Hugh McKenzie, Deputy Mayor of the City of Launceston and former KPMG Partner, was appointed to the Tasmanian Irrigation Board in December 2022. Hugh reveals why he applied to be a Director and what he is most proud of from his time to date on the Board…

 
Why did you apply to be a Director of Tasmanian Irrigation? I applied for this role with Tasmanian Irrigation because of my aligned skill set and my passion for adding value to our State’s agricultural industries. I grew up on a farm in the Fingal Valley and later with my family owned a farm on Flinders Island. My working life as a chartered accountant was strongly aligned with providing advice to the broader agriculture community. I also believe that agriculture is and will continue to be a significant economic driver for Tasmania.

What skill set did you bring to the Board? I bring to the role strong governance, strategic thinking, financial literacy (including the understanding of how farms operate) from my KPMG days, problem solving and stakeholder management skills. We don’t work in a perfect world so along the way you also need problem solving skills. I have demonstrated over my career that I am a solutions-based thinker, which is a critical element to a successful business.

What are you most proud of in terms of Tasmanian Irrigation’s achievements? Our capital projects, such as the completion of Don Irrigation Scheme and significant work on the Northern Midlands Irrigation Scheme, together with the augmentation of the Greater Meander Irrigation Scheme, commencement of the Sassafras Wesley Vale Irrigation Scheme Augmentation and the approval of the business case for the Greater South East Irrigation Scheme, are headline acts during the three years I have been on the Board.

I see stakeholder engagement as critical to our success and while there have been some issues during my tenure, I believe we have stepped up in this area and are now working much more cohesively across our network. Does that mean we will always agree? No, it doesn’t. But respectful and timely communication is critical in order to appreciate and negotiate different points of view.

In your view, how important is Tasmanian Irrigation’s work in delivering high-surety irrigation water to our State’s farmers? Tasmanian Irrigation water continues to be a game changer for our farmers. Tasmania is something like one per cent of Australia’s land mass and accounts for about 12 per cent of our nation’s fresh water resource. But before the existence of Tasmanian Irrigation schemes, the water just wasn’t in the right place for farmers to maximise its benefits. Tasmanian Irrigation’s formation provided the structure to enable this water to be reliably provided to areas that did not have access to irrigation water, and also improved surety to existing users.

The support of both the Federal and State Governments has enabled the infrastructure to be created, making significant investment in intergenerational infrastructure. This would have been far more challenging if irrigation infrastructure was funded only by farmers as the capital required to build schemes of this size and complexity is beyond the resources of individual irrigators or even communities of irrigators.

In talking to irrigators there is no doubt that our schemes have added value and opportunity to their enterprises, although we do hear that the water we deliver is “expensive”.

The price of government investment is the requirement by governments for Tasmanian Irrigation to build and manage assets to certain standards, to comply with State and Federal legislation on a range of matters, and to provide regular and transparent reporting to government and the wider Tasmanian community. Those activities come at a cost.

Tasmania Irrigation navigates an environment between the expectations of our customers for the lowest possible delivered cost of water for irrigation, and the expectations of our shareholders and funders.

What is your favourite thing to do in your leisure time? I love sport, so watching my beloved Hawks play during the winter (and soon the Tassie Devils) is something I enjoy. Being involved in what my family is doing is also an important pastime. I also try to make time for walking or ruining a good walk by playing golf and attending a variety of theatre productions.

What are your plans for the next decade? Retirement is a hard thing to fathom. Hopefully I can continue to contribute to our community and our State to enable it to be the best it can be, so that my children and grandchildren can thrive in everything Tasmania has to offer. Maybe a bit of travel will feature, but Tasmania has most of the things I need and there is still plenty to do and see here.