it too late?’
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“So Hudson’s base pay to 2026 is not really $1.6 million, it’s at least $2.4 million – which is 4.5 per cent more than Alan Joyce’s was in his 15th year of service”
And showing true Qantas leadership the staff are to take a two year wage freeze. You couldn’t make this up.
And showing true Qantas leadership the staff are to take a two year wage freeze. You couldn’t make this up.
I don't begrudge her salary at all - if she does right by the company. Lets see how the staff and customers are treated during her tenure. Time will tell.
She shouldn't even be there. As CFO during the mess QF has got itself into, she would have been a knowing and willing accomplice, if not instigator. She's as guilty as the rest. If she wasn't aware of it, then she's incompetent. She has absolutely no right to be still on the QF payroll.
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She shouldn't even be there. As CFO during the mess QF has got itself into, she would have been a knowing and willing accomplice, if not instigator. She's as guilty as the rest. If she wasn't aware of it, then she's incompetent. She has absolutely no right to be still on the QF payroll.
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Let’s look on the bright side: At least QF doesn’t have a gender wage gap problem anymore 
Aston is showing the signs of being a fixated person. It’s past time that he stopped dredging his sewer and thought about the impact his sludge has on the 20,000 boys and girls doing their utmost for the company and its customers.
On VH's super, how in earth did she know back in 1994 or whenever that she’d end up the CEO with a million dollar plus salary? There's a lot about Qantas that warrants critucism, but VH’s superannuation ain't one of them!
On VH's super, how in earth did she know back in 1994 or whenever that she’d end up the CEO with a million dollar plus salary? There's a lot about Qantas that warrants critucism, but VH’s superannuation ain't one of them!
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Have you emailed Mr Aston to express your opinion?
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Perhaps if there had been a few more “fixated persons” there wouldn’t have been a sewer. It was his fixation that greatly contributed to Joyce’s downfall and Hudson is just as complicit in creating the sewer.
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There's a lot about Qantas that warrants critucism, but VH’s superannuation ain't one of them!
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Denying there is a problem and/or allowing it to be to kept a secret from the public ie. the shareholders, does infinitely more damage than speaking the truth. I don’t believe any of Joes columns paint the coal face staff in a bad light or jeopardises the long term prospects of the airline, on the contrary in fact.
the impact his sludge has on the 20,000 boys and girls doing their utmost for the company and its customers.
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The similarities between a sporting team and what is reflected under Joyce and the boards reign are startling.
A coach and manager that took a div 1 side and turned it into the cellar dwellers of the Div 12 Ressies comp.
Sadly, the players wanted the tools to perform and have the skills but these were butchered out of the club by a bunch of self serving, self entitled bullies.
This is where the place is now…..end of season.
A coach and manager that took a div 1 side and turned it into the cellar dwellers of the Div 12 Ressies comp.
Sadly, the players wanted the tools to perform and have the skills but these were butchered out of the club by a bunch of self serving, self entitled bullies.
This is where the place is now…..end of season.
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The similarities between a sporting team and what is reflected under Joyce and the boards reign are startling.
A coach and manager that took a div 1 side and turned it into the cellar dwellers of the Div 12 Ressies comp.
Sadly, the players wanted the tools to perform and have the skills but these were butchered out of the club by a bunch of self serving, self entitled bullies.
This is where the place is now…..end of season.
A coach and manager that took a div 1 side and turned it into the cellar dwellers of the Div 12 Ressies comp.
Sadly, the players wanted the tools to perform and have the skills but these were butchered out of the club by a bunch of self serving, self entitled bullies.
This is where the place is now…..end of season.