ASX companies are stopping shareholders from attending meetings online

Allowing online participation in meetings has become pretty standard since the pandemic, but a surprising number of ASX200 public companies are going out of their way to prevent this from happening at their AGMs in 2022.

Even the likes of combative billionaires such as Gerry Harvey at Harvey Norman and Andrew Forrest at Fortescue were forced to deliver fully online AGMs during the pandemic, but when given a choice whether to continue it during the current season, both chose to go with in-person AGMs.

This scrutiny-reducing strategy inhibits tens of thousands of shareholders unable to make the physical meeting to vote and ask questions online during the meeting. Harvey isn’t even offering a linear live webcast of his meeting at Sydney’s Tattersalls pokies club on November 24, but you can call a 1800 number, provide a voter access code and listen in if you’re desperate.

Listed companies have to give shareholders 28 days’ notice ahead of the AGM, and for the vast majority with a June 30 balance date, the meeting must be held by November 30 at the latest.

That means most notices of meetings are now out, so we’re able to produce a shame file of those failing to offer what should be the standard hybrid meeting, one where you can attend in person or lob live questions online.

The shame file surprisingly includes the likes of Argo Investments, BHP, Bega Cheese, CBA, Cleanaway, Corporate Travel Management, Downer, IOOF, Star Entertainment, Origin Energy, Rio Tinto, Seven Group Holdings, Seven West Media and Whitehaven Coal.

On the contrary, full credit to the majority of ASX200 companies — including the likes of AGL, Nine, Woolworths, Endeavour Group, Suncorp, IAG, Tabcorp, Qantas and Bendigo Bank — for doing the right thing and offering a genuinely hybrid meeting.

If even tiddlers such as Decmil, Servcorp, E&P Financial and Central Petroleum can deliver hybrid AGMs, then so should all recalcitrant billionaires such as Harvey, Kerry Stokes and Forrest.

Perhaps the Albanese government needs to step in and make this mandatory.