25 February 2009 - Senate Minutes

Present:	Mr Terry Budge (Chair) Prof John Yovich (Vice Chancellor) Mr Brian Aitken Ms Janice Bowra Prof Nick Costa Mr Russell Gibbs Mr Tony Iannello Dr Marion Kemp Mr Darren Munday Ms Maxine Murray Mr Paul Niardone Dr Jacqueline Phillips Ms Courtney Robertson Dr Lyndy Scott Ms Eva Skira Ms Basha Stasak Dr Stewart Washer
Secretary:	Mr Jeremy Rigg
Observers:	Mr Ian Callahan (DVC – Corporate) Prof. Jim Reynoldson (DVC – Research) Prof. Jan Thomas (DVC – Academic) Prof. Gary Martin (DVC – Faculty, Enterprise & International) Assoc. Prof Beverly Thiele (President, Academic Council) Ms Julie Keene Mr John Pike Ms Trudi McGlade
Apologies	Mr Garry Hunt

1. MEMBERSHIP
2. APOLOGIES
3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST (MURDOCH UNIVERSITY ACT s17A)
4. CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS MINUTES
5. VICE CHANCELLOR'S REPORT
6. THE ANNUAL REPORT UNDER THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ACT 2006
7. 2008 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE AUDIT & RISK MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
8. MEMBERSHIP OF SENATE COMMITTEES
9. AUDIT & RISK MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
10. LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
11. RESOURCES COMMITTEE
12. ACADEMIC COUNCIL
13. 2008 SENATE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
14. OFFICIAL SEAL
15. SENATE MEETING DATES FOR 2009
16. CHANCELLOR'S COMMITTEE - PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES - VICE CHANCELLOR

Meeting commenced at 4:35pm

1.MEMBERSHIP

The Chancellor welcomed student representatives Basha Stasak and Courtney Robertson to their first meeting of Senate.

The Chancellor also welcomed Ms Maxine Murray, who had been appointed at the end of 2008 but been unable to attend the December meeting, to her first meeting of Senate.  Ms Murray provided a brief outline of her background and noted that she was delighted to have joined the Senate.

Senate was advised that Dr Phillips had resigned from the University and that this would be her last Senate meeting.  Dr Phillips noted that it had been an honour to have served on the Senate.

2.APOLOGIES

Mr Garry Hunt. 

Senate noted that Mr Hunt, who was unable to attend the December meeting, had requested a leave of absence due to unavoidable work commitments.

Resolved: S/01/2009

To grant leave of absence to Mr Garry Hunt.

3.DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST (MURDOCH UNIVERSITY ACT s17A)

No declarations were made.

4.CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS MINUTES

Senate confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 17/12/2008 and noted the report of action on resolutions passed at this meeting.

5.VICE CHANCELLOR'S REPORT

Ms Courtney Robertson joined the meeting at this point.

The Vice Chancellor addressed a number of matters not included in his written report, including:

• A contribution from the State Government of $790,000 towards the cost of the campus roadworks required due to the proposed relocation of the Murdoch Drive entrance to align with the Fiona Stanley Hospital intersection has been confirmed.
  

• The Murdoch led bid for Commonwealth funding of $20m in support of the proposed Desalination Centre of Excellence has been submitted.  If successful, this will be the largest national research centre Murdoch has hosted.

• Murdoch has continued to make submissions directly to the Minster’s office regarding the Bradley review recommendations, including regarding increased levels of support for students of low socioeconomic status.

• Student enrolments are well ahead of where Murdoch was at this time last year, with CGS and international onshore student numbers up almost 9%.   It was noted that student retention rates are hard to predict, and current economic conditions increase the difficulty of this.

The Vice Chancellor spoke to his report and highlighted the following items:

• A traditional indigenous “smoking ceremony” was held on the anniversary of the apology to the Stolen Generation, to launch the newly installed flagpoles on Bush Court.

• Professor Phillip Jennings received an award from the Conservation Council of WA, in recognition of his outstanding commitment to environmental issues in WA for nearly three decades.  Senate agreed to pass on its congratulations to Prof Jennings.

• Universities Australia has selected Professor Jan Thomas, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) to be its representative on the Steering Committee for the Elite Athlete Friendly University Program.

• The Board of Trustees of the Murdoch University Veterinary Trust has met and made a number of recommendations for appointment of trustees, for the approval of Senate.

Resolved: S/02/2009	To approve:
	(i)	the appointment of Ms Jayne Endall, Dr Sue Beetson and Mr David Evans to the Trust for a term effective immediately and expiring 31 December 2011; and
	(ii)	the reappointment of Mr Brian Aitken and Professor John Howell to the Trust for  a term effective immediately and expiring 31 December 2011.
Resolved: S/03/2009	That the Chancellor, on behalf of Senate, write to Professor Jennings to congratulate him on his award of the Bessie Rischbieth Conservation Award

6.THE ANNUAL REPORT UNDER THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ACT 2006

It was noted that approved minutes of the Resources Committee meeting of 24 February 2009 had been tabled for members of Senate, along with a number of individual pages from the Annual Report and Financial Statements that had been amended based on the feedback from that Committee meeting.

The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Corporate), and Director, Finance Planning & Reporting spoke to the papers. It was noted that:

• The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) had advised that that the accounts would be qualified, due to the University’s treatment of research income.  This was a matter of considerable discussion in 2008, and as per last year, Murdoch has a strategy to manage the perception that may be created with key stakeholders.

• At this stage, no other significant issues had been raised by the OAG.

• The final result for 2008 is lower than had been forecasted at the December meeting of Senate due to a number of re-structuring cost adjustments.

• The revaluation of land and buildings that has taken place at the request of the OAG.

• Related party transaction questionnaire has been adopted for the first time, for completion by members of Senate.

The Chair of the Resources Committee advised that the papers had been reviewed in detail by the Committee, and that the Committee had recommended approval, subject to satisfactory management representations, completion of the related party questionnaire, and Office of the Auditor General sign off.

It was noted in the course of discussion that there remained a number of minor corrections to be made to the Annual Report and KPI papers.  Senate members also noted the significant impact of the adjustment of the treatment for St Ives income, which was in accordance with updated industry practice and had been the subject of considerable discussion at Resources Committee in 2008.

Senate was advised that in accordance new State government guidelines, the annual report will be produced in an unbranded format, and hard copies will be made available to Senate members only if specifically requested.

On the recommendation of the Resources Committee, and subject to a number of conditions; Senate resolved to approve the Annual Report, Financial Statements and University KPIs.

Resolved: S/04/2009	Subject to any minor amendments as relayed by Senate to University management, to:
	(i)	approve the chapters of the Annual Report; and
	(ii)	authorise the Chancellor to sign the Report by the Members of Senate.
Resolved: S/05/2009	Subject to completed Related Party Questionnaires and the Management Representation Letter being received to the satisfaction of University Management and the Office of the Auditor General, to:
	(i)	approve the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2008 subject to no material issues being raised by the auditor;
	(ii)	authorise the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor to sign the Statement of Compliance; and
	(iii)	authorise the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor and Chief Finance Officer to sign the Certification of Financial Statements.
Resolved: S/06/2009	Subject to any minor amendments as relayed by Senate to University management, to:
	(i)	approve the University Key Performance Indicators for the year ended 31 December 2008;and
	(ii)	authorise the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor to sign the Certificate of Performance Indicators for 2008 for inclusion in the 2008 Annual Report.

7.2008 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE AUDIT & RISK MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Ms Julie Keene left the meeting at this point

The Chair of the Audit and Risk Management Committee, Ms Eva Skira, spoke briefly to this report. Key points included:

• A new Director, Internal Audit & Risk Management was appointed in 2008 and has settled in well to the role.

• Significant work was undertaken in 2008 to reduce the backlog of outstanding audit recommendations, and this is ongoing.

• The implementation of the KPMG Risk Management review conducted in 2008 has commenced with a pilot project being undertaken within the Faculty of Minerals & Energy.

• Membership of the Committee has been changed with a view to greater alignment with the terms of reference.

Ms Skira thanked members of the Committee and University Secretariat for their support.  Senate noted the report of the Committee.

8.MEMBERSHIP OF SENATE COMMITTEES

Senate noted the 2009 Senate Committee membership list which had been attached to the agenda.

In accordance with the requirements of the Senate Charter, the appointments of Committee Chairs were approved by Senate, and co-opted member appointments were endorsed by Senate

Resolved: S/07/2009	To approve appointment of the Chairs of each Committee proposed for 2009 as attached to the agenda..
Resolved: S/08/2009	To endorse the co-option by the Audit and Risk Management Committee of:
	(i)	Ms Bev Schubert for a term of 1 year commencing 10 February 2009; and
	(ii)	Ms Andrea Hall for a term of 3 years commencing 10 February 2009.

9.AUDIT & RISK MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Senate noted the minutes of the Audit and Risk Management Committee meeting held on 10/02/2009. Matters requiring a resolution by Senate were considered under items 7 and 8 above.

10.LEGISLATION COMMITTEE

Senate noted the minute of the Legislation Committee decision by circular resolution effective 11/02/2009 and resolved as follows:

Resolved: S/09/2009	To amend the following legislation (as attached):
	(i)	Bachelor Degree Regulation 1(1); and
	(ii)	Bachelor Degree Regulation 4(4).
Resolved: S/10/2009	To amend the following legislation (as attached)
	(i)	By-laws 4, 40, 42, 46 and 47.

11.RESOURCES COMMITTEE

The Chair of the Resources Committee, Mr Tony Iannello spoke to the minutes of the Resources Committee meeting held on 24 February 2009. In particular, he highlighted that:

• The proposed purchase of the Veterinary Farm had been discussed by management with the Chancellor and Chair of the Committee, before any offer was made, but was subject to Senate approval.  The Committee recommended approval of the terms and conditions.

• In relation to the MIT and Business School building proposal, the Committee had requested more detailed information regarding the Business School aspects, and the matter has been deferred to the next meeting of the Committee.

• Both the Veterinary Surgery extension and Engineering building projects had the full support of the Committee.  An additional resolution was included in relation to the Veterinary Surgery project, regarding the possible sale of the University’s current land holding in Mundijong to partly fund the project.

There was some discussion regarding the format of papers presented to the agenda.  It was noted that, in light of the timing of the Committee meeting, minutes were not able to be provided as part of the agenda pack, and in their place the Committee briefing papers (without attachments) had been provided as background information.

Resolved: S/11/2009	To approve
	(i)	the terms and conditions of the purchase of 1136 Mundijong Road, Mardella as presented; and
	(ii)	expenditure of up to the budgeted amount of $5m on the transaction and related costs (including stamp duty and proposed minor capital works).
Resolved: S/12/2009	In relation to the Veterinary Small Animal Surgery project, to:
	(i)	approve that the project go to tender;
	(ii)	provided the tender outcomes are within reasonable expectations of the Quantity Surveyors Report, to authorise the Vice Chancellor to execute building contracts to proceed with the project; and
	(iii)	approve that the University’s Mundijong land holding be considered for sale to offset part of the project costs.
Resolved: S/13/2009	In relation to the Engineering Pilot Plant and School facilities project, to authorise:
	(i)	management to proceed to tender for the project;  and
	(ii)	the Vice Chancellor to execute building contracts provided the tender price is within reasonable limits of the current cost estimates.
Resolved: S/14/2009	To approve payments in excess of $500,000; and noting of those in excess of $100,000 as set out on the attached list.
Resolved: S/15/2009	To approve the write off of bad debts accrued by Murdoch Veterinary Hospital at 31 December 2008

12.ACADEMIC COUNCIL

Senate noted the minutes of the Academic Council meeting held on 28/01/2009 and the summary of the panel report for the School of Biological Science and Biotechnology review.

13.2008 SENATE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

All observers other than Ms McGlade and the Vice Chancellor left the room at this point

Senate noted the 2008 Senate Performance Evaluation.  There was general discussion among Senate members regarding the roles of external and internal members, and the benefits for external members of site visits and briefings from staff members on key activities in the University.  There was also some discussion in relation to undertaking a broader governance review than that which been proposed by the Governance & Nominations Committee, with a view to this being an item for discussion at the Senate Retreat. 

The Chancellor undertook to follow up on these items with the Secretariat and University Management.

14.OFFICIAL SEAL

Senate noted the official seal report provided in accordance with resolution S/51/2007.

15.SENATE MEETING DATES FOR 2009

Senate noted the meeting dates for 2009.  Following on from discussion at the 17 December 2008 meeting, it was noted that there was a general preference to meet in the first week of December, rather than the third week.  This change of date is to be confirmed by the Secretariat.

16.CHANCELLOR'S COMMITTEE - PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES - VICE CHANCELLOR

Ms Trudi McGlade left the meeting at this point

The Chancellor provided Senate members with an in camera update as to the discussions of the Chancellor’s Committee, and of its Remuneration Subcommittee.  This included the 2008 performance review and 2009 objectives for the Vice Chancellor, and also a renewed contract of employment with the Vice Chancellor.  It was noted that the 2009 objectives were close to being finalised and would be reported at the next meeting of Senate, once approved by the Chancellor’s Committee.

Senate strongly supported the approach that was outlined by the Chancellor.

Meeting concluded at 6:35pm