Australian Politics @aussie.zone Hanrahan @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

Greens senator threatens Woolworths CEO with six months in prison for contempt of Senate

www.abc.net.au Greens senator threatens Woolworths CEO with six months in prison for contempt of Senate

Woolworths boss Brad Banducci was warned he could face six months in prison or a $5,000 fine if he was held in contempt by the Senate for failing to answer questions at the inquiry into supermarket pricing.

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List of CEOs going to prison for contempt in the last 30 years:

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- While not for the particular charge of contempt of senate and not a complete list, these CEOs have been imprisoned in the past 20 years:
  
  Andrew Ferguson, Bight Abalone
  
  Matthew Perrin, Billabong
  
  Gavin Pollock, Shire of Ravensthorpe
  
  Daniel Tartak, Bingo Industries (skip bins) *
  
  Emmanuel Roussakis, Aussie Skips *
  
  * These two were convicted together for price fixing
  
  Being a CEO doesn't put you above the law. It just buys you better lawyers.
  
  As I said: not for contempt. Nobody who can afford a good lawyer will ever go to prison for contempt. Also: That is a depressing short list for 20 years. As if not more CEO deserved to go to prison for wage theft and other things.
I feel like inflation has rather diminished the impact of the monetary side of a contempt finding - $5k just doesn't have the same impact as six months in prison anymore. It's like how you see the occasional old sign in lifts warning that smoking can be punished by a (presumably initially impactful) fine of up to $20...
Silly grandstanding and empty threats from the greens. If you are serious about the supermarket duopoly then work with labour to force them to divest. Another gab fest senate inquiry not going to do jack shit.

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