44. Corporateservices

Secretariat 96

Managementofhumanresources 97

Informationandcommunicationtechnology 102

Corporatecommunications 104

MDBCstaffparticipatinginanenvironmentclean-upday(Ph

oto

: A

rth

ur

Mo

stead

)

96 MURRAY-DARL I NG BAS I N COMM I S S I ON

SecretariatSupportservicestotheMurray-DarlingBasinMinisterialCouncilandtheMurray-

DarlingBasinCommissionareprovidedthroughtheSecretariat.Alongwiththe

fullrangeofsecretariatservicestotheCouncilandCommission,in2004–05

theSecretariatbeganprovidingsupporttothehigh-levelcommitteeswithinthe

Commissionoffice–theFinanceCommittee,theAuditCommittee,theRiver

MurrayWaterAdvisoryBoardandTheLivingMurrayBoard.

MinisterialCouncilmetinNovember2004andagaininApril2005,thelatter

includingajointmeetingwiththeCommunityAdvisoryCommittee.The

CommissionmetinSeptember2004,November2004,March2005andJune

2005.Twelvehigh-levelcommitteemeetingsweresupportedthroughouttheyear.

Inaddition,theSecretariatmanagesout-of-sessiondecision-makingprocesses

forCouncil,Commissionandhigh-levelcommittees.Thecorporaterecordofall

agendas,papers,minutesandreportsforthesecommitteesismaintainedby

theSecretariatalongwithmembershipdetailsfortheCouncilandCommission.

AppendixesAandCdetailthemembershipofMinisterialCouncilandthe

Commissionrespectively.

Fromearly2004,theSecretariatcommencedacoordinatingroleforthe

managementoftheMurray-DarlingBasinAgreement,includingtrackingthe

progressofamendmentsthroughtheparliamentsofpartnergovernments.

AmastercopyoftheAgreementismaintainedandpublicversionsissuedas

amendmentsareincorporated.Amendmentsagreedin2001and2002werein

train,withtablingprocessesinthepartnergovernmentsbegunbutnotfinalised

byJune2005.

TheManagerSecretariatisalsotheExecutiveOfficeroftheCommunityAdvisory

Committeeand,alongwiththestaffoftheSecretariat,supportstheactivitiesof

theCAC(reportedonseparately).

97ANNUALREPORT2004–2005

Managementofhumanresources

Overview

ThepriorityfortheHumanResourcesteamin2004–05wasthedevelopment

andimplementationofcontemporaryhumanresourcespoliciesandprocedures

tosupporttheoperationalneedsoftheMDBCandthedevelopmentofaHuman

ResourcesStrategicPlanforthefuture.

Workforceplanning,recruitmentandretention

AnumberofseniorpositionsintheCommissionwerefilledin2004–05including

theChiefExecutive,GeneralManagerNaturalResources,DirectorWaterPolicy

CoordinationandDirectorRiverMurrayEnvironmentalManagement.There

weresignificantchangesinthestructureoftheNaturalResourceManagement

Divisiontobetteralignwiththeoverallnaturalresourcemanagementprioritiesof

theCommission.

In2004–05thetotalnumberoffixed-termemployeesemployedbythe

Commissionwas123andtheattritionratewasapproximately10percent.

ThemajorityofstaffareemployedintheNaturalResourceManagementDivision,

illustratedinFigure4.1.

Figure4.1:MDBCemployeesbydivision

TheCommission’ssalarystructureisbasedonsixbroadsalarybands

(ProfessionalOfficer(PO)levels1–6).Figure4.2showsthenumberofemployees

classifiedaccordingtosalarybands.

98 MURRAY-DARL I NG BAS I N COMM I S S I ON

Figure4.2:MDBCemployeesbyclassificationbands

Femaleemployeesconstitute53percentofCommissionemployees;theaverage

ageofemployeesis41years.

SeniorExecutives

AllSeniorExecutivesareemployedunderfive-yearcontractsthatspecifytheir

conditionsofemployment.In2004–05Executivepayriseswerealignedwith

the4percentincreaseprovidedforallstaffintheCommission’sCertified

Agreement.

Performancemanagement

Akeyhighlightfor2004–05wastheimplementationoftherefreshed

PerformanceManagementandDevelopmentScheme(PMDS)andareviewof

individualcareerdevelopmentplans.Thesystemisnowonanannualcyclewith

allperformanceassessmentstobecompletedbytheendofMayeachyear.

Individualemployees’PMDSswillreflectthegoalssetoutintheCommission’s

StrategicPlan.

99ANNUALREPORT2004–2005

Occupationalhealth,safetyandwelfare

TheCommissioncontinuestopromoteimprovedworkpracticesandattitudes

forasustainablehealthandsafeworkenvironment.TheEmployeeAssistance

ProgramcommencedinSeptember2004andOSAGroupwasselectedasthe

successfulcontractortoprovidethisservice.

AnOH&SauditoftheCommissionOfficewasconductedinSeptember2004and

allauditrecommendationswereimplementedbyJune2005.TheCommission

heldOH&Strainingforallmanagersandstaffandtrainingforstaffinmanual

handlingandergonomicassessmentsaspreventativemeasuresforworkplace

injuriesduringtheyear.

TheCommissioncontinuestopromoteahealthybalancebetweenworkand

privatelifethroughtheuseofflexitime,timeoffinlieuforseniorofficers,

personalcarers’leave,provisionoflunchtime‘yogalates’classes,supportfor

employeesinsportingevents,inclusionoffamilymembersatworkfunctionsand

trainingofemployeesintheresolutionofworkplaceharassment.Thehealthy

workplacecultureoftheCommissionissupportedbythenormaluseofsick

leaveandbythefactthattherehavebeennostresscompensationclaims.

Rewardsandrecognition

TheCommissionhelditsinauguralrewardsandrecognitionceremonyfor

employeesinMarch2005,demonstratingitscommitmenttobuildingamodern,

flexibleworkplacewhereindividual,teamandorganisationalachievementis

practisedandvalued.TheCommissionrecognisesthesignificantbenefitsin

investinginitspeopleconsistentwiththebenefitsavailabletootherpartner

contractinggovernments.

Awardswerepresentedforoutstandingcontributionbyateamoremployee,

outstandingcontributiontosafety,outstandingcontributionbyasupport

employee,leadershipandservicetothecommunity.Therewardsandrecognition

policyalsopromotesinformalawardsthroughouttheyearthatrecognisethe

highachievementsofindividualstaffmembersorteams.

100 MURRAY-DARL I NG BAS I N COMM I S S I ON

Learninganddevelopment

TheCommission’sLearningandDevelopmentFramework,whichsupportsthe

Commission’sgoalstobealearningorganisation,wasendorsedinDecember

2004.

TheCommissionprovidesprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesandsupports

employeesinundertakingdevelopmentactivities.Thereisalignmentbetween

learninganddevelopmentactivitiesandtheCommission’sbusinessplanning

processesthroughthePerformanceManagementandDevelopmentScheme.

TheCommission’slearninganddevelopmentframeworkconcentratesonfive

distinctbutcomplementaryelements:

externalstudiessupport(studyleave)

specialisedtrainingrelatingtoaspecificprojectorprogram

corporateinitiativesincludingleadershipprograms

attendanceandparticipationatsignificantconferences/seminars

theMDBCmanagementdevelopmentprogram.

TheCommissionwillmonitorandevaluateitslearninganddevelopmentstrategy

in2005–06toensureitremainseffectiveinmeetingkeyorganisationgoals.

ChiefExecutive’sawards

TheRewardsandRecognitionInitiativeswereidentifiedduring2004aspartof

aseriesofinter-relatedHRpoliciesforimplementationwithintheCommission.

TheirdevelopmentinvolvedthecooperationandassistanceoftheWorkplace

ConsultativeCommittee(WCC)andreflectedthedesireoftheWCCand

managementtoputinplaceasuitablearrangementforacknowledgingthe

effortsofstaffgenerally.Thewinneroftheawardforoutstandingcontributionby

ateamoremployeewastheRMWProductionTeam.

Whennominated,theteamwasnotedforprovidinganeffective24/7service

inadifficultyear.Itdemonstratedacommitmentto‘notwasteadrop’

duringaprolongedandseveredrought.Theteam,whichisfundamentalto

theCommission’sreputationasacompetentandrespectedwatermanager,

undertookanumberofnewinitiativesduringtheyear.Italsodemonstrateda

willingnessandenthusiasmtotrainnewmembersanddevolveresponsibilitiesas

individuals’skillsdeveloped.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

101ANNUALREPORT2004–2005

TheRiverMurrayWaterproductionteam—winnersoftheawardforoutstandingcontributionbyateamoremployee.Back row, left to right:DamianGreen,JaniceCoggan,JimForeman,PeterShaw,NevilleGarland,SandieBrown.Front row, left to right:JulianneMartin,HeatherPeachey,ChrisDiaconu,JudySwann,BryanHarper

TheOutstandingServiceawardsaredesignedtoacknowledgebothperformance

andcommitmenttotheCommissionoverthelongerterm.

(Ph

oto

: K

evin

Tic

eh

urs

t)

Thisyeartherewere13recipientsofthe10-yearserviceawards:(left to right)BrianLawrence,RayLeister,PaulNanninga,KerynCobden,ScottKeyworth,RobertTriggs,MauriceLayne,SimonPellatt,JudyAndrews,AndyClose,JoanneRoberson,BryanHarper(absent:TrevorJacobs)

(Ph

oto

: K

evin

Tic

eh

urs

t)

102 MURRAY-DARL I NG BAS I N COMM I S S I ON

Workplacerelations

TheCommissionandemployeescontinuetoworkcooperativelythroughthe

WorkplaceConsultativeCommittee(WCC)toimproveworkplacerelationsinthe

Commission.ExecutiveManagementoftheCommissionandstaffrepresentatives

meetregularlytoaddressworkplacerelationsmatters.TheWCCwillplaya

pivotalroleinforthcomingnegotiationsforthenextCertifiedAgreement.

Informationandcommunicationtechnology

StrategicPlan

Ahigh-levelICTStrategicPlanwascompletedinDecember2004.Key

recommendationsoftheplanhavebeenimplementedandhaveresultedin:

establishmentoftheInformationManagementCommittee(IMC)tooversee

ICTgovernanceandriskmanagement

establishmentofanICTReferencePaneltoadvisetheIMCandtomanage,

documentandcommunicatetheCommission’sEnterpriseArchitecture

increasedresourcelevelswithintheICTServicesunittomitigateidentified

riskstoservicecontinuity.

TheICTStrategicPlanwillbeupdatedtosupporttheCommission’sStrategic

Planandwillbeunderpinnedbyoperationalplansforeachoftheareasinthe

CommissionresponsiblefordeliveringICTservices.

Infrastructure

Threekeyinfrastructureinitiativescommencedin2004–05.

StorageconsolidationbasedonthepurchaseofabaselevelStorageArea

Network.Thisinvestmentwillenablestoragetobemanagedindependently

ofservers.ItallowstheintegrationofUnix-basedandWindows-based

storage,anditrepresentsascalablestoragesolutionwhichcangrowtocater

forfutureinformationstorageneeds.

•

•

•

1.

103ANNUALREPORT2004–2005

Serverconsolidationbasedonvirtualservers.Likemostorganisations,the

Commissionhasexperiencedsignificantgrowthinthenumberofphysical

serversrequiredtosupportapplicationandinformationrequirements.This

initiativeallowsasinglephysicalservertohostmanyvirtualservers,providing

efficienciesintermsofcapitalandoperatingcostsandprovidingimproved

managementcapabilities.

InfrastructuretoestablishaCommissionextranet.Thiswillsupportnew

initiativesliketheSustainableRiversAuditthatrequiretheCommissionto

collaboratewithstakeholderslocatedoutsideoftheCommissionOffice.

Thisyearhasalsoseentheintroductionoftheuseofpersonaldigitalassistant

(PDA)devicesintheformoftheBlackberry,providingstaffwithmobileaccess

tovoiceandemailservices.

ThelevelofresourcesandeffortneededtosecuretheCommission’sICTsystems

hasgrownsignificantly.Newmeasuresarebeingconsideredto:

improveidentitymanagement

secureandprotectinformation

improvedefencesagainstvirusesandspyware

defendclientworkstationsandlaptops.

Applications

Alotofefforthasgoneintoimprovingtherecordsmanagementcapabilitiesof

theCommissionOffice.TherecordsmanagementpoliciesoftheCommission

havebeenupdatedthroughconsultationwithstaff.Anewbusinessclassification

schemehasbeendevelopedandaninformationcontainerstructureimplemented

consistentwiththisscheme.Thishasbeendoneinparallelwithamigrationto

thelatestversionoftheCommission’srecordsmanagementsoftwareandhas

beenaccompaniedbyextensivestafftraining.

Applicationssupportingthehumanresourcefunctionhavebeenupgraded

providingimprovedexecutivereportingcapabilityandadditionalfunctionality.A

web-basedinterfacetotheapplication,whichwillprovidestaffwithreadyaccess

totheirpersonalinformationandstreamlineprocessessuchasapplicationfor

leave,isscheduledforimplementation.

2.

3.

•

•

•

•

104 MURRAY-DARL I NG BAS I N COMM I S S I ON

Newandupgradedfinancialapplicationshavebeenestablishedtosupport

improvedfinancialmanagementandreporting.

Clientservices

AdditionalresourceshavebeenestablishedtosupportICTincidentmanagement

andproblemresolution.Thenewhelpdesksoftwarethathasbeenimplemented

todocumentincidents,problemsandresolutionswillleadtoimprovedservice

levelsandreportingcapability.

Corporatecommunications

Mediarelations

Issuesmanagementthroughtheuseofacomprehensivemediatrackingloghas

improvedtheMDBC’sabilitytofocuson,manageandbuildonspecificareasof

communicationthroughout2004–05.Thelogwasusedtoidentifyjournalists

andtheirspecificrequirementssothatmediarelationsbecamemoreproactive.

Theongoinguseofvideonewsreleasesusingcontemporaryandarchived

footageenabledtheMDBCtoportraytheBasinanditsnaturalresource

managementissuesinavisualformatmorecloselyalignedtoitsanditspartner

governments’perception,ratherthantheoftensensationalbroadermedia

industryview.

Mediacontactnetworksweremaintainedandthenumberofmediareleases

issuedremainedstableatabouttwoorthreepermonth.

Twointernaltwo-daymediaandpresentationskillsworkshopswereconducted

usingconsultantsEconnect.Workingjournalistsfromtelevision,radioandprint

wereguestprofessionalsduringtheseworkshops.

Mediaprotocolsandothercommunicationsrequirementswerere-iteratedto

staffboththroughmediatrainingandtheMDBCemailsystem.

105ANNUALREPORT2004–2005

Severaleventsthattookplaceduring2004–05providedtheMDBCwith

opportunitiestobuilduponrelationshipswithpartnergovernments.Aninformal

networkofnaturalresourcemanagementcommunicatorswasstartedtomaximise

opportunities,reduceduplicationandstreamlineaspectsofcommonprojects.

MDBCwebsite

ThenumberofvisitorstotheMDBCwebsiteandthenumberofpagesthey

viewedduring2004–05increasedsteadilytonearlydoublethepreviousyear.

Hitswereregularlyoveronemillionamonth,pagesviewedaveragedabout

130000permonth,andindividualvisitsabout25000permonth.Themost

consistentlysought-afterareasthroughouttheyearwereRiverMurrayWater

weeklyreports,mediareleases,theonlineencyclopaedia(especiallywildlife,

miningandagriculturepages)andgeneralinformationonnaturalresources,

environmentalissuesandsalinity.

Inresponsetochangingneedsofstakeholders,anew,re-developedversionof

thewebsitewasinitiated.Thenewsitewillbedrivenbyanopensourcecontent

managementsystemwhichwillallowindividualareasoftheMDBCtoupdate

theirownsubjectareas.Aprototypewascompletedwithinthereportingperiod

withthefinalversionduetoreplacethecurrentsitein2005–06.

E-letter

TheCommission’smonthlyemailnewsletterwasre-designedinhtmlformat

withahyperlinkedmenu.Bytheendofthereportingperiod,subscriptions

totalled830,anincreaseofmorethanathirdonthepreviousyear.The

newslettercontinuedtoreflectimportantdevelopmentsandinitiativeswithin

theCommissionandthroughouttheBasin.Towardstheendof2004–05items

fromthenewsletterwerebeingusedinatrialcommercialradiosegmentproject

called‘BasinNews’.

106 MURRAY-DARL I NG BAS I N COMM I S S I ON

MDBClibrary

MDBCmaintainsasmallspecialisedlibrary,staffedpart-time,offeringloanand

referenceservicestostaffandexternalclients.Thelibraryoperateswithinthe

MDBCCommunicationsteam,workingtocomplementanefficientinformation

provisionservice.Thecollectioncomprisesmorethan12200items,withsteady

growth,inparticular,overrecentyears.BetweenNovember2002andJune2005,

4300itemswereaddedtothecollection.

Thecollectioncontinuestobeavaluabletechnicalsourceforinformation,with

113requestsforinformationrecordedbetweenOctober2004andJune2005.

AllMDBCpublicationscontinuedtobesentto166librariesthroughoutthe

basin,includingschool,university,publicandcouncillibraries,ensuringthat

stakeholdershavereadyaccesstohardcopy.WhilethisincreasestheMDBC’s

profileandproductamongthecommunity,italsoencouragesagoodworking

relationshipbetweenBasinlibrariesandtheMDBClibrary.

ThelibrarycontinuedworkingonaprojecttorestoretheMDBC’shistorical

images.Theprojectwillcontinuetoencapsulatetherestorationandaccessto

theremainderoftheseimages,aswellasthestorage,accessandindexingof

audiovisualmaterial.Thisprojectforeshadowsadisastermanagementplantobe

undertakenin2005–06.

FromOctober2004thelibrarianalsocontributedtotheproductionofNewscan,

aweeklyselectivecompilationofnewspaperstoriestakenfromthemajordailies

andregionalpapersacrosstheBasin.Articlesarecopyrightclearedandare

arrangedwithinthefollowingbroadsubjectcategories:integratedcatchment

management,waterquality,watersharing,riverineecosystemhealthand

terrestrialbiodiversity.Thisfreeinformationserviceisdistributedeachweekto

some400subscribers.

107ANNUALREPORT2004–2005

MarkingSturt’sepicMurray-Darlingjourney

TheCommissionsponsored

severalactivitiesto

commemoratethe175th

anniversaryofthearrival

ofCaptainCharlesSturt

atthejunctionofthe

mightyMurrayandDarling

riversatWentworthon

23January1830.

Thecelebrationsbegan

inMerbeinandtravelled

downtheMurray,justlike

Sturt,tohistoricWentworth.

TheCommissionsawthe

anniversaryasawayto

bolsteranddeepenasense

oflocalandBasinhistory

withinthecommunity.The

mainorganisationsinvolved

werethePSRubyBoardof

Management,theWentworth

andMerbeinHistoricalSociety,

localserviceclubsandthe

WentworthMainStreetEvents

Committee.

Theposterpicturedatleftwas

usedtopublicisetheevents.

108 MURRAY-DARL I NG BAS I N COMM I S S I ON

Lock1underconstruction,MurrayRiver,29March1918

ThepictureshowsthecofferdamwiththeRiverMurraybehind.Aderrick-mountedpiledrivinga72-footlongbargeismooredbehindthedam,andotherbargesandapaddlesteamercanbeseeninthebackground.

Agravelhopperforconcretebatchingistotheleftandthelightrailandworkmen’ssitecanbeseenontherightbankoftheriver.

(So

urc

e: M

DB

C)