Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. As Chairman of the Board of Directors, I welcome you to The Star Entertainment Group's annual general meeting. I'd like to acknowledge and pay my respects to the people of the Yugambeh Language Region of the Gold Coast, the traditional custodians of the land on which we are gathered, and pay my respects to elders past and present. I'd also like to acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today. Today, we're pleased to welcome you to our first hybrid meeting. We decided to hold this year's AGM as an in-person meeting while utilizing our share registry's online meeting platform and also providing a teleconference line. This is to encourage greater participation and engagement amongst our shareholders. This meeting is being webcast live, and a recording will be made available on The Star Entertainment Group's website after the meeting.
Moving now to the formalities of the day. It is now after 10:00 A.M. Queensland time, and a quorum is present to constitute the meeting, I formally declare the meeting open. I'd like to begin by introducing you to our Board of Directors. In attendance today are Robbie Cooke, our Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, and our Non-Executive Directors, Katie Lahey, Richard Sheppard, Michael Issenberg, and Anne Ward. Also with us today are Jennie Yuen, our Company Secretary, Christina Katsibouba, our Chief Executive Officer, and Megan Wilson, the company's Audit Partner from Ernst & Young. Megan will be available to answer any questions relevant to the conduct of the audit in respect of the company's financial statements and the preparation and content of the auditor's report for the year ending June 30, 2022.
Other members of the executive management team are also in attendance today and will join us for refreshments after the meeting. I'd now like to outline the procedural aspects of this meeting. For those shareholders joining online, the virtual meeting online guide, which is available on the virtual meeting site and also on our website, explains how to participate in today's AGM, including how to vote and to ask questions during the meeting. If you require further assistance, you can telephone the help number that appears at the top of your screen. If we experience any technical issues today, a short recess or an adjournment may be required depending on the number of shareholders being affected. If this occurs, I will advise you accordingly.
If there is a significant technology issue and we need to adjourn the meeting to another time or date, we will lodge those details with the ASX and provide updates on our website. Only shareholders, their appointed proxies, or corporate representatives are entitled to make comment or ask questions or to vote at this meeting. All other attendees are welcome as observers. Your board and members of the management team will also be available after the meeting to speak with you. We gave shareholders the opportunity to submit questions before the meeting. Some of the more frequently raised questions and topics will be covered in my address or in the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer's address. I will also address other questions that relate to the same topics or to similar topics when we get to the relevant item of business.
During today's meeting, shareholders will have the opportunity to comment on and ask questions in relation to the resolutions. I will invite comments and questions after each item of business has been introduced. To allow the greatest opportunity for all in attendance to participate, any comments or questions must be relevant to the business of the meeting. If you wish to make a comment or ask a question about a specific resolution, please make your way to a microphone when the resolution is being considered. Please show your green or yellow admission card to our microphone attendant, and they will introduce you. If you're unable to go to a microphone, please raise your hand and a microphone will be brought to you. Please again, show your green or yellow admission card to our microphone attendant so they can introduce you.
If you have more than one question on an item of business, please ask your questions together, and I'll endeavor to answer each of your questions in turn. Shareholders who wish to submit a comment or a question online can do so at any time. I encourage shareholders online who have questions to start sending them through now. To send questions through the online meeting platform, please click on the Ask a Question button, select the topic your question relates to, and type in your question, and then click on the Submit button. If you have already submitted a question online, I will address it at the relevant item of business to which your question relates. This year, shareholders can also make comments or ask questions verbally through the teleconference facility.
Information about the teleconference facility, including the number to dial to access the facility, is set out in the Notice of Meeting under Questions from Shareholders and in the virtual meeting online guide. To use the teleconference facility, shareholders must use their unique PIN that was provided when they registered with Link Market Services to use the facility. Please note that you will not be able to vote via the teleconference facility. If you are listening to this meeting by phone, please ensure you've muted your computer or other devices. For those shareholders on the phone, I will invite you to ask questions as we go through each item of business. If you wish to ask a question, please dial star one on your telephone keypad at the relevant item of business that your question relates to.
You'll be placed in a queue, and the telephone operator will introduce you and prompt you to ask your question at the relevant time. That we can answer as many questions as possible during this meeting, we ask that shareholders please only ask up to two questions on each item of business. To assist with the efficient conduct of the meeting, and to ensure that as many questions are addressed as possible, we may aggregate similar questions based on their subject matter or summarize lengthy questions. Please note, if you submit a question about an individual shareholder issue or about a matter which isn't relevant to the shareholders as a whole, or is unrelated to the matters for consideration at today's meeting, a member of our staff will be in contact with you after the meeting.
Please be aware that we won't read out any defamatory, repetitive, or domineering questions, or questions that are not relevant to the company or the items of business being considered at this meeting. Turning now to voting. For shareholders, authorized representatives, and appointed proxies in attendance here in the theater, you will need a green card to vote on each resolution. If you're a joint shareholder or you have already voted prior to the meeting and have elected to let your vote stand, you would have received a yellow non-voting card, which means that you may speak at the meeting but not vote. If you are eligible to vote and you have not received a green card, please see a representative of Link Market Services in the foyer. As a reminder, visitors holding a red card are not eligible to vote or speak at the meeting.
As stated in the notice of meeting, voting today will be conducted by way of a poll on items two through eight. In order to provide you with enough time to vote, I now declare the poll open for all resolutions. Please complete your voting card by placing a mark in the box, either for or against each resolution. Proxy holders who hold open votes will need to record a vote in favor or against the resolution on the ballot paper. If the shareholder appointed the proxy has given directions on the proxy form as to how the proxy should vote, then the vote will already be recorded in accordance with that direction. You need only vote those open votes on the voting card. If you need to leave early, you can place your completed voting card in one of the ballot boxes near the exit.
If you have any questions about how to complete the voting card, again, please see a Link Market Services representative here today. Shareholders who are participating through the online platform may submit their votes on all resolutions now or at any time during the meeting. Shareholders will also have another five minutes after the end of this meeting to submit or to change their votes. If you haven't registered to vote yet, please click on the Get A Voting Card button that appears on your screen. You will need to enter either your shareholder number and postcode or country, or the proxy number that you received from the share registry prior to this meeting. If you have more than one share holding, you will need to get a voting card for each holding. To vote, click on the For, Against, or Abstain buttons for the relevant items.
Once you have completed your card, click on the Submit Vote button. If needed, you may edit your voting card at any time during the meeting. In relation to the items of business to be considered today, the resolutions in items two through eight are ordinary resolutions that require a simple majority of votes in favor of the resolution. Following discussion on each item of business, the total number of valid proxy votes and direct votes received for that item and how those votes have been directed will be displayed in respect to that item. Where undirected proxies have been given to the Chairman, I will be voting in favor of all resolutions. Before we proceed to the formal items of business, I will provide my address to be followed by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer's address.
Our addresses have already been released to the ASX and are also available now on the company's website. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome again to The Star Entertainment Group's 12th annual general meeting. This is the first time in three years we've had the opportunity to host our shareholders in person, and the first time for me as your chairman. In 2020 and 2021, we held virtual AGMs as part of prioritizing the health and wellbeing of our people and our shareholders during the pandemic. I'm delighted to see in the hybrid environment we have adopted this year that a greater proportion of our shareholders have been able to join us here at The Star Gold Coast. While those COVID impacts subsided in the latter stages of the financial year 2022, this was a challenging year and continues to be into the 2023 financial year.
I will call on our new CEO, Robbie Cooke, to take you through the business performance for the financial year and update you on the exciting development projects which will underpin our future growth and provide the physical platforms from which we can deliver the most incredible hospitality and entertainment destinations for our Australian and our international guests. However, I believe it's important and appropriate to address up front some issues that have received significant attention and caused understandable concern for our shareholders, team members, other stakeholders, and the broader community. I will also summarize The Star's plans to address these issues. These issues are important. We wanna take the time to take you through them. Together with Robbie Cooke's address, we aim to provide a summary of The Star's current position and our priorities.
The Bell Review in New South Wales and the Gotterson Review in Queensland led to findings that The Star was unsuitable to hold casino licenses in Sydney, the Gold Coast, and Brisbane, the cities in which we've been operating since this company, originally known as Echo, was spun out of Tabcorp in 2011. I will go into more detail shortly about both reviews, their findings, and the processes that have subsequently followed. I do wanna first extend my unreserved apology to our more than 70,000 shareholders, the wonderfully committed and hardworking 8,000 team members who do their best every day to deliver world-class experiences to the almost 20 million visitors who come to our properties every year. To you and to them, we're sorry. We've let you down. Our license in New South Wales is currently suspended.
We fully understand the gravity and the seriousness of that situation. The control of the Sydney Casino now rests with a manager, Mr. Nicholas Weeks, who was appointed by the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission. The onus is now on us to remediate and to show the regulator we can be suitable to again afford the privilege of holding a casino license in New South Wales. As I outlined on September 15th in a message to shareholders, team members, and guests, it was clear from the Bell and Gotterson reports that we need to fundamentally transform our culture. The Star needs to be more transparent. We need to have more robust governance, greater accountability, more open and honest dialogue with our regulators. We need to embrace criticism and act swiftly when issues arise.
At the heart of it all, we need to change, and we need to earn back your trust and confidence of all of our other stakeholders, regulators, governments, team members, guests, suppliers, contractors, and indeed, the broader community. It's a long list, and we have a long way to go. We have acknowledged the gravity of the conduct raised by Mr. Bell and Justice Gotterson, and we've outlined how significant and urgent remedial steps have commenced, including an examination of the root causes of our shortcomings and failures so we can address them and prevent them happening again.
I also accept we'll be judged by our actions, not by our words, so the commitment we've made, and we reaffirm today, is that we as a board, together with the management team, will do everything in our power to make the necessary improvements to earn your trust and restore The Star to suitability. The journey has commenced and at its core is a remediation plan. It serves as the company's integrated roadmap for improving our governance, culture, and controls. Given the extent and the breadth of the issues raised, our remediation program is a multi-year plan. We've sought specialist external help and bolstered our own capabilities with more to come. That's what's required to fully address and embed the necessary changes across all aspects of our business.
We've taken actions previously and more recently, that support this process, including permanently exiting junkets, closing our international offices and our international bank accounts, rebuilding our board and our senior leadership team, separating our legal and risk functions, increasing our responsible gambling and financial crime staff, enhancing our internal controls. Speaking specifically on the two reviews, the report undertaken by Mr. Adam Bell SC for the New South Wales regulator, which at that time was the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, was released publicly on September 13th of this year, 12 months after Mr. Bell was appointed to conduct his review into the operations of The Star at Sydney Casino. Mr. Bell's report found The Star was and remains unsuitable to be concerned in or associated with the management and operation of a casino in New South Wales.
The newly installed New South Wales Independent Casino Commission issued a notice to The Star, providing 14 days to show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken. The Star responded to that notice on the September 26th. The October 17th, the NIC announced, with regards to the matters identified in the Bell report, that The Star had been issued with a $100 million fine and an indefinite suspension of its New South Wales casino license, effective October 21. Timing for payment of the fine is to be determined by the NIC. The NIC appointed Mr. Weeks as manager of the Sydney Casino under Section 28 of the New South Wales Casino Control Act for a period of 90 days, with that appointment subject to extension by regulation.
The Star Sydney Casino remains open and operating. Net earnings continue to be paid to The Star after the payment of the manager's costs and expenses. However, in his role as manager, Mr. Weeks has assumed responsibility and control for the business of the Sydney Casino and is considered the holder of the casino license. We are working with Mr. Weeks in an engaged, open, and transparent manner. That includes complying with his directions and keeping him fully and proactively informed about all matters relevant to the management of the Sydney Casino. I want to publicly acknowledge today not only the importance of Mr. Weeks' role, but his willingness to work cooperatively with us as manager of the Sydney Casino. Let me now turn to Queensland.
The independent external review into the operations of The Star's casinos in Queensland was announced on June 30, 2022 under Section 91 of the Casino Control Act in Queensland. Undertaken by eminent former judge, the Honorable Robert Gotterson AO, the review commenced in July of this year. Mr. Gotterson reported to the Queensland Attorney General, the Honourable Shannon Fentiman MP on September 30. The Attorney General responded to the report on October 6. Having considered the findings from Mr. Gotterson and the findings in the Bell review in New South Wales, the Minister formed the view that The Star was unsuitable to hold a casino license in Queensland. The Star entities involved as licensees or lessees of the Treasury Brisbane and The Star Gold Coast were issued with show cause notices on November 3 by OLGR, the regulator, and provided us with 21 days to respond.
The notices set out the potential disciplinary actions which may be recommended by the Queensland Government, which range from taking no further disciplinary action to one or more of the following: a letter of censure, written directions, a penalty of up to AUD 100 million, cancellation or suspension of the relevant casino license, or the appointment of a special manager. Our response to these show cause notices will be submitted to OLGR within the coming days. Having outlined the reviews and the findings to date, I want to now focus on the specifics of remediation. The remediation program is being developed and is led by one of our recent senior management appointments, our highly experienced Group Head of Transformation, Mr. Scott Wharton. We announced Scott's appointment on July 20, 2022, pending necessary regulatory approvals, which I'm delighted to say have now been received.
Scott joined us from the Commonwealth Bank, where he was part of the executive leadership team and had been responsible for leading key bank-wide transformation efforts. That included the design and implementation of CBA's response to APRA's 2018 Prudential Inquiry report into governance, culture, and accountability. Clearly, Scott has the credentials we need to drive our remediation program across the group. Scott hit the ground running, commencing the work required to develop a multi-year remediation plan. We anticipate finalizing that remediation plan in the new year after the completion of the root cause analysis I referenced earlier. With respect to the Sydney Casino and at a time considered appropriate by the manager of The Star Sydney. In parallel to the reviews, the New South Wales and Queensland governments have also passed bills in their respective parliaments that enact reforms to casino legislation in each state.
The Casino Legislation Amendment Bill in New South Wales was passed on August 11th of this year, making changes that would address all 19 recommendations of the Bergin Inquiry into the regulation of casinos in New South Wales and certain additional measures. The Queensland Government announced on May 26th it would introduce legislative reforms via the Casino Control and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022. The bill was passed on October 14th and included a number of amendments to the bill announced in May. A second tranche of amendments to the Casino Control Amendment Act will be progressed next year by the Queensland Government. Robbie will speak to these reforms and the implications for our business in his address shortly. I also want to update you on the AUSTRAC enforcement investigation of The Star. That investigation is ongoing.
AUSTRAC has yet to advise on the appropriate regulatory response that might apply to The Star, including whether or not enforcement action will be taken. There's nothing more I can report to you on that issue at present. In relation to class actions, The Star disclosed to the market on the November 7th this year, we had been served by Maurice Blackburn with a statement of claim for a securities class action in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The claim is substantially similar to the securities class action filed by Slater and Gordon, announced on March 30 of this year. The Star intends to defend both class action proceedings. Over the past eight months, we've seen a significant overhaul of The Star's senior management at both group and property level.
Previous CEO, Matt Bekier, resigned on the March 28th of this year. Approximately 20 executives have left the business since that time. While challenging, this turnover in senior leadership provides the opportunity for necessary cultural change and where applicable, changes to the organizational structure. This includes the separation of the legal and risk functions, the appointment of a CEO for The Star Sydney with a new-look leadership structure under his direction, and significant uplift in the number of risk, compliance, AML, and responsible gambling team members to ensure successful remediation. I would like to detail some of the key senior executive appointments. We announced the appointment of Robbie Cooke as our new Managing Director and CEO on the 29th of June of this year. He commenced in his role on the 17th of October. Robbie is a trusted, respected, and highly experienced chief executive.
He's been CEO of ASX 200 listed companies and brings extensive commercial experience in operating large businesses in the sectors in which we operate and in driving transformation programs within highly regulated environments. As CEO at the Australian bank and payments fintech firm, Tyro Payments, Robbie led the company through the post-financial services industry Royal Commission environment, with a focus on risk culture, cultural alignment, and employee engagement whilst driving strong transaction growth. Prior to this, Robbie was CEO and Managing Director of the Tatts Group from 2013 to 2018, where he led the business through a complex organizational renewal program and restructured the business through to the completion of the merger with Tabcorp.
Robbie has the requisite experience, knowledge, and commitment to drive the cultural change we require to return us to suitability and then to take this company into a new era. I should mention he's a Queensland boy, too. Scott Wharton was appointed Group Head of Transformation, but also CEO of The Star Sydney, reporting to Robbie. I discussed Scott's experience earlier in my address. Scott Saunders was announced as our incoming Chief Risk Officer on 24th August. Scott brings more than 30 years of risk and compliance experience to a role that has an important focus on anti-money laundering and other financial crime risks and controls. Prior to joining The Star, Scott was General Manager, Financial Crime and Chief Compliance Officer at Westpac for three years, and before that, worked at Macquarie Group, where he was responsible for enterprise and financial crime compliance.
Scott will join us in the new year, subject to his regulatory approvals. Betty Ivanoff was announced internally on the 2nd of November as our new Chief Legal Officer. Betty is an accomplished lawyer and executive with more than 20 years' experience in ASX-listed companies and international organizations. Her most recent role as Group General Counsel with Crown Resorts means Betty has firsthand experience with transformative initiatives and programs. Before joining Crown Resorts, Betty was Group Director, Legal and Corporate Affairs for Coca-Cola Amatil Limited from 2016, leading the legal, governance, and corporate affairs teams. Betty will also commence her new role in 2023, pending regulatory approvals. Noelle Silfani was appointed on 12th September as an additional company secretary, subject to all necessary regulatory approvals being obtained. Noelle is an experienced lawyer and corporate governance specialist with qualifications in law, governance, and risk.
She has held executive roles at private and listed companies in Australia during her 20-year career and has experience with transformation initiatives. I would now like to turn to the board renewal program, which has also been ongoing for several months. On 1 April of this year, when The Star announced John O'Neill was assuming the role of Executive Chair following the resignation of Mr. Bekier, the board also announced the need for accelerated board change and would embark on a program of renewal in a timely manner. Michael Issenberg was announced as a Non-Executive Director subject to regulatory approvals in February this year. Those approvals were forthcoming on 11th July. Michael is an experienced executive and director with over 30 years' experience in the hotel industry. He is currently the Chairman of Tourism Australia. I should note that in the notice of meeting, Michael's academic qualifications were inaccurately referenced.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration from Cornell University in the United States. That's his sole tertiary qualification. Michael is standing for election at the AGM and will introduce himself to you later in today's meeting. Anne Ward was announced as a Non-Executive Director in August, pending regulatory approvals, which were forthcoming last week. Anne is currently chair of the ASX-listed eCommerce group, Redbubble Limited, and communication software provider, Symbio Holdings Limited. She recently retired from the board of Crown Resorts Limited following the completion of the takeover of that company by Blackstone in June 2022. Anne is also standing for election at the AGM, and will introduce herself to you later in today's meeting.
We also announced in August that David Foster would be joining the board, and last week that Deborah Page and Toni Thornton are joining the board as Non-Executive Directors, subject to regulatory approval. David enjoyed a career of more than 25 years in the financial services sector, including over five years as CEO of Suncorp Bank. He currently holds various ASX-listed company directorships, including as a director of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited, an ASX 100 financial services company, and as chairman of G8 Education Limited, the largest ASX-listed childcare and early education operator. Deborah is currently chairman of Pendal Group Limited and a Non-Executive Director of Brickworks Limited, Growthpoint Properties Australia Limited, and Service Stream Limited. She was previously chairman of Investa Listed Funds Management.
A chartered accountant with dual audit partner and CFO experience during her executive career, Deborah brings extensive board and audit committee chair experience. Deborah will start with The Star in February 2023 and will be a board observer until she receives all required regulatory approvals. Toni is currently a Non-Executive Director of G8 Education Limited, CS Energy, and significant private companies, including Millovran Pty Ltd and Habitat Early Learning. Prior to embarking on her board career, Ms. Thornton had an executive career holding senior roles with JB Were, Goldman Sachs, and the National Australia Bank. With these appointments, I'm pleased to advise the board has delivered on the commitment it made earlier this year to prioritize board renewal. We will return the board to its full capacity, seven Non-Executive Directors and our Managing Director.
We will add one further Non-Executive Director in 2023, replacing Katie Lahey, who has indicated she'll step down in advance of next year's AGM. As your Chairman, I'm committed to staying on to provide stability during a period of considerable leadership change and to ensure the company is firmly on the path back to suitability. This level of board change is significant. The board remains cognizant of the need for stability through such a challenging period in our history. I also, and importantly, want to acknowledge the board members who have left us or are preparing to do so. John O'Neill resigned as Executive Chairman from the board on 20 May after being part of the original Echo Entertainment Group Board in 2011, and subsequently serving as Chairman of The Star since July 2012. Sally Pitkin resigned as a Non-Executive Director on 30 June.
Gerard Bradley resigned on the 31st of October. Richard Sheppard is not seeking re-election, and so will retire from the board at the conclusion of the AGM today. However, I'm pleased to note that Richard will continue as The Star's appointee on the board of DBC and DGCC, which is our Gold Coast Consortium joint venture, as Chairman. Each of their contributions to the company should not be underestimated, and I'd like to offer my personal thanks to each of them. In closing, I want to reiterate my comments at the outset. We are sorry, I am sorry we've let you down. We are working to come back stronger, more sustainably, and with our integrity and our reputation restored. Our priority is return to suitability in New South Wales and Queensland.
Our investments into Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and the potential for a new tower and theaters in Sydney are what will set this company apart as an operator of diversified tourism assets, from world-class hotels to fine dining restaurants, affordable eateries, bars, cafes, theaters like this one, event spaces, and compelling resort facilities, as well as gaming offerings. There's a lot to look forward to, but there's also a lot to do. The board and management are aware of the task ahead and are committed to restoring your business. I would like now to call on our Managing Director and CEO, Robbie Cooke, to address you.
Thank you, Ben. Good morning, everybody. I'd like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the various lands on which we gather today and pay our respects to their elders, past and present. At the outset, let me say how delighted I am to attend my first annual general meeting as the Managing Director and CEO of The Star Entertainment Group. Since starting on the 17th of October, some five weeks ago, feels a bit longer, I have been asked many times about what appealed to me about the job, given the challenges the company was and is facing today. My answer has not changed. This is an amazing business. Properties in arguably the best destinations in the country, Sydney, the Gold Coast, and Brisbane. The fundamentals are in place, great assets, great locations, and a great hard-working team of 8,000 team members across our destinations.
I also want to reiterate what Ben said earlier. We will transform our culture, be more transparent, have more robust governance, greater accountability, be open and honest with our regulators, and act swiftly where issues arise. We need to earn back the trust and confidence of all our stakeholders. From an operational perspective, let me assure you that the whole team understands and acknowledges the need for change. Cultural change is part of that. Too, is the focus on having all areas of our business operating with the highest levels of integrity. As CEO, I want our regulators and the governments we work with to see us as an operator of the highest repute. At the same time, though, we should not lose sight of the blue skies on our horizon.
The investment of around AUD 6 billion we and our partners have made and are planning to make across Southeast Queensland will deliver real benefits for The Star and the state. We will create thousands of jobs, drive increased tourism, deliver significant community benefits, and play our part in making our cities better places in which to live, work, and play. Ben provided you with an update of the two reviews and our steps to remediate The Star. Let me first outline the main reforms to the casino legislation in New South Wales and Queensland. These changes require change to our operation, which we have commenced. We will work openly and transparently with our regulators to implement these new frameworks. I will then summarize our FY 2022 results before providing an update of our investments, sustainability, community and diversity programs.
Turning first to the casino legislation reforms in each state. These changes to the regulatory framework have required change and will require further change to our operations. In New South Wales, amendments to the Casino Control Act included compulsory carded play, a $1,000 daily limit for guests on cash transactions, the appointment of a compliance auditor, more onerous liabilities for directors and executives, the override of contractual compensation rights in the event of material regulatory changes. Maximum fines increased from $1 million to $100 million. AML suspicious matter reports to be provided to the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission and banning junkets. The carded play and daily cash limit changes have a two-year transition in period. The Queensland Government announced on 26th May it would introduce legislative reforms.
The Queensland reforms passed into legislation on the 14th of October. They included a maximum pecuniary penalty of $100 million, allowing for the appointment of a special manager as part of disciplinary action, allowing the minister to require a remediation plan for a casino entity, and the override of contractual compensation rights in the event of material regulatory changes. Further amendments to the Queensland Act are expected next year to implement various Gotterson recommendations. These include mandatory carded play, cash and time-based limits, mandatory pre-commitment, a binding safe gambling code of conduct, a casino operator supervisory level, and giving effect in Queensland to interstate police exclusions. Finally, the introduction of periodic suitability reviews for casino licensees. Turning to our FY 2022 results, which as we know, were impacted by COVID-19 headwinds.
COVID-related property closures and operating restrictions impacted earnings in the first half of FY 2022, and that continued into the second half. Once these restrictions are lifted, domestic revenue recovered, reflecting the underlying strength of our business. Normalized group revenue was AUD 1.53 billion. That was down 2% on the prior corresponding period. A pleasing aspect of this result was the 11% lift in the Gold Coast revenue to AUD 424 million. Normalized EBITDA was AUD 235 million, and our normalized net loss was AUD 33 million. If I can focus, though, on the fourth quarter of FY 2022, when we returned to more normal operating conditions, we produced an underlying EBITDA of AUD 119 million. Domestic revenue was above pre-COVID levels, up 11% on the fourth quarter of FY 2019.
Our slots revenue was up 28%, our non-gaming revenue was up 26%, and table games were down 4%. Our properties were at or above pre-COVID levels, and again, the Gold Coast was a standout, up 48% on the fourth quarter of FY 2019. Brisbane was also up 13%, while Sydney was in line with the same period last year of the COVID period. FY 2022 CapEx was AUD 141 million, well below our depreciation and amortization charge of AUD 208 million. Despite COVID-19 impacts, we continued to progress our development pipeline and pursue other potential growth opportunities in FY 2022. On the Gold Coast, we continued to execute our master plan.
We opened the Dorsett Hotel and Residences, the first of up to five mixed-use towers on the coast, featuring 313 hotel rooms and 422 apartments. Pleasingly, the hotel is performing above forecast levels with higher than expected occupancy and 99% of the apartments have been settled. The construction of Tower 2, a AUD 400 million, 63-story project that will house a five-star hotel and apartments, is well underway. We're currently at level 10 and progressing on track for a 2024 opening. The tower will include approximately 200 hotel rooms and 460 apartments, and all apartments have been presold. When Tower 2 is completed, The Star Gold Coast will have more than 2,000 hotel rooms and apartments on the island.
These two hotel towers follow major reinvestment at The Star Gold Coast, which was completed shortly before the COVID-related shutdowns. We have refurbished the original hotel, The Star Grand, built the luxury all-suite The Darling hotel ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2018, and added an array of new and award-winning restaurants and bars. Our guests have appreciated The Star's new tourism entertainment offerings, as evidenced by the strength of the Gold Coast business during FY 2022, and it reinforces the decisions taken to make those investments. It's also encouraging that the current performance of The Star Gold Coast has been driven primarily by local customers, domestic tourism, and conventions. When international tourism finally returns at scale, demand for the Gold Coast will be even more significant.
Turning to Brisbane, we reported on the 29th of July that due to the higher than average rainfall in FY 2022 and the impact of COVID-19, that Queen's Wharf Brisbane was expected to open from the second half of calendar 2023. That expectation currently remains in place. As we previously reported, total project costs are also expected to be up around 10% on prior guidance of AUD 2.6 billion. The majority of these increased costs will be funded via additional equity contributions in accordance with the existing joint venture interests. The Star at 50%, Chow Tai Fook at 25%, and the Far East Consortium at 25%. The Destination Brisbane Consortium is also in ongoing discussions with the builder regarding purported claims for additional costs, extension of time, and damages, which the DBC disagrees with. The contract provides for liquidated damages.
At the same time, I want to acknowledge the efforts of thousands of construction workers and many of our suppliers who worked incredibly hard and at times around the clock through periods of COVID-19 and challenging weather. Milestones reached at Queen's Wharf during the financial year included completion of the podium structure, three towers moving beyond level 30, commencement of the restoration and repurposing of heritage buildings, and the Neville Bonner Bridge being more than 60% complete. As we have emphasized previously, Queen's Wharf is a transformational project. It will change the face of Brisbane. The list of offerings is stunning.
Four hotels with approximately 1,000 rooms, more than 50 restaurants, bars and cafes, luxury retail, a 1,500 person ballroom, a sky deck more than 100 meters above William Street, up to 2,000 residential apartments, a pedestrian-only bridge connecting Queen's Wharf and South Bank, nine repurposed and refurbished heritage buildings all open to the public, and 7.5 hectares of public space, which will showcase an AUD multi-million program of art installations across the precinct. We continue to value the support that we have received from our partners on these projects, the Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook. In Sydney, a number of development opportunities are now available given the new planning controls that exist under the Pyrmont Peninsula Place Strategy.
We have a pathway to a development application process to build a 105 meter six-star hotel, additional theaters to complement the Sydney Lyric Theatre, a new rooftop dining and event space. The New South Wales Government has also confirmed a station at Pyrmont as part of the new underground railway system that will connect the greater Parramatta precinct with the Sydney CBD. The Sydney Metro West is a 24 km metro line with nine stations confirmed. The Pyrmont Station will be in Union Street, adjacent to The Star Sydney, and on a site being compulsorily acquired from The Star. Sydney Metro and The Star are in a process to set The Star's compensation for that site currently.
On the sustainability front, we made significant strides in FY 2022 towards our key environmental targets as set in 2017, including a 26% reduction in our carbon emissions and a 27% reduction in our water consumption from our 2013 levels. We achieved our target to ensure over 90% of our property portfolio is certified by third-party green ratings. That target was first set in 2019. We released our third climate change report, dealing with our management of financial, transitional, and physical climate risk, and we're looking at ways to measure key elements of our Scope 3 emissions. We continue to address our modern slavery risks, and we've enhanced our ESG disclosures by releasing a detailed disclosure metric summary. I'm also delighted that in FY 2022, we progressed our first carbon offset project, the Corymbia Farm and Sanctuary in Gympie in Queensland.
The Star will use this 174 hectare parcel of land to help manage future carbon emissions and to support biodiversity and native forest regeneration. We'll also create a nature-based farm partnering with local farmers, and through widescale tree planting, support endangered species, including koalas. This project will directly bolster our target of net zero carbon emissions for wholly owned and operated properties by 2030. The Star partners with a number of community organizations, charities, and not-for-profits in Sydney, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast to make positive impact in our communities. In particular, in FY 2022, we partnered with GIVIT and pledged AUD 2 million worth of items, including new mattresses, designer sofas, dining tables, chairs, and crockery. We also contributed to the Queensland Premier's Flood Appeal.
Other partnerships in FY 2022 included the National Indigenous Culinary Institute, the Brisbane Portrait Prize, the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland, Surf Life Saving Queensland, the National Trust in Queensland, the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, and Christmas in Pyrmont. I'd also like to acknowledge some of the commercial partnerships we took in the year, including the Magic Millions, Sydney FC, New South Wales Rugby League, the Australian Turf Club, and Racing New South Wales. I'm also delighted about the recognition The Star received in diversity and inclusion in FY 2022. The Star was one of 12 new companies acknowledged as an employer of choice in the Workplace Gender Equality Agency Awards, and the only hospitality organization to receive a gold employer status on the Australian Workplace Equality Index.
In FY 2022, we also revised our gender equality strategy with a focus on five key areas being leadership accountability, gender pay equity, building capability of our talent pipeline, cultural change in communication, and flexible work and support for careers. Turning now to our priorities for the year ahead. First, as Ben mentioned, progress on our road back to suitability to hold casino licenses in New South Wales and Queensland. We will seek to do that through working with the manager appointed by the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission to ensure his priorities for the Sydney Casino are advanced, noting the suspension of our New South Wales casino license. Developing and progressing a remediation plan to be approved by the manager of The Star Sydney and the commission.
Addressing the recommendations of the Bell and Gotterson reports, and the amendments to the Casino Control Acts in New South Wales and Queensland, and completing new senior executive and board appointments. Secondly, we'll seek to optimize our operations through driving revenue growth as part of a post-COVID-19 earnings recovery, maintaining cost control, and managing the competitive impact of Crown Sydney. Thirdly, we'll progress our major projects. At Queen's Wharf Brisbane, we'll continue to progress construction and manage costs and prepare for the opening in the second half of calendar 2023. At the Gold Coast, we'll continue to progress the construction of Tower 2, and in Sydney, we'll progress those development opportunities as I mentioned earlier. Finally, we aim to complete previously announced asset sales, namely the first tranche of Treasury Brisbane assets and the Sydney Metro site in Union Street, Pyrmont.
We are exploring ownership options for the Sheraton Grand Mirage on the Gold Coast, the opportunity remains to unlock underlying value of the group's property assets. With respect to the Sydney Casino, the priorities I have just described will need to be advanced with the approval of the Sydney Casino's manager. Let me turn to our trading update. Our Queensland casinos are performing strongly, while Sydney has been impacted by compliance changes post the Bell Review, along with some competition impacts. In the period 1 July 2022 to 15 November 2022, Gold Coast domestic revenue was up 32% on pre-COVID levels, Brisbane was up 9%, Sydney was down 11%. At a group level, domestic revenue from 1 July 2022 to 15 November 2022 was up 1% on pre-COVID levels.
Our current expectation is that remediation costs in FY 2023 will be in the range of $35 million-$45 million, of which approximately 50% are expected to be recurring costs beyond FY 2024. On 31 October, the group had $547 million of liquidity in undrawn facilities and cash. Our gearing was 2.7 times. No covenant relief is required for FY 2023 on those testing dates based on the current trends. Finally, whilst only five weeks in the chair, I have had the opportunity to engage and speak directly with many of our team members during town hall meetings that were conducted in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney.
Our team members are the heartbeat of this business, and they deserve the utmost thanks for the ongoing commitment they have shown through what can only be described as challenging times. 8,000 strong, they will help us write the next chapter of The Star story. While we have some significant hurdles to clear, I believe The Star has an exciting future, great assets in great locations and significant investments will drive us and the states of New South Wales and Queensland forward. Thank you, and I'll now pass back to Ben.
Thank you, Robbie. We'll now come to the formal business of the meeting. The notice of the meeting was made publicly available on the company's website on 20 October 2022 and was sent to those shareholders who requested a printed copy. I'll take that notice of meeting as read. I'll turn now to the individual items of business in the order set out in the notice of meeting. The first item on the agenda is to receive and consider the financial statements, the directors' report, and the auditors' report for the year ending 30 June 2022. The financial statements were approved by the directors and audited by Ernst & Young. In accordance with the Corporations Act, there will be no voting on this item as it's a discussion item only.
I now invite any questions about the financial statements, the directors' report or the auditors' report. This is an opportunity for shareholders to ask questions or make comments about the management of the company or the company's operations in the last financial year. If you're participating online, please send through your questions or comments. If you are using the teleconference facility, you can notify the operator that you would like to ask a question by dialing star one on your telephone keypad. As mentioned earlier, Megan Wilson, the Ernst & Young partner responsible for the audit, is available to answer any questions relevant to the conduct of the audit and the preparation and content of the auditors' report. Shareholders had the opportunity to submit written questions to the auditor prior to the meeting. No questions for the auditor were received.
I'll first address some shareholder questions and comments received in advance of the meeting. Where these haven't already been addressed through other responses and our reports on the company so far, I will address now these and at relevant items as we progress through the rest of the day. Prior to this meeting, we received a number of questions with similar themes. The first question relates to, can the company provide a guarantee that the new leadership team will be able to ensure that the same failures don't happen again? The response I will give to that is in reference to the remediation report I've already talked about.
There's an enormous program of work which Robbie and team have been leading for a number of months now, with engagement with our regulators to ensure that we have a very clear program of uplift across critical areas of the business, all designed to ensure we're addressing both the issues raised in the Bell Review, but more importantly, the underlying root causes for those issues. Given the extent of the work that's involved in that, it is a multi-year program, as I referenced in my opening remarks, but I can assure you that both the board and management has a very clear focus on the importance of that program in order to provide the right foundation for the future of the business.
The next question and set of questions related to why should shareholders continue to support the board in the light of what's happened? I should start first, and I said this in my remarks, by acknowledging the gravity as what's happened. That's not missed on anybody. It's also important, I think, to note that the directors were all examined by Mr. Bell in New South Wales and were all found to be suitable persons, which was important and I think reflects the platform we're trying to build on. That said, none of the existing directors are seeking to stand today. The directors standing today are new directors, and in fact, the renewal program I've discussed already is a very important part of the reform that we're committed to.
The third question I just wanted to address in advance, will The Star continue to rely on junket players and continue to focus on and attract VIP players? I think importantly, and I've referenced this already, we ceased junket operations in October 2020. We have no intention of re-entering the junket market. In addition to the cessation of junkets, we also suspended international and domestic rebate programs, which we did in April of this year, and we'll only seek to re-enter that business with the support of the regulator. I can say, and this is incredibly important, management and the board continue to be focused on creating entertaining and thrilling experiences for our customers. That's at the heart what we're here to do.
Having addressed those questions that came online, I'll now invite questions from the floor. We'll then do questions on the teleconference line, and then we'll then address questions online. We'll start with questions from the floor, and I'll start with number one.
Mr. Chairman, I'd like to introduce Carol Limmer from the Australian Shareholders' Association, proxy holder.
Terrific. Carol, terrific to have you here. Thanks for joining us.
Thank you, good morning. As Paul just mentioned, I represent the Australian Shareholders' Association, and I hold 118 proxies with over 600,000 open votes. Just firstly, I'd like to thank you and the CEO, Managing Director, for the excellent presentations given today. Very comprehensive. Thank you. I'd also like to commend The Star on having a hybrid meeting, and I hope that continues into the future. Just while I'm on compliments, I live in Pyrmont, quite close to The Star precinct, and often walk round that precinct. Yesterday and this morning, I walked around the Gold Coast precinct. I've gotta say, all the staff that I spoke to were very customer-focused and very helpful.
I thought it was appropriate to mention that. Coming onto questions, I guess this is an obvious question for shareholders. When can they expect to see dividends and a rise in the share price? I've got a few other questions, perhaps if you could answer that one first.
Sure. Well, certainly the board is well aware and desires returning to dividends as soon as that is practical and possible. I think the company's very focused on ensuring that it meets its obligations with respect to its debt holders and therefore ensuring we have a stable and strong balance sheet. Certainly the intention is to return to dividends as soon as we're able to do that.
Thank you. With Crown, they were eventually taken over by Blackstone, what's the possibility of a future takeover of The Star by another organization? What's being done to manage that situation, I guess?
Yeah. Thanks, Carol. Look, that's always a possibility. It's a possibility for any listed company, really. The way the board and management is focused is our job is to do the best job we can on driving the value in this business and ensuring the share price fully reflects the value in this business. In that context, if any third party chooses to make an offer to you, our shareholders, at a price above that, then that's something that shareholders are able to consider. It's not something we're focused on. It's not something we need to do anything about per se, other than to ensure that we drive the best business we can and ensure the share price fully values that.
Thank you. I know that you're in the process of a response to the show cause notice. What do you think is likely to happen in relation to the Queensland operations? For instance, might they have a special administrator as applies in Sydney?
I think I outlined in my comments the different options available, but broadly, those options are similar to the options in New South Wales. It wouldn't be for us to form a view on what the regulator will choose to do other than to say that we engage very constructively with the regulator here in Queensland. Part of the process of the show cause is to allow us to provide our views on how they can most effectively meet their requirements in a way that will get the best outcome.
Thank you. Just maybe, I don't know whether this is a question for the auditors actually, but with the external auditors, in the future, will they be looking out for possible breaches and culture, cultural problems in the organization?
I think I might address that one.
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
It actually isn't a question for our financial auditors. Our financial auditors are focused on the audit of our financial accounts and which is a process they do very well. I would note, Carol, that the legislation in New South Wales has been amended such that we'll be required to have what's referred to as a compliance auditor going forward.
Right.
That auditor will be another independent firm. It may well look at those things. It's not, it's something that we're still waiting for a little more guidance from the regulator on exactly what they're looking for there. Ultimately, it is the role of the board and the board's governance frameworks to sit on top of matters like culture and that's a critical one for us going forward.
Thank you. In relation to the fine that's going to be paid, I understand that The Star can make suggestions about how that might be paid and the ways that the money, in relation to that fine could be effectively used. Are you able to comment on that?
Other than to confirm that we were afforded an opportunity to provide submissions in New South Wales, which we have done. We very much appreciated the constructive approach being shown by the regulator to give us that opportunity. As soon as we have clarity on that, we'll share that with our shareholders.
Fine. Just, in relation to political donations, can you assure stakeholders that nothing goes to the Queensland and New South Wales governments, and that the amounts are not direct cash, donations as such to government?
Yeah, that's correct. We don't make donations directly to government. We do. We don't have a ban on donations to political parties, but it is for things such as attending dinners or events, that type of thing.
Right. Thank you very much for answering all those questions. I had more than two, I know. I'll come back later with questions on other items. Thank you.
Thanks, Carol. You represent many shareholders, so you get an extra question or two. I'll go to number two. Thanks.
Mr. Chairman, I'm going to introduce Ian Timmins, a shareholder.
Terrific. Hi, Ian. Good to see you.
Hello, Ben. Might not be. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. At the last physical The Star AGM held on the 24th of October 2019, I made the statement, "I believe the company would be better served with a completely new board." The chairman treated my comment as an absurdity and dismissed my statement. I repeat it now with even more conviction and knowledge. Following the New South Wales investigation into the company, the chief commissioner argued the directors failed to do their job by having no clue what was going on in their own company. If true, do shareholders want people like that in control of their investments? The later Queensland review declared the company unfit to hold a casino license in the state. I may be wrong, I believe that four of the current board members were also members in 2019.
How do they have the nerve to still accept money to oversee a company that has been virtually crippled under their leadership? Shareholders should not only be voting against any remuneration package for directors, but instead demanding a refund. Shame, shame, shame. In light of the appalling revelations from inquiries into the conduct of the company, I considered nominating for a position on the board. I don't pretend for one moment that I have great skills and experience in running a company. What I wanted to achieve was for there to be a seat on the board which would give a genuine voice to small shareholders and patrons. Given that two organizations currently own more than 50% of the company's shares, we small shareholders, all these people here, cannot control the running of the company in any way.
After making inquiries as to how I might nominate, I was directed to the company's constitution for details about nominating. Section 45 A of the Constitution states that a nominee for a position or director must have prior written approval from both the New South Wales and Queensland authority or minister. On contacting the relevant authorities in those states, both advised in writing that they only do probity assessments after the applicant has been appointed. Star are demanding that I must have clearance before I can nominate, whilst the regulatory agencies involved state that I do not require probity or clearance until after I have been appointed. Is Star discouraging people from nominating for board positions? Since I was unable to obtain the probity assessments prior to nominating, I was therefore excluded from nominating as a director.
My first question to the chairman is, if there are any nominees for director, have they undergone the required probity checks? If so, how was this arranged? Because I've been advised that the agencies involved don't undertake checks until after the person has been appointed. If they have not undergone a assessment, then their nominations are possibly invalid under the constitution of the company. That's my first question. Would you like to comment on that, please?
Sure. Thanks for the question. I'd first say that I've spoken a little bit already about the board renewal process, and I think that's important, and that's one the board has uniformly adopted. That will see a changeover of predominantly the board. With respect to your questions around nominations, it I won't deny it is complicated in the context of a heavily regulated company, and in the case of The Star, regulated in two states. The process allows for our constitution allows for a director to fill a casual vacancy. And for example, the directors I've referenced today, David Foster, Toni Thornton, and Deborah Page, have been invited by the board to fill casual vacancies, subject to them being elected by the shareholders.
They are not able to serve as directors until they pass probity. We then request the regulator to go through a probity process for those individuals. That takes somewhere between three and six months. We don't control the timing of that process. I haven't considered the question of if the floor chose to elect a director today to fill a vacancy, whether they would be able to serve as a director or whether they would first need to go through that probity process. My understanding is they would need to go through that probity process, and so they would serve as a board observer in advance of that.
They can't get the probity process because the regulators don't do a probity check until after they've been appointed. This is the problem. There's a weakness there. There's a flaw somewhere in the system. This constitution demands that they have the probity check before they nominate, but the regulators don't do a probity check until after they've been appointed. There is some flaw somewhere in the system, and I intend to have it looked at by the regulators. If I may continue. At the 2019 AGM, I asked if any of the AUD 43.2 million loss an overseas high roller was able to avoid paying had been recovered, and what steps had been taken to avoid a repeat.
The chairman responded with the following, "In terms of the bad debts, and you mentioned one large debtor, and you went back some years to a previous bad debt, which was regrettable. There were many lessons learned from that, and our processes and procedures and our credit controls and oversight by the board and management are at a very strong level. This particular gamer is being pursued through the courts, both in Singapore and in Brisbane, and we will be attending to whatever provisions might be taken once we have exhausted every possible means of recovery." A podcast of the meeting is available online at The Star website.
On 25th of October, the day after the AGM, a story appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times in Singapore stating, "A Singapore court has struck out an Australian casino's AUD 43.2 million claim against a Singaporean high roller for alleged gambling debts." Not only was the case thrown out, but costs were awarded to the defendant. Presumably, that court ruling had occurred at least on or before the day of the AGM. Was the answer given by the Chairman that day appropriate, or were shareholders denied some crucial information already known to the Chairman and possibly Board? My question is, did any Directors know about the filed lawsuit in Singapore to recover a huge gambling debt being dismissed at the time of the 2019 AGM? If so, they said no...
Said nothing, must accept some responsibility for failing to advise shareholders.
Ian, I don't recall the circumstances of that one, so I can't comment on it specifically. What I can say is that The Star pursues any debtor in this case, a gambling debtor, through all available means. Often that will move through different courts. Often that will move through different processes. I can assure you that The Star takes very seriously ensuring directors are fully informed and ensuring we meet our continuous disclosure obligations. I have no doubt that information wasn't withheld or inaccurately shared at that meeting.
All right. I'd say there are other questions I would like answered, such as the loss of staff's parking spaces to the shared residential developments and if and how much shareholders have paid for directors and officers insurance to cover directors against legal actions for claims of mismanagement and breaches of the company's fiduciary duties. However, I'll stop now in order to give my fellow shareholders a chance to let you know what they think. As always happened in the past, the then chairman dismissed my questions as inappropriate for the meeting and stated somebody would follow up with. Nobody ever has. I have no doubt the same will happen again today. In closing, I say that I do not know how you can sit up there and continue to take shareholder money. Again, shame, shame. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Ian. Number two.
Mr. Chairman, I'd like to introduce Roman Khavsnikov, as shareholder.
Hello, Roman. Good to see you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. What a disastrous year it was for our great company. We lost half of our board. We lost our CEO, Mr. Bekier. We lost most of our executive team, who worked very hard for success of our company. All of this happened because failure of one of our departments. I was listening every day to ILGA view of The Star, and I was very disappointed about what I was hearing. I would like to welcome our new directors and board members to our great company, and wish them well as they are joining The Star at very difficult time, and their leadership will be appreciated. I would also like to thank Mr. Geoff Hogg, our former Acting Group CEO, who took the leadership role of our company when most of our executive was resigned.
I would like to start with The Star Sydney, our flagship. Unfortunately, there is no good news. Not enough that we lost our leadership, we also lost most of our VIPs. Our VIPs room at the company has spent AUD millions of dollars to develop the world-class room are empty most of the time. Our VIPs are leaving our company for many reasons, I will try to bring to the board attention to some of the factors. Number one, our VIPs don't feel appreciated. We are entertainment company. This means that our VIP patrons want to be entertained and enjoy their visit to our facilities. They wanted to be looked after, many operational and marketing blunders has stopped them from this enjoyment. I can show you example of this blunder if you want. Number two, our gaming machine have had a lot...
Too many malfunction that our patrons have lost confidence in them. They have concern that if they win, will they actually get paid? Number three , cancellation of VIPs. Mr. Chairman, it has become as a rumor that couple of our diamond members' membership was canceled in Chairman Room for foul language. Our VIPs are worried they will lose all the entitlement that they already paid for if their membership will canceled. Number four, many of our events that patrons are used to but did not get this year, like Australia Day, become a normal day in Sovereign Room. No flags, no barbecue, nothing. I'm proud Australian, and I was very disappointed that our company stopped celebrating the creation of this great nation. On Valentine's Day, every lady entered Sovereign Room will receive rose. Not last year.
Last event, Mr. Chairman, happened on the weekend of 6th of November, when our marketing department come out with promotion to give our platinum members 50% discount for main items in Sovereign Room dining and 70% to our diamond members. The promotion was excellent idea because Sovereign Room was empty. When we come to pay the bill, we got our normal discount. A patron got very upset with misleading campaign. The request to talk to manager was denied as the manager was unavailable. Mr. Chairman, we're talking about our top customer that can't talk to any manager. Next morning, on Monday, I call Vice President Premium Guest, Mr. Thomas. He was unavailable. I called Mr. Paul Monaghan, our Group General Manager, Premium Guest, who was surprised to hear my story.
I requested immediate action before we lost those VIPs, and also clarify the promotion, as promotion was running for another two weeks, and more VIPs will be affected. I was promised call back on the same day, but nothing happened. In previous years, I could call Greg Hawkins or even Matt Bekier, our previous CEO. With current management, I can't get to Scott phone number. Mr. Chairman, Club New South Wales recorded AUD 3.8 billion in six months at the time that we record loss for our Sydney flagship. I'm sure that our VIP contributed to club record profits because they're living there. On 17th of September, Sydney had four sport major events. Many of our VIP could not get any tickets for this event because of our allocations.
Mr. Chairman, we give away a lot of money for sports partnership, but we are getting the smallest room in the venue. I think that the board need to review the sponsorship and get better deal for our VIPs. Mr. Chairman, next year Sydney will be hosting Women's Soccer World Cup, I hope that we'll be... have enough seats for our VIPs who were left. If you remember, Mr. Chairman, last year, I was praised our marketing department with their Extraordinary Moment Program. I can report to you that the idea of the program were good, but the execution was terrible. On some of our promotion, they did more damage than good.
When our VIPs need to wait in queues for hours to win second chance, it demotivates them. Last year on Melbourne Cup, not many VIPs were invited for this event because space as many small VIP rooms were booked instead of booking full restaurant. When I raised it with our previous CEO, Mr. Matt Bekier, on my meeting with him, he was under impression the full restaurant will be booked for our VIPs, which did not happen. Mr. Chairman, our memberships are very expensive, and if patrons can't get, see value, they will leave us for clubs and other casinos like Crown or Sky. I would like to thank Queensland excellent management team. Last December, I visited Queensland, and I was find out that our management found new stream of income. Mr. Geoff Hogg and his team are not only selling apartment, but also manage this apartment as rentals.
This management agreement provide investor is insurances that their investment looked after. This new initiative, managed by Mr. Mark Hodge, who joined the company as General Manager of Hotels last year, and I could see big improvements in level of service in hotel management. With COVID hitting our resources, I could see front desk staff helping waiter staff at breakfast at the buffet. That included front desk manager and general manager assistants. Our Gold Coast properties were provided first-class services with very limited resources. Mr. Ian Brown, our General Manager at Gold Coast, is doing a great job by increasing our patronage to our properties and VIP rooms are full. I had similar experience with our Brisbane properties. Mr. Kelvin Dodt, Chief Operating Officer, Brisbane properties, continue to do great job. My last visit in Brisbane fell on Christmas Day, when casino actually closed.
When Kelvin organized Christmas lunch, and I can tell you, Mr. Chairman, it was the best Christmas lunch I ever had. As a result, we the shareholder saw very good figures in Queensland profits and loss. I think that this is the best result that I ever seen on Queensland, and I would like to thank again Geoff Hogg and his amazing team. Our hotels and resorts performed very well under great management of Mrs. Christina Lambert in Sydney, Mr. Rakesh Rajakula Sham in Brisbane, and Mr. Mark Hodge in Gold Coast, and their teams, as they're doing amazing job, have exceeded all our expectations. Before I finish, I would like to comment on speech made by boss, a new boss of Crown, who promised to bring his manager from around the world to deliver the best experience in a casino in Australia.
What are you and your management team going to do to counter this and this time, when most of the time our far VIPs at the door to leave us? Thank you.
Thanks, Roman. As usual, very much appreciate the constructive feedback you're able to provide, both as a shareholder and also as an important customer for us. The feedback good and bad, and we wanna hear the feedback good and bad. I'll specifically address your last point. I think as Robbie sought to address in his opening remarks, and certainly what you'll see, I'm conscious he's five weeks into the role. What you're going to see over the next 12 months is both the implementation of the remediation and also the path forward for The Star. We aspire to offer the premium entertainment offering in the Australian market, and we think we have the properties on which we can do that. Thanks again, Roman. Appreciate your question.
Yes.
Do we have any more questions?
Mr. Chairman, we have shareholder Kaz Kasim.
Hi, Kaz. Thanks for joining us.
I'm sorry, I don't really agree with this blinding light right on me. If you could mute it would help. What I'd like to know is Given the findings of the Royal Commission or the different inquiries, and revealing the major failings, has the board, current board, taken any measures to claw back some of the bonuses that were enjoyed by the past executive team and the board, for tasks that they didn't perform? I mean, are you taking any measures to claw back some of the money you paid? It's the money that came out of our pockets.
Yes. The answer to that question is that we have made no incentive payments, and we have various incentive programs to any of the executives who've left the organization. I should note that the Long-Term Incentive Program hasn't paid out for a number of years, so those executives haven't had access to those entitlements over that period of time. The board hasn't chosen to seek to claw back previously paid bonuses. I would note, as I just said, that those payments haven't been made for a number of years and in the overall scheme of things are modest.
Shouldn't some of their salaries be taken care of? I mean, they got paid for tasks they didn't perform. They were found to be behaving illegally and badly, unethically, every which way. I mean, there's something fundamentally wrong. Just getting sacked is okay, but they still got paid for jobs they didn't really perform properly.
Look, the individuals resigned rather than being sacked. The Star did and continues to always meet its contractual obligations, and so one of those obligations is the contractual obligations in an employment contract. Where we have the opportunity, or the discretion, not to make payments, i.e., incentives we haven't, but our contractual entitlements don't, or contractual obligations don't change.
No, no, but I mean, that's all very well, but what I'm saying, part of the contract is that you carry out a job ethically. If they fail to carry out those duties, surely there is. The contract becomes invalid. Therefore, the board should take measures to claw back some of the salaries they got paid for jobs they didn't perform properly. That's all I'm saying.
Thank you. Appreciate the question.
Okay.
Mr. Chairman, that's all the questions.
Okay. Thank you. We'll now move to questions on the telephone line. Operator, are there any questions on the teleconference line?
There are no questions from shareholders participating by teleconference.
Okay. Thank you. Now we'll move to questions from shareholders who have sent in written questions online.
Mr. Chairman, you may wish to comment on a comment which has come from shareholder James Yo. "I'm worried Crown Sydney will get all VIP members' details. Also next month, we'll open up to gold members. They're opening next level, they should build themselves." That's the comment from James.
Thank you. I'll ask Robbie to address this one.
Look, thanks for the question. Our approach in relation to Crown Sydney is we, you know, we obviously understood when they were opening. We've understood that they would have quite a targeted program to market their business. That's something we anticipated and have programmed for. We have our own approach in relation to defending our customer base, and that's something that's in train with the team at the moment. That is part of the normal competition that you will see when you've got two properties in one market.
Thanks, Robbie.
Chairman, there are no further online questions.
Thank you. As there appear to be no more questions, I'll now move to the next three items on the agenda, which is items two, three, and four, which relate to the election of directors. As noted in the notice of meeting, under the company's constitution, any director who is appointed by the board may hold office only until the end of the next annual general meeting following their appointment and is eligible for election at that meeting. This requirement doesn't apply to the Managing Director. There were three directors under consideration for election at this meeting who were appointed after the last annual general meeting. Item four, which relates to the election of Mr. David Foster as a director, has been withdrawn from the business to be considered at this meeting.
That is purely a timing issue, as the required regulatory approvals for David Foster's appointment have not yet been received. David Foster election will be put to shareholders at the next AGM. I would say David Foster's here today, those who are here in the room will have a chance to meet him at coffees afterwards. The two directors standing for election at this meeting are Michael Issenberg and Anne Ward. The resolutions relating to the director elections are ordinary resolutions, which require a majority of votes cast by shareholders entitled to vote on the resolution or by their appointed proxy or authorized representative. Each of the directors, other than the relevant director standing for election, recommends the election of each of the other directors. I turn now to the individual directors.
Item two of the agenda relates to the election of Michael Issenberg as a director of the company. Michael joined the board as a Non-E xecutive Director on 11 July 2022, following the receipt of all regulatory approvals. He is currently a member of the Audit Committee, the Risk, Compliance, and Regulatory Performance Committee, as well as the Remuneration, People, and Social Responsibility Committee. Details of Michael's experience are included in the Directors Report section of the annual report. As I referenced earlier, Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration from Cornell University in the United States. As is customary for directors seeking election, I'd welcome Michael to step up to the lectern to address shareholders in attendance with a few words.
Thank you, Ben. Good morning, everyone. Today, I am seeking your support to be elected to The Star Entertainment Group as a Non-Executive Director. As Ben mentioned, I was appointed to the board in July and previously served as an observer of the board since February of this year, and am a member of all of the board committees. As set out in the notice of the meeting, I have extensive experience in the hospitality industry with over 40 years of experience as an executive and also as a director. This experience enables me to provide valuable input to the issues that the board needs to consider.
Before I joined The Star Entertainment Group, I was the Chairman of Reef Corporate Services Limited, which is the responsible entity of the Reef Casino Trust and operates the Reef Casino Hotel in Cairns, and also served as a director of that company for almost 20 years. Prior to that, I was an executive with Accor hotels for more than 25 years. My last position with Accor was as the Chairman and Chief Executive of Accor Asia Pacific, responsible for more than 1,200 hotels throughout the Asia Pacific region. I was formerly Chief Executive Officer of Mirvac Hotels and held positions with Westin Hotels & Resorts, Laventhol & Horwath and Horwath in both San Francisco and Sydney. I'm currently the Chairman of Tourism Australia and a lifetime member of the Tourism Transport Forum, an important lobbying group for the industry.
With my extensive experience in the hospitality and tourism industry, I can contribute to various matters and issues that need to be considered and dealt with by the board. With your support, I look forward to continuing to serve on the board of your company. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Michael. Before moving to the election of Michael Issenberg as a director, I now invite shareholder questions, starting with questions from the floor.
Mr. Chairman, introducing Carol Limmer from the ASA.
I would just like to say that the Australian Shareholders sees Mr. Issenberg as well-credentialed for a board role, and we will be voting in favor of his election. Just as a general comment, and in relation to Mr. Foster still awaiting regulatory approval, and then the two people just recently announced, Deborah Page and Toni Thornton. Could you just explain to people present what's involved when someone's a board observer, what they actually do and what whether they take part in any decision-making? Thank you.
Sure. Not relevant to this item, but a good question, Carol, and very happy to answer it. The process we discussed a little earlier in the meeting requires this phase where a director may be nominated but not yet able to fulfill their role as a director. And typically, directors are board observers for that period of time. That means they attend board meetings, a matter for the chair, but in my case, and John's case, my predecessor, we would invite the board observers to participate in the conversation and the discussion to bring their expertise to bear.
In the event of a resolution or a decision, the board observers don't have a vote, if you will, at the board table, and so they don't participate in resolutions while they're an observer. Thanks, Carol. If no further questions on the floor, I might check if there's any questions on the telephone.
There are no questions from shareholders participating by teleconference.
Thank you, operator. I'll check if there are any questions from shareholders who have sent in written questions.
There are no questions online, Chairman.
As there are no more questions, I'll now put the motion to approve item two, that Michael Issenberg be elected as a director of the company. I confirm that the board fully supports the election of Michael as a director. Details of valid proxies and direct votes in respect of this item of business are set out on the screen. Well, they're about to be. For the shareholders on the phone, the slide shows that we've received 99.46% of votes for the resolution and 0.37% of votes against the resolution. If you have not already done so, please place your vote on your voting card. I'll turn now to item three. Item three of the agenda relates to the election of Ms. Anne Ward as a director of the company.
Details of Anne's experience are also included in the directors' report section of the annual report. Anne is currently a member of the Audit Committee. The Risk, Compliance and Regulatory Performance Committee, as well as the Remuneration, People and Social Responsibility Committee. I'd welcome Anne to step up to the lectern and say a few words.
Thank you, Ben. Good morning, everyone. Like Michael before me, I'm also seeking your support to be elected to The Star Entertainment Group board as a Non-Executive Director. As Ben mentioned, I joined the board as an observer in August of this year. I have now received all necessary regulatory approvals. I'm pleased to offer myself for election as a Non-Executive Director. As you will have seen in the explanatory notes to the notice of meeting, my background and early career was in the law and in financial services. 10 years ago, I became a professional company director. You can read my bio in the explanatory notes. I won't go over all of those details, but I thought I would outline the four key areas of expertise I believe I bring to The Star board. First, I bring deep governance experience as a company director.
I have served on 24 boards and chaired 10 of them across a range of industries spanning financial services, banking, insurance, technology, healthcare, government, education, tourism and entertainment. I currently chair the boards of two ASX-listed technology companies, Redbubble Limited and Symbio Holdings Limited. Second, I offer extensive experience in the governance and risk management of companies in highly regulated sectors. Before joining The Star Entertainment Group, I was a Non-Executive Director of Crown Resorts Limited. I was appointed to the Crown board in January this year and retired in June 2022 after the takeover by Blackstone was completed. Previously, I have served as chairman of four APRA-regulated financial services companies, including Colonial First State Investments Limited and Qantas Superannuation Limited. Third, I bring a legal skill set.
Prior to my career as a professional director, I was a commercial lawyer for 28 years and was general counsel for Australia at the National Australia Bank and a partner at MinterEllison in Melbourne. Fourth, in many of the roles I have mentioned, I have led significant remediation and cultural transformation programs. I believe this experience stands me in good stead to contribute to the reforms underway at The Star and enables me to provide valuable input into issues that are being considered by the board. If I am elected today, I will continue to apply my skills, knowledge, and experience to make a positive contribution to the future success of The Star and to drive value for you, our shareholders. Thank you.
Thank you, Anne. Before moving to the election of Anne Ward as a director, I now invite shareholder questions.
Mr. Chairman, we have Carol Limmer, ASA.
Thanks . Similarly to Mr. Issenberg, I'd just like to say that Australian Shareholders' Association also sees Ms. Anne Ward as very well-credentialed to take on a board role with The Star, and we will be supporting her election. Thank you.
Thank you, Carol. Thanks for saying that. It looks like no further questions on the floor. Are there any questions on the telephone line?
There are no questions from shareholders participating by teleconference.
Thanks, operator. I'll now check if there's any written questions online.
No questions online, Chairman.
Thank you. As there are no more questions, I'll now put the motion to approve item three, that Anne Ward be elected as a director of the company. I can confirm the board fully supports the election of Anne as a director. Details of valid proxies and direct votes in respect of this item of business are set out on the screen. For shareholders on the phone, the slide shows that we've received 98.84% of votes for the resolution and 0.99% of votes against the resolution. If you've not already done so, please place your vote on the voting card. As I mentioned at the start, item four of the agenda has been withdrawn.
The remaining items of business, items five through eight, relate to the remuneration report, the grant of performance rights, and potential retirement benefits to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. As set out in the notice of meeting, there are voting restrictions applicable to these items. Votes cast by relevant key management personnel or their closely related parties will be disregarded unless they are holding directed proxies. As intended in the notice of meeting, I intend to vote all undirected proxies in favor of items five, six, seven, and eight. Turning to item five, this item of business is the advisory resolution to adopt the company's remuneration report in respect of the year ending 30 June 2022. The shareholder vote on this resolution is advisory only and does not bind the directors or the company. I will now take questions regarding the remuneration report.
For shareholders participating online, please submit your questions if you haven't done so already.
Mr. Chairman, reintroducing Carol Limmer from the ASA.
Carol.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I note that the very recent announcement that the 2019 allocation under the Long-Term Incentive Program, that those performance rights have now lapsed. So that's the start of that one. Just like to commend you for not receiving extra money when you're undertaking two roles, you know, as interim board chair and also interim CEO, pending Robbie Cooke's appointment. Yes. Thank you.
Thanks, Carol. If no further questions, I'll check if we have any questions on the telephone.
There are no questions from shareholders participating by teleconference.
Thanks, operator. I'll now check if we have questions that have been sent in online.
There are no questions online, Chairman.
Thank you. As there appear to be no further questions, I'll now move that the remuneration report in respect of the financial year 30 June 2022 be adopted. The board recommends that shareholders vote in favor of adopting the remuneration report in respect of the year to 30 June 2022. Details of valid proxies and direct votes received in respect of this item of business are set out on the screen. For the shareholders on the phone, the slide shows that we've received 70.11% of votes for the resolution and 29.75% of votes against the resolution.
While the final results will be determined by the poll at the end of the meeting, as we can see, based on the proxies received prior to the start of the meeting, it appears the company is heading towards a first strike in relation to its remuneration report. I only say to you here, the company takes and views shareholders' views extremely seriously and will seek to do so over the next 12 months. The next item of business is item six, and it relates to a one-off grant of performance rights to Mr. Robbie Cooke, the company's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. The notice of meeting contains significant detail about the one-off grant of 580,383 performance rights to the value of AUD 1.6 million with a three-year performance period.
This one-off grant is a sign-on incentive under Robbie's employment contract and was mentioned in our ASX announcement on 29 June 2022 regarding Robbie's appointment as Managing Director. Robbie commenced in the role of CEO on 17 October 2022 and received his regulatory approvals was appointed to the board, just last week, I think, on the 18th of November. The one-off performance rights may vest on 23 September 2025 subject to the satisfaction of applicable performance hurdles under the Long-Term Incentive Plan. If the performance hurdles have not been met by that test date, then any unvested performance rights will lapse. The equally weighted performance hurdles which apply in respect of the grant of these performance rights are relative total shareholder return, earnings per share, and return on invested capital.
Details of the performance hurdles are set out in the notice of meeting, which is the same as the performance hurdles under the Long-Term Incentive Plan. If shareholders' approval is not obtained today, Robbie will be paid the cash equivalent of the one-off performance rights three years after the grant date, subject to Robbie's continuing employment with the company and the performance hurdles having been met. Before moving to approve the one-off grant of performance rights to Robbie Cooke, I'll now take questions from shareholders.
Mr. Chairman, reintroducing Carol Limmer, ASA.
Carol.
Thank you. I understand that Robbie Cooke's got a very good reputation in relation to his leadership qualities, including in relation to culture, which of course is very important going forward for The Star. Also, I acknowledge, I guess, that the granted performance rights has got a shareholder alignment focus and is looking to the long-term sustainability of The Star. I wonder if you could perhaps just explain a little bit more about why a sign-on award was necessary. Thank you.
No, absolutely, Carol. an important question. You're right in identifying the company found itself in a position earlier this year where we had to urgently look to find a suitable CEO, a suitable leader to take the business forward. Frankly, in the circumstances we did and do find ourselves in, it was critical we find the right person. You're also right in identifying that culture and cultural settings and true leadership ability really drove that search. We were delighted that Robbie was willing and in fact, really very positively engaged in the opportunity. Everything so far has been very positive in that context. Of course, Robbie was coming out of a preexisting role where he had entitlements to existing long-term incentives with his previous employer.
As is customary in the circumstances, we sought to ensure that he wasn't financially disadvantaged in that move across. That's important because otherwise, it wouldn't make economic sense for Robbie to make the move. We were also well aware that to an earlier question, I think asked by you, Carol, of the future possibility of a transaction with respect to The Star. And for an individual of Robbie's caliber, he's very conscious of making sure if he's making a significant move as he has to come to The Star, that if that ended up being for a short tenure because we were taken over, for example, that he wouldn't be overly disadvantaged in that circumstance. This one-off grant was designed to address those concerns.
We looked at other similar circumstances at other organizations. We sort of carefully considered whether it was appropriate and formed a view comfortably that it was the right move, and facilitated us being able to bring Robbie on board. If no further questions on the floor, I'll check if there's questions on the telephone.
Chair, we have a question from shareholder James Lu. Please go ahead.
James.
Yes.
If no further questions on the floor.
Yes.
I'll check if there's questions on the telephone.
Yeah.
Yeah. We have a question from shareholder James Lu. Please go ahead.
Hello. Yes. Yes. I'm in the VIP.
If no further questions on the floor.
I'm in the in the share trading.
Shareholder James Lu. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hello. Yes. I'm in the VIP, and also is a shareholder. So I just worry about this, now, Crown, they are much job, you know, much business is going well, but they. Actually, they own from our VIP team, right? And I just say is because they, you know, this, they ask for a lot of details, which is, your VIP, who is your look after you, and the host, and the mobile phone number. They try to dis-- lot of, you know, the information you can. So this is the. I can see that, Crown is only third day, they are very busy. They are putting the free food and the triple points. So that is, you know, there's lot of things which happening there.
Back to The Star, you know, the share, the table, the most table is gone to the other side, which is the. We can see the site, but nothing is, you know, from Crown or from The Star. We, we worry about the share, right? You know, this is falling down, right? We have to, you know, how you can, you know, put the shares going up, you know. Robbie, I know is working with TV, which is another the time in TV is like $2 something. After it went to the $7, right? Now I really want to, you know, this, you know, Robbie to include job. Also now, mostly voting is for, you know.
I do know this is the now in ways now it's very difficult time, you know. If, if, you know, the only feature we have to put more, you know, for the, for the, you know, the to gambling, you know, the, you know, every customer, you know. So we have to bring back from this Crown.
Sure.
Because Crown next month, they will be open next level, and they starting get away the gold cup from The Star. We have to really security. How you can stop that, right? Yeah, that's right question.
James, thank you. Not your fault, but unfortunately, that was very difficult to hear. I think you had some concerns that relate to our RG processes, our responsible gambling processes within The Star. We might seek to respond to that question outside of the meeting, just so we can be sure we understand it clearly what you're saying. I don't believe that question related specifically to this item. So I don't think we need to address it right now in relation to this resolution. Operator, are there any other questions on the telephone?
There are no further questions on the telephone.
Thank you. I'll check now if we have any written questions online.
There are no questions online, Chairman.
Thank you. As there appear to be no further questions. Sorry, just give me a moment. Sorry about that. I just had an error in my script. That's fine. As there appear to be no further questions, I'll now ask that we bring up on the screen the proxies on this resolution. For those on the telephone, the proxies in favor is 94.52% and against is 5.31%. Okay, let's move to item seven, which is a proposal to grant performance rights to Mr. Cooke, the company's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer under the company's Long-Term Incentive Plan. It is proposed that shareholders approve the grant to Mr. Robbie Cooke of a long-term incentive equivalent to AUD 1.6 million, which equates to 581,670 performance rights.
I note this is different to the previous resolution, which was the one-off grant in relation to his appointment. This is the standard annual grant of LTI. Because Robbie Cooke is a director of the company, it's required to come to shareholders. The notice of meeting contains significant detail about performance rights proposed to be granted to Robbie Cooke under the company's long-term performance plan. The performance rights may vest on 27 October 2026, subject to the satisfaction of applicable performance hurdles. If the performance hurdles have not been met on that test date, any unvested performance rights will lapse.
The equally weighted performance hurdles which apply in respect of the grant of these performance rights are relative total shareholder return, earnings per share, and return on invested capital. Details of the performance hurdles are set out in the notice of meeting. Before moving to approve the FY 2023 grant of performance rights to Robbie Cooke, I'll invite shareholder questions. It seems we have no questions on the floor. Are there any questions on the telephone?
There are no questions from shareholders participating by teleconference.
Thank you, operator. I'll check now if there are any written questions that have been sent in online.
There are no online questions, Chairman.
As there appear to be no further questions, I'll now put the resolution that approval be given to the grant of 581,670 performance rights to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Robbie Cooke, under the Long-Term Performance Plan on the basis described in the notice of meeting. The directors unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. Details of valid proxies and direct votes received in respect of this item of business are set out on the screen. For shareholders on the phone, the slide shows that we've received 99.21% of votes for the resolution and 0.16% of votes against the resolution. If you've not already done so, please place your vote on the voting card.
The next item, I believe the last item of business, relates to the potential retirement benefits for Mr. Robbie Cooke if he later retires from his role as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. As set out in the notice of meeting, this item is seeking approval for retirement benefits that may potentially be provided to Robbie in accordance with his contract of employment. The table on page 17 of the notice of meeting sets out the type and value of potential benefits that may be provided to Robbie, depending on the reason for the termination of his employment. I'd like to provide some clarification on the reference to performance rights in that table and their potential treatment if Robbie's employment is terminated.
The one-off grant of performance rights to Robbie are the only performance rights that may automatically vest if Robbie's employment is terminated for a reason other than for cause or by resignation during the three-year period from the grant date. Otherwise, the one-off grant remains subject to the performance hurdles under the Long-Term Incentive Plan for the three-year performance period. The FY 2023 grant, the one we just dealt with, and any future grants under the Long-Term Incentive Plan will be treated in accordance with the company's employee performance plan rules, which state that all performance rights will lapse upon cessation of employment unless the board determines otherwise. For shareholders participating online, please submit your questions if you haven't done so already. I'll ask now for questions from the floor. There being no questions, I'll check if there's any questions on the telephone.
There are no questions from shareholders participating by teleconference.
Thank you, operator. I'll ask now if there's been any written questions sent in online.
There are no online questions, Chairman.
As there appear to be no further questions, I'll now put the resolution that approval be given to the potential retirement benefits for Mr. Cooke. The directors unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. Details of valid proxies and direct votes received in respect of this item of business are set out on the screen. For the shareholders on the phone, the slide shows that we've received 99.33% of votes for the resolution and 0.16% of votes against the resolution. If you have not already done so, please place your vote on the voting card. Ladies and gentlemen, we've now dealt with all of the items of business in the notice of meeting. There being no further business, that concludes this annual general meeting.
For the shareholders who are online, you can continue to submit your votes through the online platform for five minutes after this meeting closes. For shareholders in the room, if you haven't already done so, please complete your voting card by marking in the box either for or against each resolution. Once you have completed the voting card, you may place it in one of the ballot boxes held by the share registry staff or place it in one of the ballot boxes near the exit. Link Market Services Limited will count the votes as the returning officer, and we will announce the results of the poll to the ASX as soon as possible after this meeting. On behalf of the board and management, thank you to everyone who has attended this meeting in person, online or through the teleconference facility.
Thank you also to all of those who have engaged with us by submitting questions in advance and during the meeting. For all the attendees in the theater, I invite you to stay and join me and my fellow directors and members of the executive management team for refreshments in the foyer of the event center. There will be staff members outside to assist with directions. I now declare the 2022 AGM closed.