Just as with Ray Williams, there has been some very strong commentary about the $3 million payout to departing Centro CEO Andrew Scott.

Scott deserves to be condemned for creating too much complexity, taking on too much debt and operating with poor corporate governance at Centro.

However, you have to deal with the here and now. The payout is less than Scott’s contract provides and it locks him into co-operating with the banks, board and new management team for the next 10 weeks, when he’ll get the second $1.5 million instalment.

The biggest loser from summarily firing Scott would be Centro itself. Only he knows where all the bodies are buried, so he needs to be kept inside the tent. Sometimes that costs money, but it is a worthwhile investment.

The $3 million is small beer in the context of the $6 billion in equity that has been smoked so far, $18 billion in debt and the claimed $26.6 billion in assets. Scott also should be commended for not selling any of what used to be his $30 million Centro equity play, largely funded by Centro loans that will now probably be written off.

So what will consultant Scott and the banks work out over the next few weeks. One obvious buyer of the entire Centro group is Industry Funds Management – Gary Weaven’s amalgam of union-affiliated industry superannuation funds.

They’ve got more than $250 billion in funds, huge annual inflows and the need for long term investments.

Only last month, IFM joined up with Allco Finance Group to pay Con Edison $US1.5 billion for 29 US power generating units .

The IFM stake was 62.4% and it was a big direct investment in American infrastructure. Why not a big direct investment in 800 shopping centres through Centro?

Australia’s $1 trillion in super is the world’s fourth biggest national pension pile. Along with a strong banking system it is the biggest beacon of hope our economy has during this global credit crisis.

Whilst Australia has failed to participate in the Wall Street bailouts, confidence in our markets can well do without Centro formally collapsing. Given it’s the fifth biggest US shopping centre owner, our American friends would obviously prefer no fire sale.

IFM have got the regulatory and political risks covered in Australia with wall to wall Labor Government, so it’s time for Australia’s quirky socialist capitalist system to come into play.

Governments force workers into compulsory super, the unions have ironically delivered the best performance and value for money and with a huge pile of cash, it’s time they stepped in the hour of need.