Hydro Tasmania's Board of Directors has the corporate governance responsibilities of establishing the organisation's strategic direction, formulating corporate policy and monitoring its implementation, setting and monitoring risk management policies and procedures, and overseeing the prudent management of the financial affairs of the business on behalf of our owner, the State of Tasmania.
Corporate Governance Philosophy
In fulfilling its obligations to Government, employees and the wider community, the Board of Hydro Tasmania aims to exceed, rather than simply meet, the governance standards imposed by law or established practices.
Our corporate governance processes are shaped by:
- a desire to achieve the highest ethical standards in everything we do to ensure that we act fairly and in accordance with stakeholder expectations
- a concern to ensure the Board is operating efficiently and effectively in the execution of its responsibilities.
Governance Conditions
Governance conditions of Hydro Tasmania and its Board are specified in The Government Business Enterprises Act 1995.
The GBE Act specifies the role of the Board, the number of directors on the Board, the power of the Board and minimum Board Committee requirements. The Act also contains the process for appointing the Board, requirements to report conflicts of interest and conditions for ministerial (shareholder) directions to the Board.
Board appointments: The Governor of Tasmania appoints Board directors on the joint recommendation of the Treasurer and Portfolio Minister. The Board may recommend candidates with expertise that maintain the breadth of disciplines required by the business. The focus is on law, economics, engineering and finance. Social and environmental issues are dealt with through the Board Committees and require the Directors on those committees to have a high degree of knowledge or expertise in these fields.
Conflict of interest: The Board has a standing agenda item for disclosure of interests by Directors. Disclosures are recorded and reported to the Portfolio Minister and Treasurer as required under the GBE Act.
Shareholder oversight: The CEO and the Chair meet each month with the Portfolio Minister to discuss operations of the Corporation. Recommendations are made to the Board from within the organisation through the Executive Team reporting process. The Ministerial Charter and the Corporate Plan, which is tabled in Parliament, provide formal mechanisms for shareholder direction to the Board.
Remuneration: Remuneration for Board directors is determined by the Government and recommended to the Governor of Tasmania on appointment of directors. All executives, including the CEO, receive a salary package that incorporates an at risk component. This component is based on performance criteria relating to safety and financial performance and operational, environmental and social criteria as relevant to their role. No departure arrangements are made other than normal redundancy payments.