Companies are starting to take discontent about board directors' remuneration into account, the Shareholders' Association says.
The telecommunications company Spark has scrapped a plan to vote on a $8000 increase for its directors after some shareholders expressed concern about raising the remuneration fee pool to $1.6 million a year.
Shareholders' Association president John Hawkins said it was important to get a balance between pay and skills, and it was not always necessary to pay more than the job was worth.
He said companies were listening very closely to their shareholders - and that had led to a change in attitudes in some cases.
Mr Hawkins said it was important for companies to explain the reasons for directors' pay rises.