Meet the Board – Kate Vinot

Tasmanian Irrigation Chair Kate Vinot has just been re-appointed for another term to lead our Board. Kate has taken a moment from her busy schedule to share a few insights about her career, why she applied to be a Tasmanian Irrigation Director and future directions for the organisation….

Why did you apply to be a Director of Tasmanian Irrigation? I have a long career in the water industry, nationally and internationally, and am passionate about sustainable development – for our communities and our environment. And I love Tasmania. I have worked here many times throughout my career. Finally, what Tasmanian Irrigation does is so important in the face of climate change. We help to ensure high quality, sustainable agricultural production for Tasmanians and all Australians.

What professional and personal experience continues to assist you in Chairing the organisation? I have had a range of executive and CEO roles in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, which help me understand the unique situation of Tasmanian Irrigation as a State-Owned Company, delivering cost-effective services to private sector farmers. I’ve also been on Boards, including as Chair, for more than 15 years.

What has been your greatest learning since joining the Board in December 2022? My greatest learnings have all come from getting out into the areas where we provide irrigation services and listening to farmers’ stories about the impact that bringing irrigation water to different parts of Tasmania makes. From more confidence to diversify into new crops, enhanced land values, permanent shops in the local community and more kids in the local schools, the positive stories are boundless.

I also relish the feedback on things we can do better, together. We see an increasing role for Irrigation Representative Committees and other partners such as the Cressy Longford Irrigation Scheme and our drainage customers in contributing to the management of our assets. We’re working to continually improve how we do what we do.

What are you most proud of in terms of Tasmanian Irrigation’s achievements? Tasmanian Irrigation has always been dedicated to delivering on our central purpose of delivering irrigation water when and where it is needed. We have an amazing track record of delivering new irrigation schemes on behalf of irrigators and the Australian and Tasmanian Governments through an outstanding co-funding model. However, as a maturing organisation, I think we’ve been stepping up in terms of leadership. We’ve become better, committed communicators, are more focused on developing long term relationships with our customers and partners, and are more detailed in our attention to managing safety, environmental and financial impacts.

We are a values and value-driven organisation that is becoming clearer and more confident about who we are and what we can do, together with our irrigation community.

In your view, what is the greatest challenge for Tasmanian Irrigation moving forward? Aside from delivering the Tranche Three projects that are underway, financial sustainability is foremost in the Board’s mind. We need to work on ways to transition to a longer term, financially sound footing as required by Tasmanian Irrigation’s Shareholders, who are the Minister for Primary Industries and Water and the Treasurer, while continuing to grow and serve our customers cost-effectively.

Two years ago, we set Tasmanian Irrigation’s first 10-year strategy to deliver the balance of the Tranche Three irrigation schemes, and to set a future for Tasmanian Irrigation as a sustainable, customer-centred and operations-focused organisation beyond that. We’re refreshing that strategy to incorporate the new schemes into our operations, while ensuring we meet our Statement of Expectation requirements to transition to financial sustainability once the construction works slow down. This includes doubling down on how we can achieve efficiencies and economies of scale across our operations and our supply chain to deliver even greater value for Tasmanians.