Rinehart looks to Fairfax owners
GINA Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting has taken her criticisms of Fairfax Media directly to shareholders, calling for their support in her push for two board seats, and for directors to be allowed a choice of whether to agree to editorial independence.
In letters received by small shareholders yesterday, Hancock Prospecting's chief development officer, John Klepec, said the company - Fairfax's largest investor - was seeking support from fellow shareholders, ''That the Fairfax Media board governance principles are amended and adherence to union charter (referred to as ''editorial independence'') by choice, as it has been historically, to allow directors to act in the best interests of shareholders''.
Mr Klepec also called for shareholder support to set Fairfax Media chairman Roger Corbett performance targets - including lifting the share price back to 89 cents by November - and called for Fairfax to be ''refreshed to acquire the technological savvy to continue in today's technological age''.
Its fourth request was for Hancock to be given two board seats, ''as is common practice'' for shareholders with a ''circa 15 per cent stake''.
The letters follow the appointment to the board last month of Jack Cowin, suggested by Mrs Rinehart as an independent director.
Read more at Brisbanetimes.com.au
