Director's fees !

Once again the fees that company directors receive have hit the headlines !

Southern Phone Company is a joint venture by forty-one local councils, set up to provide mobile, fixed line and internet services at a reasonable tariff in country areas - and to return a welcome profit to council coffers.

It has six non-executive directors, and there is a proposal to hike the directors fees they receive by fifty percent - to $ 150,000 shared amongst them - despite this year returning a loss of $ 369,895.

What will rankle many people is the fact that these directors are either highly paid council executives, or retirees from such posts - and they have been nominated to Southern Phone to watch over their council's investment.

Directors fees are just the icing on the cake, to be paid on top of normal salaries or superannuation payments. An extra $ 30,000 to $ 50,000 a year is something ordinary folk can only imagine in their dreams.

Whatever happened to the notion of public service ? Once upon a time being appointed a company director was an honour bestowed on a person as evidence of sound judgement, a good moral attitude and a willingness to work for the public good.

Executive greed is one of the factors that contributed to the current recession. Southern Phone is not reaching to the dizzy heights of those in Pitt street or Wall street, but it does raise the question of where doing a job for the public good starts - and ends !

Years ago the most such a person could hope for was a gong - bestowed years later in the New Year honours list !