Aurizon dealt first strike over exec pay One of Australia's best paid executives: Lance Hockridge. Aurizon has received a stinging rebuke from shareholders over its payment of executives, suffering a so-called ""first strike"" despite it attempting to allay concerns by making it harder for managers to earn bonuses. The Queensland rail company has also incurred a backlash against the granting of share options to chief executive Lance Hockridge, which was described as ""excessive"" by the Australian Shareholders Association. Almost 19 per cent of proxies were cast against the granting of the performance rights. But shareholders saved their ire for the vote on the remuneration report at the annual meeting in Brisbane today. About 28 per cent of proxies cast against it, delivering a first strike against Aurizon under the ""two-strikes"" rule. The final tally of votes will not be released until later today but is not expected to change considerably. The company formerly known as QR National has borne the brunt of investor ire over its pay packages since it was floated three years ago. But this is the first time that it has suffered a first strike, putting the company's board a step closer to facing a spill. Independent director Russell Caplan also received a large protest vote against his re-election to the board. More than 11 per cent of proxies were cast against his re-election. Before the votes were cast, Aurizon chairman John Prescott had told shareholders that the board believed its executive-pay practices were ""operating effectively and are aligned to shareholder interests"." Mr Prescott, who himself faced calls to step down, emphasised that Aurizon was ""cognisant of current market trends"," and its top 80 managers would not receive any increase in their fixed pay this financial year. He also cited other changes to its pay polices including the ability for the company to clawback a portion of executive's short-term bonuses in the ""event of material financial misstatement"." Aurizon would also become more reluctant to change the goal posts for executive bonuses in the case of one-off events, such as bad weather affecting the company's ability to hit coal-haulage targets. ""Whatever views you may have on specific aspects of our remuneration arrangements, I submit [they] should be tested against the overall outcomes achieved for shareholders,"" Mr Prescott said. Before the meeting, the shareholders association had called for Mr Prescott to step down as chairman because it believed there needed to be ""boardroom accountability after three successive years of remuneration controversy"." It cast its proxy votes against both the executive-pay report and the granting of share rights to Mr Hockridge. An influential adviser to institutional investors had also advised clients to vote against the remuneration report, and abstain from voting on the granting of performance rights to Mr Hockridge. ISS had called for a no-vote because it believes the board has not raised the hurdles for executives" long-term bonuses after Aurizon embarked on a $1.1 billion share buyback last October. The proxy adviser had said the buyback had a ""materially positive impact""' on the long-term incentives for Aurizon executives, resulting in ""outcomes that did not truly reflect company performance"." Mr Hockridge received a 34 per cent rise in his total pay package last financial year to $6.1 million, making him one of the country's highest-paid executives. His pay totalled $4.57 million a year earlier. Meanwhile, Aurizon also reiterated today its guidance for the amount of coal it will haul this financial year of between 200 million and 205 million tonnes despite a strong performance in the first quarter. The company said it had kept its forecast unchanged because of the end of a contract last month, and potential disruptions to its rail haulage operations from the looming wet season in Queensland.