Unless you know something I don't, Boards don't get bonuses....

Unless you know something I don't, Boards don't get bonuses. They appoint the CEO (and by extension the management) and have an obligation to get the right/ best people, balanced with ensuring the company get value accordingly.

I'm less concerned with scale of remuneration as the alignment to shareholder returns. Frankly a million or two more $ is still way immaterial to the financial outcome. But Australia, and the world, is a small fish pond. Very easy to get stuck with poor management who can do a lot more damage than saving a few million on rem. Yes it becomes an upward competitive cycle. That's because the downside risk of getting mediocre management is so huge.

And yes, you may debate management's record. Personally I'm very happy with the trade off achieved over time for WHC in an industry without many friends (ie more challenging than average).