Woolies whiplash
The sensational exchange between Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci and Nick McKim at a Senate inquiry may have been entertaining, but it should also be concerning to everyone in business.
Will we look back at Senator Nick McKim’s sensational threat to send outgoing Woolworths’ chief executive Brad Banducci to prison as the moment where the anti-business backlash in Parliament went too far?
That’s just one of the questions executives around the country will be asking themselves in the wake of the explosive Senate hearing in which McKim and Banducci clashed over Woolworths' preferred measure of profitability (a topic Coles boss Leah Weckert handled at the same hearing far more deftly).
The Greens senator wanted to know what Woolworths’ return on equity (ROE) was, but Banducci batted away the question more than 10 times by saying his company only focuses on return on investment and total shareholder return.
McKim then told Banducci that the Senate could hold a witness in contempt if they refused to answer questions, which comes with a penalty of up to six months’ imprisonment. Banducci eventually said he would take the question on notice — something that was available from the outset of the verbal slanging match, but that would have robbed us of the theatrics.
