Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board Annual Report 2007— 2008

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Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board Annual Report 2007— 2008

Prepared By: Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management

PO Box 188, Bright Victoria 3741 Phone: (03) 5759 3550

Fax: (03) 5759 3693 www.mthotham.com.au

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The Honorable Gavin Jennings Minister for Environment and Climate Change PO Box 500 East Melbourne Victoria 3002 Dear Minister, 2007/2008 Annual Report

In accordance with the FMA 1994, I am please to present the Report of Operations for the Mt Hotham Resort Management Board for the year ending 31st October 2008, which includes statements of the Board’s performance and operations. It also includes the statement of accounts for the period 1st November 2007 to 31st October 2008 in accordance with Section 46-50 of the Financial Management Act 1994. The report is submitted to you for tabling in Parliament. On behalf of the Board, management and staff, we would like to extend our appreciation for the support given to us by you and your staff and the staff of the Coasts, Alps and Recreation branch of the Department of Sustainability and Environment. We look forward to working together in the future to realise our goals and aspirations.

Letter to the Minister

Geoff Provis CHAIRMAN Dated: 15th January 2009

Jim Atteridge CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

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OVERVIEW Who are we 6 Mt Hotham—Our History 8 Key Performance Indicators/Financial Summary 9 Chairman’s Report 10 Chief Executive Officer’s Report 12 Mt Hotham Board 14 CORPORATE SERVICES Corporate Governance 16 Legislative Compliance 17 Workforce and Organisational Development 20 Emergency Management and Community Areas 24 Organisational Information and Communication Systems 25 PUBLIC ACCESS, SAFETY AND EDUCATION Risk Management and Geo-tech Program 26 Skier Safety 27 Resort and Customer Services 28 MARKETING General Marketing 32 Communication 34 LAND MANAGEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES Environmental Management 36 Capital Works 38 Business Development 39 Contract Administration 40 UTILITIES Potable Water and Wastewater 42 Wastewater and Water Conservation Project 43 Solid Waste Management 46 BUSINESS UNDERTAKINGS Gas Operations 48 Victorian Alps Nursery 49 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 50 APPENDICES Appendix One—Disclosure Index 66

Contents

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Our Mission: To manage the Mt Hotham Alpine Resort in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and economically viable for the social benefit of current and future generations.

Overview Who Are We

THE BOARD’S OBJECTIVES

Our Strategic imperatives are to: ⇒ Be Solvent ⇒ Be Legal ⇒ Be Safe ⇒ Focus on Core Business ⇒ Deliver Customer Satisfaction ⇒ Deliver Contemporary Infrastructure ⇒ Deliver Contemporary Services ⇒ Grow ⇒ Deliver an Ethical Organisation ⇒ Deliver a Performing Organisation

So that we: “Grow the common wealth of Victoria by the optimal management of the Crown Asset”. The vision driving the Board’s agenda is clear and challeng-ing: “High on Hotham—Australia’s Premier Alpine Re-sort Destination.”

Underpinned by a focus on customer service and effective communication, the Board achieved this mission through quality services to:

⇒ The Crown

⇒ Our Environment ⇒ Our Customers ⇒ Our Property

⇒ Our Stakeholders, Investors and Developers

⇒ Our Corporate Performance

OUR STRATEGY The following six broad issues have been identified to help realise the vision. Detailed challenges, future op-portunities and actions have been identified for each statement of strategic direction. Climate Change

Mt Hotham will remain strongly committed to a snow

tourism industry and proactively plan for the impacts of climate change.

Mount Hotham will remain viable for snow based recreation until at least 2020. Investment at Mount Hotham is already focusing on broader bi-season (white and green) recreational opportunities.

Resort Use and Visitation

Mt Hotham provides the highest quality winter alpine experience in Australia. We facilitate safe access to our alpine environment for recreational use through both the winter and non winter seasons.

Mt Hotham has experienced significant growth over the past two decades; contrary to stagnant trends in this industry. Such sub-stantial growth in visitation requires significant additional develop-ment of infrastructure, accommodation and skiing services.

Development of Mt Hotham

Mt Hotham will continue to enhance the visitor experience by pro-viding an attractive, ecologically sustainable mountain village that has local character and a distinct sense of place in the landscape.

Design guidelines and the Alpine Resorts Planning Scheme are identified as key tools to improve the urban design of the resort. Planning scheme amendments to the Alpine Resorts Planning Scheme has seen significant private investment in the Resort.

Vibrant Mt Hotham

Mt Hotham will be a vibrant economic entity making a strong con-tribution to Victoria and our local region.

Mt Hotham is a major contributor to the regional communities of providing both employment and financial benefits. It generates substantial commercial activity in sub alpine towns throughout the year.

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Our Vision: High On Hotham…….....Australia’s Alpine Destination

Environmental Management

All current and future management and development of Mt Hotham will seek to be undertaken within an ecologically sus-tainable framework.

Mt Hotham’s Environmental Management Plan which in addi-tion to flora, fauna, pest and weed management programs, is strengthened by the adoption of the EPA Victoria’s Ecological Footprint methodology and the inclusion of a water conserva-tion program, will help move the resort towards sustainability. The Mt Hotham Alpine Resort has also invested in a sustain-able future by acquisition of the Alpine Nursery to ensure the future supply of plant stock for all revegetation of the alpine resorts.

Stewardship of Mt Hotham

The Board actively embraces the stewardship role it holds at Mt Hotham and will work co-operatively with our local alpine and sub-alpine communities.

The relationship with surrounding land managers will be strengthened to recognise synergistic relationships and maxi-mize the diversity of experiences available to visitors. Indige-nous Australians will be consulted as part of the planning proc-esses. Opportunities also exist for further co-operation be-tween each resort.

NATURE AND SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES

The Board is charged with the delivery of the following six core services necessary to maintain the ongoing daily viability of the resort.

Utilities

Water, sewerage, drainage, garbage, gas, plant/vehicle and workshop.

Land Management and Environmental Services

Land Management, Environmental Stewardship, Property and Leasing, Planning, Building, Health, Engineering Services, Operations.

Marketing

Marketing and information, Business Development, Communi-cation Strategies.

Public Access, Safety and Education

Public Infrastructure, Visitor Safety, Car Parks and Roads, Gate Entry, Traffic Control, Transport, Trails and Snowplay, Snow Clearing, Public Liability Insurance.

Corporate Services

Board, Administration, Support Payments (ARCC), Compli-ance, Corporate Governance, Risk Management, OH&S, Fi-nancial Management, Information Technology, Interest Ex-pense.

Commercial Business

Gas supply and Alpine Nursery.

OUR VALUES

Our Organisation Recognising the need for consistent organisation wide princi-ples, practices and values, or Corporate Consistencies. These Corporate Consistencies provide a framework for ⇒ integrated strategic planning and policy making, ⇒ equity, consistency and certainty to customers and

staff, ⇒ a united organization with a common set of values and ⇒ the consistent use of best practice systems.

Our People Willing, flexible and competent people working together with common vision, effective communication and a commitment to excellence in service and environmental management with shared values of ⇒ Honesty ⇒ Authenticity ⇒ Completion ⇒ Integrity ⇒ Accuracy ⇒ Timeliness ⇒ Openness to deliver the best optimal value of any organisation in the Victorian Public Service.

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OUR HISTORY

European history begins in 1854 when Baron Sir Ferdi-nand von Muller first explored the slopes and named it after Governor Hotham. Graziers commenced stock movement between Cobungra and the Ovens and Kiewa Valleys. Grazing interest was soon followed by miners looking for gold.

Settlement began in 1863 when the first regular accom-modation was established at St Bernard by Mother Morrell, later becoming known as "The St Bernard Hos-pice" (pictured right). Unfortunately, it burned down in the 1939 fires.

In 1874, 640 hectares was set aside for public usage and the public encouraged to use the area as a holiday desti-nation. In 1925 a cottage built of stone by Italian masons was christened "Hotham Heights". The cottage accommo-dated about 20 people including Bill Spargo, Country Roads Board patrolman, who was responsible for manag-ing an improved Alpine Road between Harrietville and Omeo.

By Ministerial request in 1933 the Railways Department took over management of Hotham Heights from the Coun-try Roads Board. During the 30’s, runs such as Varsity Drag and Blue Ribbon were cleared and areas such as Mary’s Slide named after an Australian Women's Cham-pion were created.

Rapid change occurred during the late 40’s. The Alpine Club of Victoria was the first Club approved for construc-tion in 1944 and soon after other lodges followed includ-ing Wangaratta Ski Club (1946), Edelweiss Ski Club (1947) and University Ski Club (1948).

Apart from the erection of clubs, emergency radio commu-nications were installed and in 1951 a group of committed skiers constructed Hotham’s first ski tow. Beds at Hotham had grown from 27 at the end of the war to 115. Hotham commenced to become a “resort”.

In 1962 the Department of Crown Lands and Survey as-sumed responsibility for Mount Hotham and appointed the Committee of Management to co-ordinate crown allot-ments subdivisions and provide services such as drinking water and limited electricity. During it’s 21-year tenure, the village Management Committee encouraged develop-ment and most of the club lodges were built. In this period the Zoo Cart transport system was set up to ameliorate the effects of ribbon development along the top of a ridge. By 1965 there were 3 other tow ropes in addition to the Blue Ribbon Tow and the first chairlift, the Playground Chair was installed.

In 1983 the Alpine Resorts Act was passed by State Gov-ernment creating the Alpine Resorts Commission (ARC) to manage all Victorian Alpine Resorts permanently re-served as Crown Land. The ARC contributed to develop-ment through the provision of adequate sewerage reticu-lation and treatment, reticulated electricity and gas and later the connection of the resort to the State Grid. Water supply and treatment processes were upgraded, exten-sions were made to the car parking areas many of which were sealed, the Hull Bridge was built over the Alpine

Road which was finally sealed between Harrietville and Omeo in 1998. At the time the resort was growing quickly with the opening of 130 rooms in the Arlberg Inn in 1983. The Lift Company established it’s own ski school and hire. More lifts were installed including the Heavenly Valley Chair in 1987 and Village Chair in 1993. In 1988 Hotham Central was linked to White Crystal to provide Ticket sales, Ski School and Hire operations.

During the mid 1990s the ARC developed a much stronger commitment to the environment and in 1997 adopted the resort's first Environmental Management Plan. The Alpine Resorts Planning Scheme was introduced in November 1997 as a result of significant reforms to the planning sys-tem in Victoria. In April 1998 the ARC was disaggregated and separate management boards created for individual Resorts. Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board assumed it’s current responsibility for management of the resort under the Alpine Resorts (Management) Act 1997.

In 1995 the Schumans sold Ski Tows Ltd to BCR Manage-ment who further developed the resort including the addition of new ski terrain and the Orchard, Keogh’s and Gotcha chairs in 1997 and the 53 chalet development of Hotham Heights. The airport at Mt Hotham was opened in 1999 marked by a performance by the RAAF Roulettes.

2000 saw the Olympic Games flame visit Mt Hotham on it’s way to Sydney as well as a bumper snow season with all chairlifts operating a week early.

In March 2002 the State Government released the current leasing policy applying to leasing of land within Alpine Re-sorts. In July 2002 Amendment C6 to the Alpine Planning Scheme was gazetted, revising local planning provisions for car parking and introduced an ESO for the Burramys par-vus, a Heritage Overlay and incorporated four new docu-ments, Comprehensive Development Plans for Hotham Vil-lage, Inter-urban Break, Davenport Frontage and Davenport Oversnow. The Alpine Resorts 2020 Strategy was released in June 2004 to guide long term planning and management of Victoria’s alpine resorts.

In 2004 MFS Ltd acquired the lift company. In 2006, the State Government, Resort Management Board and Skiing Company began an $8.4m project to recycle waste water for snowmaking. October 2006 saw Amendment C17 gazetted into the Planning Scheme. C17 rezoned land within Hotham Village to CDZ1.

Overview Mt Hotham—Our History

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Date Revenue Expenditure

Site Rental

Annual Service Charges

Capital Ingoings

Visitors Grants Other Sources

Total Revenue

Operating Expenses

Depreciation Finance Expenses

Support Payments

Total Expenditure

Net Operating

Result

2004 ($‘000)

969 2,328 384 1,962 201 1,329 7,173 5,769 499 83 105 6,456 717

2005 ($’000)

1,220 2,364 437 1,820 25 1,367 7,233 6,110 576 56 135 6,877 356

2006 ($’000)

1,096 2,559 456 1,587 2 1,446 7,146 5,792 584 0 150 6,526 620

2007 ($’000)

1,210 2,799 182 1,967 5 3,514 9,678 7,515 643 94 180 8,432 1,246

2008 ($’000)

1,481 2,791 68 2,224 243 1,678 8,485 7,623 749 130 144 8,646 (161)

2004/2005 Actual

2005/2006 Actual

2006/2007 Actual

2007-2008 Actual

Customer Service

Total Visitor Days 349,839 297,949 361,783 334,787

Market Share (Victorian majors visitor days) 30% 32% 26% N/A

Accident Rate/’000 visitor days (Hotham Historical average) 1.35 1.33 1.37 1.35

Operations

Property Revenue/FECA $45.54 $46.22 $49.24 $52.81

Infrastructure and Admin Costs/FECA $49.83 $47.74 $50.07 $58.50

Village, Visitor and Marketing costs/Visitor Day $7.63 $8.88 $8.04 $9.00

Resort Investment

Value of private investment p.a $9.0m $8.8m $1.5m TBA

Total Village Size (FECA*) 78,723 79,091 81,424 82,004

Total CAPEX (‘000) $1.4m $6,264 $4,877 $1.18m

Environmental Management

Potable Water Quality (Compliance with Australian Drinking Water Guidelines) 93.5% 100% 98% 98%

Waste Water Quality (Compliance with EPA Licence Limits) 75% 98% 91% N/A**

Solid Waste—kgs per visitor day (EPA Land Fill Levy) *connected value 5.53 6.4 2.95 5.6

Financial

Outstanding Debtors as % of revenue 9.6% 11.3% 5.87% 5.81%

Closing cash (‘000) $1,301 $971 $1,609 $1,527

Operating Cash Flow/Total Assets 2.1% 2.8% 3.5% 0.9%

Current Assets/Current Liabilities 2.03 1.30 1.65 2.72

*FECA—Fully enclosed covered area (m2) **Due to completion of the Class A Water Treatment Plant this figure is unavailable for this reporting period

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

FINANCIAL SUMMARY

Overview Key Performance Indicators / Financial Summary

FINANCIAL REVIEW OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION

The 2007/2008 financial year has been highlighted by the completion of the Water Trust project, the late start to the winter snow season and the volatil-ity in the financial sector influencing further capital investment at Mt Hotham.

A significant increase in depreciation subsequent to the commissioning of the Water Treatment Project was compounded by rising fuel costs which impacted on our operating performance. One off costs incurred in transfer of assets from the Water Trust of $350,800 (2007 - $1,163,713) and write down of redundant assets of $232,035 from the treatment plant upgrade reduced the operating surplus to a net loss of $147,806 for the year.

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Geoff Provis Chairman

Overview Chairman’s Report

The Mount Hotham Resort Management Board has a com-mitment to the aspirations set out in the Alpine Resorts 2020 strategy and the Mount Hotham Strategic Management Plan. The Board sets a number of objectives to ensure we are safe, legal and solvent in our activities while operating a per-forming and ethical organisation that delivers infrastructure, services and customer satisfaction. As reported in our business plan, we have identified six is-sues which act as strategic directions for the management of the resort including climate change, resort use and visitation, the development of Mt Hotham, a vibrant Mt Hotham, the environmental management of Mt Hotham and the steward-ship of Mt Hotham. The future of Mt Hotham faces a number of challenges. From an environmental perspective climate change threatens the traditional snow based industry of the resort. While the

CSIRO reports a ski resort remains viable until at least 2020, the Board is also focusing on promoting and marketing the “green” season recreational opportuni-ties and this year saw the first of two annual summer festivals, Cool Summer and Beyond Hotham as well as further work on the 3 Huts Walk and the Mt Hotham/Dinner Plain walking and cross country trail upgrades. Although visitor numbers saw a decline last year for a variety of reasons, the overall trend over the last 10 years has shown a strong increase. As demand in-creases the Board continues to investigate opportuni-ties for the development of Mt Hotham in commercial, accommodation and skier facilities. August of this year saw the announcement of the recapitalisation of Living and Leisure Australia Group (LLA), owners of Mount Hotham Skiing Company. For the moment, discus-sions with LLA remain on hold for the redevelopment of Hotham Village. It remains to be seen what impact the current economic crisis has on the operations of the resort in terms of investment, development and visita-tion. This year also saw the final completion works to the Victorian Water Trust Project. This project was devel-oped to mitigate issues associated with the discharge of secondary treated effluent into the Dargo River

Minister Holding at the opening of the 2008 ski season

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Geoff Provis Chairman Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board

The completion of the Water Trust Project saw an increase in the snowmaking capacity of the resort

catchment including; meeting statutory compliance stan-dards to provide agreed service levels to stakeholders and customers, and, to use the recycled water to augment snow making capacity. This joint project between the State Gov-ernment, Mount Hotham Skiing Company and the Board delivers infrastructure that will meet the future demands of the resort and provide excellent environmental outcomes. This project saw the Board nominated as a finalist in the 2008 Banksia Environmental Awards. In October of last year the Minister Gavin Jennings MP Minister for Environment and Climate Change requested the State Services Authority (SSA) to conduct a review into the current governance structure of the alpine resorts in Victoria. The Board lodged a submission and awaits the outcomes of the review. I would like to acknowledge the other members of the Board for their contributions and services over the past year. I would also like to congratulate the outstanding ef-forts of Jim Atteridge and all core and seasonal staff for their ongoing commitment in providing dedicated services during the year.

Spargos Hut, on the proposed Three Huts Walk

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Jim Atteridge Chief Executive Officer

Overview CEO’s Report

Welcome to the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Boards Annual Report for the year 2007/8. The focus of this report documents the achievements in operations and finan-cial records for the financial year. I would like to thank all the core management and staff as well as the seasonal workers who give a huge contribution to the operations and services delivered by the Board each year. This year saw some major changes to the organisational structure of our workforce. Several long term members of our core staff, including upper level management, decided to leave Mt Hotham to pursue other endeavors and commit-ments. This included Gerry Connell (previously CFO), Renee Cole (Manager, Administration and Human Resources), Ian Young (Manager, IT) Paul Flint (Manager, Land Management) Liza Coventry (Office Co-Ordinator) and Mel Williams (Accountant). Most of these staff had been with the organisa-tion for 5 years or longer and I thank them for their dedicated contributions and commitment in making Mt Hotham what it is today. It was with joy we were able to welcome back Jenny

Beyond Hotham 2008

Molloy as General Manager after a short absence. Other new arrivals to our team include Jon Hutchins (CFO), Neil Tappe (Land Management), Mick Cherry (Capital Works and Maintenance), Richard Ivey (Systems Accountant), Cassie Elliott (Office Co-Ordinator) and Annie Dupleix (Marketing). Coming into the busy winter season presented our new staff with many challenges and I must commend them on continu-ing the high level of customer service expected by our visitors and stakeholders. The 2008 winter season saw a decline in visitor numbers to Mt Hotham. There were many contributing factors in this disappointing result. June saw no snow until the second week of the July school holidays and warm weather meant the Skiing Company was unable to make snow perhaps resulting in a lower confidence for book-ings. Qantas also announced it would be suspending flights into Mt Hotham Airport during the 2008 season due to pilot shortages making direct travel for visitors from traditional marketing based areas of Adelaide, Bris-bane and Sydney difficult. In the Boards commitment to promoting the resort as a year round destination 2008 also saw the first of the an-nual “green” season festivals Cool Summer and Beyond Hotham. I must acknowledge the work of Jessica Rose and Annie Dupleix in co-ordinating these successful events and we look forward to future festivals.

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Jim Atteridge Chief Executive Officer Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board

In other operations around the resort the Capital Works program for the year consisted of completion of the Water Trust Project, much needed upgrades to the fleet, planning of the 3 Huts Walk, continuing work on the DP Trail upgrade, and the construction of an archives room. I am pleased to report there were no major incidents recorded regarding search and rescue. The Board remains committed to public safety and an enjoyable resort for our stakeholders and visitors. Our staff continue to work with other agencies in relation to the Emergency Management Plan for the resort. After three years of management under the Board a review of the operations of the Victorian Alpine Nursery was conducted earlier in the year. The Board had committed substantial capital to upgrade the facilities and it is pleasing to report such a suc-cessful increase in sales making this a viable busi-ness commitment by the Board. The nursery has such an important environmental contribution to the sustainability of the alpine area. I thank our key sponsors Nissan, K2, Edge FM, Bolle, Skins, Rud and Outdoor Expedition. I also acknowledge our stakeholders, investors and most importantly our visitors in assisting the Board to make Mt Hotham a leading alpine resort.

Ongoing works completed this year to the Water Trust Project

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The Alpine Resorts (Management) Act 1997 (the Act) came into force on 30 April 1998 when the responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Mount Hotham Alpine

Resort was transferred to the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board.

Overview Mount Hotham Board

Date Geoff Provis

Debbie Goodin

Tim Piper

Rod Sloan

Helen Moran

Wayne Talbot

Nicole Feeney

Nov 07 √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Dec 07 √ - - √ √ √ √

Feb 08 √ √ - √` - √ √

Mar 08 √ √ √ √ - √ √

Apr 08 √ √ √ √ √ √ √

May 08 √ - √ √ √ √ √

June 08 √ √ √ √ √ √` √

July 08 √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Aug 08 √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Sept 08 √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Oct 08 √ √ √ √ - √ √

Terms of Reference Audit Sub Committee

In 1999 the Audit Sub Committee adopted the principles of The Audit Committees: Best Practice Guide. In 2001 the Au-dit Sub Committee assumed responsibility of the additional portfolio of Risk Management and Occupational Health and Safety. Debbie Goodin, Helen Moran, Nicole Feeney and Wayne Talbot are independent members of the Audit Sub Committee.

Terms of Reference Remuneration Sub Committee Members of the Remuneration Sub Committee are Geoff Provis, Tim Piper and Rod Sloan. 1. To determine employment policy and monitor within Government Business Enterprise and other applicable Government Guidelines. 2. To ensure probity in matters pertaining to all remuneration issues and Human Resources management. 3. To research/review and recommend to the Board the remuneration of the CEO. 4. Approve remuneration packages and appointments of direct reports to the CEO. 5. To develop and monitor the performance review of the CEO. 6. To develop in association with the CEO the performance review process of the CFO. 7. To monitor all Board staff appointments consistent with the organisational structure and within the total salary

budget approved by the Board. 8. To consult with CEO in reference to Board staff remuneration and ongoing performance reviews.

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Overview Mount Hotham Board

Geoff Provis (Chairman) Currently a solicitor working in insurance law at Russell Kennedy. Geoff is a two time President of the Law Insti-tute of Victoria as well as a Sessional Commissioner of the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation, and is a member of the Alpine Resorts Co-Ordinating Council. He sits on the Victorian Council of Law Reporting and was for many years a member of Supreme Court of Victoria Board of Examiners. Geoff was for many years a board member of the Lord Mayors Charitable Fund and the Law Aid Committee which provides funding for worthy litigation which could not otherwise proceed. Geoff is an avid skier who learnt to ski at Mt Hotham many years ago.

Debbie Goodin (Deputy Chairperson)

Debbie has an Economics Degree, is a Chartered Accountant, is a Leadership Victoria fellow and qualified Com-pany Secretary. She has held senior finance, project delivery and general administrative positions in both the public and private sectors and is employed as an executive in a leading public company. Debbie is a director of Doutta Galla Aged Care Services and a member of the Finance and Investment Committee for Breast Cancer Network of Australia. Debbie and her family are keen skiers.

Helen Moran

Helen has been associated with Mt Hotham since 1985 and currently is the Group General Manager for Australian Alpine Enterprises Pty Ltd (AAE) Property Division. Helen has been involved in General Management of resort operations and played a key role in development projects undertaken by AAE at the resort since 1995 providing invaluable experience in the areas of planning, administration and management. She brings a high level of mar-keting, organisational and communication skills and experience in resort management and development of busi-ness initiatives to the Board.

Tim Piper

Tim is the Victorian Director of the Australian Industry Group which is one of the most influential industry associa-tions in the country. He is a lawyer and former journalist and holds a Master of Business Administration. Tim is also Chairman of the Industry Capability Network and the Manufacturing Skills and Training Taskforce. He also sits on the Microsurgery Foundation Board and the Environment Minister’s Climate Adaptation Advisory Coun-cil. Tim is a passionate proponent of Mt Hotham and has sat on the Mt Hotham Resort Management Board for the past seven years.

Rod Sloan

Rod had extensive experience in engineering and planning for both local government and private business. He has run his own consulting engineering firm for the past 12 years. His previous work with local government pro-vides a strong understanding of the challenges in providing services to a community on a daily basis. He has been skiing for the past 13 years predominately at Mount Hotham with his keen skiing family.

Wayne Talbot

Wayne is a retired partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers consulting practice. He is currently the Managing Director of a management consulting practice which specialises in helping enterprises achieve their growth objectives. He has a long association with Mt Hotham being a founding member and currently Life Member of Gravbrot Ski Club, and is currently Chairman of Lawlers Apartments Pty Ltd, the holding company for Lawlers Apartments. Along with his broad knowledge of Hotham and its needs, Wayne brings to the role of Board member extensive commercial and financial experience, gained across a wide variety of private and public sector enterprises.

Nicole Feeney

Nicole is a construction lawyer at Lander & Rogers. She is a Law Institute of Victoria representative on the Su-preme Court Rules Committee and on the County Court Building Cases Users Group. She has previous board experience having been on the Board of UFS Dispensaries Ltd, a not for profit company which owns and operates a number of pharmacies in and around Ballarat in western Victoria for 6 years. Nicole learnt to ski at Hotham 7 years ago and has been a regular visitor ever since. She became a member of Anton Huette in 2005.

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Objective To achieve 100% legislative compliance with State and Federal government legislation, regulation or policy, obliging the Board to act in a particular way, or discharge a particular duty, or carry out a particular function, or exercise a duty of care and ensure timely advice and administrative services to the Board.

Mount Hotham has a long and rich history. Originally ga-zetted as a public recreation reserve in 1874, Mt Hotham has been managed in the public interest by a variety of formal structures.

Created under the Alpine Resorts (Management) Act 1997, the current management structure comprises an independent seven member skill-based Board appointed triennially by the Minister for Environment and Climate Change and reports directly to him.

An Alpine Resorts Co-Ordinating Council (ARCC) was also established at this time, and this Council provides policy advice to the Minister. The relationship of the Minis-ter, the Alpine Resorts Co-Ordinating Council and the Resort Management Boards is shown below.

Corporate Services Corporate Governance

ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARDS

The Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board is established by the Minister under Part 4 Section 34 of the Act.

The inaugural Board officially took over control of the Resort on April 30, 1998. Prior to this all Alpine Resorts were man-aged collectively under the jurisdiction of the Alpine Resorts Commission. Board members are appointed for a maximum term of three years.

FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD

Section 38 of the Act specifies the functions of the Board: ⇒ to plan for the development, promotion, management and

use, of each such alpine resort in accordance with the object of the Act

⇒ to develop and promote or facilitate the development or promotion by others of the use of each such alpine resort in accordance with the object of the Act;

⇒ to manage each such alpine resort in accordance with the object of the Act

⇒ to contribute to the development of the Alpine Resorts Strategic Plan and other strategic planning for alpine resorts as a whole;

⇒ to undertake research into alpine resort issues; ⇒ to contribute to and support the operation of the Council; ⇒ to prepare and implement a Strategic Management Plan

for the resort ⇒ to expend or apply revenue of the Board in accordance

with a direction of the Minister under section 36(1A). ⇒ to manage the Crown land in Mt Hotham by acting as a

Committee of Management under the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978

⇒ to contribute, together with Tourism Victoria, established under the Tourism Victoria Act 1992, and the Council, to the overall promotion of Alpine Resorts

⇒ to develop a tourism and marketing strategy and to pro-mote the Resort

⇒ to provide services in the nature of: garbage disposal, water supply, gas, drainage, sewerage, electricity, roads, fire protection, transport for the Resort and to charge user pays contributions for the provision of those ser-vices;

⇒ to collect fees prescribed by the regulations for the resort; ⇒ to attract investment for the improvement of the Resort

and ⇒ to carry out any other function conferred on the Board by

this or any other Act.

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Corporate Services Legislative Compliance

STATUTORY REPORTING

Corporate Plan Section 53 of the Alpine Resorts (Management) Act 1997 requires the Board to prepare an annual Corporate Plan. The Corporate Plan must be approved by the Minister each year. The Corporate Plan must include:

i. A statement of corporate intent in accordance with Section 54 of the Act

ii. A Business Plan containing the information required by the Minister

iii. Estimates of the receipts and expenditure of the Board for the period of the plan.

The Business Plan is also developed on an annual basis to specify the annual objectives of the Board and to measure the performance of the organisation against the objectives identified within the Corporate Plan.

The Board has identified and has structured its Corporate Plan on a set of core responsibilities. These are: ⇒ Utilities ⇒ Financial Management ⇒ Public Access, Safety and Education ⇒ Corporate Services ⇒ Environmental Management ⇒ Marketing ⇒ Business Undertakings

The Corporate Plan for 2007–2008 and the annual Business Plan were submitted to the Minister in February 2008.

Annual Report Section 45 of the Financial Management Act 1994 re-quires the Board to prepare an annual report. The annual report must be approved by the Minister each year.

The Annual Report must include: i. Reports of operations and financial statements of

those departments or public bodies or both ii. A report of operations and financial statements con-

solidating information provided by those departments or public bodies or both.

The Annual Report 2006/2007 was submitted to the Minister in February 2008.

OBLIGATIONS OF THE BOARD

As a Committee of Management under the Crown Lands (Reserves) Act 1978, the Board has obligations to man-age the land in accordance with the purpose for which the land has been reserved and may exercise the pow-ers conferred to Committees of Management under that Act.

The Board’s obligations under the Alpine Resorts (Manangement) Act 1997 are to discharge it’s functions effectively and efficiently. Additionally Part 4 s.34(7) imparts to the Board the following attributes and authori-ties: ⇒ Is a body corporate with perpetual succession ⇒ Has a common seal ⇒ May sue and be sued in its common name ⇒ May acquire, hold and dispose of real and personal

property ⇒ May do and suffer all acts and things that a body

corporate may by law do or suffer ⇒ Represents the Crown ⇒ Is a Committee of Management under the Crown

Land (Reserves) Act 1978 ⇒ Is deemed to be a Municipal Council under certain

Acts and ⇒ Is represented on the Alpine Resorts Co-ordinating

Council ⇒ Is represented on the Board of Alpine Region Tour-

ism (BART)

The Board is also responsible for ensuring the effective compliance with relevant federal, state Acts and legisla-tion applying to the resort.

18

FAIR TRADING ACT From the 1st June 2004 new regulations under the Fair Trad-ing Act came into effect.

The Fair Trading (Recreational Services) Regulations 2004 make it possible for suppliers of recreational services to obtain consent from customers to waive their rights under the Act, including their right to take legal action against the supplier if they die or are injured while using the services.

In compliance with the Fair Trading (Recreational Services) Regulations 2004 Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management has installed warning signs at both ticket gates to alert visitors to the fact that they are being asked to agree to waive their rights under the Fair Trading Act.

PRIVACY ACT The Federal Government introduced the Privacy (Private Sec-tor) Amendment Act 2000 which amends the Privacy Act 1988. The main aim of this legislation, which came into effect on 21st December 2001, is to give more control over the way private organisations collect, use, disclose and store informa-tion.

Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management prides itself in han-dling personal information with extreme care and diligence. In order to comply with the Privacy (Private Sector) Amendment Act, Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management has adopted a MHARMB Privacy Policy that is implemented at all times.

NATIONAL COMPETITION POLICY The Board is one of six independent Alpine Resort Manage-ment Boards within Victoria. It has established its own pricing regime within the ceiling prescribed by the Alpine Resort (Management) Regulations 1998.

The Board, as the independent manager of the resort’s as-sets, purchases services and goods in line with Government Purchasing Board’s guidelines. The Mt Hotham Resort Man-agement Board complies with the Governments policies for National Competition Policy.

VICTORIAN INDUSTRY PARTICIPATION POLICY (VIPP) Under the VIPP Mt Hotham Resort Management Board imple-ments policies to tenders over $1 million as required for re-gional Victoria. There were no tenders for this reporting period.

Corporate Services Legislative Compliance

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

The Mt Hotham Alpine Resort is considered to be a ‘Government Agency’ under the terms of the Freedom of In-formation Act 1982. Accordingly, it is required to comply with the procedures that have been prescribed under which mem-bers of the public may gain access to information held by agencies.

A decision to release information is made by either the Princi-pal Officer or an Authorised Officer. An application fee of $22.70 applies at the time of publication. The MHARMB has determined that the Authorised Officer for the Resort is the CEO’s Executive Officer.

The Freedom Of Information Officer: Ms Kerry Kondraschek, PO Box 188, Bright 3741 Ph: 03 57593550 Fax: 57593693 Email: kerryk@mthotham.com.au

RELEVANT INFORMATION The following is retained by the accountable officer and is available to the relevant Minister, Members of Parliament and the public on request:

FRD 22 Statement of Availability of other information ⇒ Statement declaring pecuniary interests completed by all

relevant officers ⇒ Details of publications produced and where available ⇒ Details of changes in prices, fees, charges, rates and lev-

ies ⇒ Details of any major external reviews ⇒ Details of major research and development activities ⇒ Details of overseas visits ⇒ Details of major promotional, public relations and market-

ing activities ⇒ Details of assessments and measures undertaken to im-

prove occupational health and safety of employees ⇒ General statement on industrial relations and details of

time lost through industrial accidents and disputes ⇒ Major committees sponsored, purposes of committees

and achievements.

Mountain Fresh Festival 2008

Report of disclosure to 1 Nov 2007 to 31 Oct 2008

Requests received nil

Responses and review One (note: request received 06/07)

Hearings and Appeals nil

19

Corporate Services Legislative Compliance

WHISTLEBLOWERS PROTECTION ACT 2001 The Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board is subject to the Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001 which encourages and facilitates disclosures of improper conduct by public officers and public bodies and provides protection for persons who make those disclosures and to persons who may suffer reprisals in relation to those disclosures, and for matters disclosed to be properly investigated and dealt with.

Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board is committed to the aims and objectives of the Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001 and values integrity and accountability in its administrative and management practices. It fully supports the processes of disclosure that reveal corrupt conduct, mismanagement of public resources or conduct involving a substantial risk to public health and safety, or the environment.

Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board has developed a system, based on guidelines issued by the Ombudsman, to deal with disclosures of improper conduct or detrimental action by the Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board or its employees. The detailed procedures have been communicated to all employees and Board members. A copy of the procedures is available for public inspection at Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board’s offices, Great Alpine Road, Mt Hotham, Victoria.

Disclosures of improper conduct or detrimental action by Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board, or its employees, may be made to the following: The Protected Disclosure Coordinator:

Ms Jenny Molloy PO Box 188, Bright 3741 Ph: 03 57593550 Fax: 57593693 Email: jennymolloy@mthotham.com.au All correspondence, phone calls and emails from internal or external whistleblowers will be referred to the Protected Disclosure Coordinator.

A disclosure about improper conduct or detrimental action by Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board, or its employees, may also be made directly to the Ombudsman:

• The Ombudsman Victoria Level 22, 459 Collins Street, Melbourne 3000 (DX 210174) Internet: www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au Email: ombudvic@ombudsman.vic.gov.au Ph: 03 96136222, Toll Free: 1800 806 314 Ombudsman: Dr Barry Perry Ph:03 96136202

The Protected Disclosure Coordinator is responsible for the following:

⇒ Receive all disclosures forwarded from the pro-tected disclosure officers

⇒ Receive all phone calls, emails and letters from members of the public or employees seeking to make a disclosure

⇒ Impartially assess each disclosure to determine whether it is a public interest disclosure;

⇒ Refer all public interest disclosures to the Om-budsman

⇒ Be responsible for carrying out, or appointing an in-vestigator to carry out, an investigation referred to the public body by the Ombudsman

⇒ Be responsible for overseeing and coordinating an investigation where an investigator has been ap-pointed

⇒ Appoint a welfare manager to support the whis-tleblower and to protect him or her from any reprisals

⇒ Advise the whistleblower of the progress of an in-vestigation into the disclosed matter

⇒ Establish and manage a confidential filing system ⇒ Collate and publish statistics on disclosures made ⇒ Take all necessary steps to ensure the identity of the

whistleblower and the identity of the person who is the subject of the disclosure are kept confidential

⇒ Liaise with the Chief Executive Officer of the public body.

Report of Disclosures to 31 October 2008 No Of Disclosures

Types of Disclosures

Disclosures made to MHARMB during 2007—08 nil -

Disclosures referred by MHARMB to the Ombudsman for determination as to whether they are public interest.

nil -

Disclosed matters referred to MHARMB by the Ombudsman nil -

Disclosed matters referred by MHARMB to the Ombudsman for investigation nil -

Investigations of disclosed matters taken over by the Ombudsman from MHARMB nil -

Requests made under Section 74 to the Ombudsman to investigate disclosed matters nil -

Disclosed matters that MHARMB has declined to investigate nil -

Disclosed matters that were substantiated upon investigation and the action taken on completion of the investigation

nil -

Recommendations made by the Ombudsman that relate to MHARMB nil -

20

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE In carrying out its functions and powers, each Board acts on behalf of the Crown (S35). A Board may employ any persons it considers necessary for the purposes of the Act (S44).

The obligations placed on the Board are discharged with the creation of an administrative organisation with appropriate structure, systems, procedures, processes, and is staffed by qualified and competent staff willing and capable of executing the Board’s directions.

The Board appoints the CEO and on advice from the CEO, adopts a corporate structure. The Board delegates to the CEO such authority and power as is necessary for him to staff the organisation and manage the resources made available in the annual budget process to agreed outcomes.

As at October 2008 the Board had adopted the following organisation structure:

Objective To provide effective ongoing management of organisational development, OH&S, Workcover, human resource management, emergency management, administrative systems and processes. It is also essential that the Board organise its human resources in a way that will deliver the most effective service to the community, whilst recognising its obligations to staff.

Corporate Services Workforce and Organisational Development

BOARD

Jenny Molloy General Manager

Jessica

Rose Marketing Manager

Jon

Hutchins Chief

Financial Officer

Nicole Epema

Manager Operations

Tom Pelly Manager

Environmental, Technical Services / CAPEX

Neil Tappe

Manager Land Management

(P/T)

Kerry Kondraschek

Executive Officer

Annie Dupleix Events

Organiser (P/T)

Richard Ivey

Systems Accountant

Shane Scott

Workshop Manager

Mick Cherry Capital Works

and Maintenance

Superintendent

Shirley Sizeland Property

Officer (P/T)

Cassie Elliot

Office Co-Ordinator

Claire Stevens Finance Officer

Andrew Keily

Mechanic

Roger Packham

Mgr, Waste Water Ops

Georgina Boardman

Admin Assistant

(P/T)

Kevin

Raymond IT Officer

Greg O’Donohue

Grooming and Trails and

Village Ops Superintendent

Larry Doyle

Mgr, Ski Patrol and Gas

Operations

Gordon Thomas

Project Admin Officer (P/T)

Shirley Sizeland Finance

Officer (P/T)

Richard Paschke Mgr, Solid

Waste

Rob Wesley Engineering /

CAPEX design

Gavin Moody Mgr, Plant and

Resources

Steve Gribbles

Plant Operator

Annie Marlow Mgr, Alps Nursery

Bev Lawrence Environmental

Officer

Shannan White Admin

Assistant, Tech Services

Jim Atteridge CEO

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Jim Atteridge — CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Appointed in this position in 1998. Holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Planning and has had an extensive career in local government with a focus in the areas of Recreation Planning and general management. His diverse experience has been built upon working with Melbourne City Council, Brisbane City Council and as CEO, Hervey Bay City Council in Queensland.

Jenny Molloy— GENERAL MANAGER Returning to the Board in February 2008 after a brief absence. With over 20 years experience with Local and State Government Authorities in-cluding Brisbane City Council, Gold Coast City Council and Queensland State Water Projects. Responsible for Human Resources, Corporate Services, Administration, Legislative Compliance, Emergency Management and Executive Support to the Board and CEO.

Jon Hutchins — CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Appointed in February 2008. Qualifications include Master of Commercial Law, Grad Dip Agribusiness and Bachelor of Business Accounting, member of CPA, AICD, AIM. Experience in various roles in the Alpine Resorts for over 10 years including Business Manager of the Mt Buller Resort Management Board, Executive Officer Mt Stirling RMB and General Manger Mt Buller Race Club Inc. Post graduate experience in major public practice accounting firms, international agribusiness organisations and Commercial Manager Coles Myer Ltd. Responsible for financial management and statutory reporting, risk management and information systems.

Neil Tappe—MANAGER, LAND MANAGEMENT Neil was engaged in this role in October 2008. Neil has expertise in alpine resort management and the water industry based on a career span-ning over 30 years. He has senior management alpine experience at Mt Hotham and Falls Creek with skills in business management and govern-ance, land stewardship and environmental management, strategic planning, risk management, statutory planning, public utility management, construction and contract management, infrastructure development, resort operations and maintenance. Neil holds a Degree in Civil Engineering and Engineer of Water Supply qualification.

Jessica Rose—MANAGER, MARKETING Appointed in this position in 2006. Started her career with Mt Hotham in 2004 in Marketing and Special Projects. Holds a Degree in Business and Degree in Arts. Responsible for festival and event management, stakeholder communications, grant procurement, public relations, media, sponsorship management and research, publications and website.

Tom Pelly — MANAGER, TECHNICAL SERVICES AND ENVIRONMENT Appointed to this position in November 2005 previously Manager Resort Operations from 1998. A keen skier who lives in Bright with his family, Tom has an in depth knowledge in all aspects of the Resort’s infrastructure systems. He possesses a strong technical background equipping him with the necessary skills to manage key infrastructure systems. Tom is an experienced project manager and has undertaken environmental stud-ies that complement his role in the organisation. Responsible for environmental management, water, sewage, drainage, Solid waste disposal, road management, Geotech, Nursery, Watertrust Project, Ski Patrol and gas.

Nicole Epema—MANAGER, OPERATIONS Appointed to this position in November 2005. Started her career with Mt Hotham in 1986 as a storeperson and moving into the position of Traffic and Transport Manager in 1999. Responsible for supervision of traffic and transport, gate entry, garbage collection, grooming, workshop and fleet management.

Corporate Services Workforce and Organisational Development

Jenny Molloy Jessica Rose Jon Hutchins Nicole Epema Tom Pelly Neil Tappe

Jim Atteridge

22

KEY STAFFING EVENTS OF 2007/2008

⇒ Appointment of Jenny Molloy to General Manager (new position)

⇒ Appointment of Jon Hutchins to CFO (replacement position)

⇒ Appointment of Kerry Kondraschek to Executive Offi-cer (replacement position)

⇒ Appointment of Cassie Elliot to Office Co-ordinator (replacement position)

⇒ Appointment of Annie Duplex to Events Organiser (new position P/T)

⇒ Appointment of Richard Ivey to Systems Accountant (replacement position)

⇒ Appointment of Mick Cherry to Capital Works and Maintenance Superintendent (new position)

⇒ Appointment of Neil Tappe to Manager, Land Man-agement (replacement position)

⇒ Appointment of Shannan White to Admin Assistant to Technical Services/Environment (new position)

MANAGEMENT AND STAFF

The day to day running of the organisation is undertaken by the Chief Executive Officer and a small year round work force, which is supplemented by seasonal staff and volunteer ski patrollers. All staff are employed under the Mount Hotham Resort Management Certified Agreement 2005.

WORKFORCE DATA TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Mt Hotham Resort Management encourage the training and development of our staff through work related training and external study.

Staff Induction Program

The staff induction program is a compulsory program that is attended by all new employees and provides an overall induction into employment with MHARMB. A full review of this induction program took place over the 2007-2008 summer and was updated for the 2008 sea-son.

Other Training

2007-2008 was an extremely productive year in training with staff attending the following courses: • First Aid Level II • Risk Management • Emergency & Recovery Management • Avalanche Training • Explosives Training

Corporate Services Workforce and Organisational Development

2008 Gate Entry Staff photo

Workforce (F = Female M = Male)

2007 2008

Management / Administration 9F/8M 10F/7M

Resort Operations 6F/6M 2F/10M

23

Administration Shannon Elliott Katherine Mullett Cheryl Turner Laura Chodowski Ski Patrol Alan Aiken Bill Barker David Chlebna Alex Colman Ian Crawford Rob Davey James Elder Allen Feore Mark Fordyce-Burke Elizabeth Fox Anthony Hart Lauren Konik Stephen Oaks Rainer Occhilupo Jordan O’Neill Natasha Pritchard Randy Reusch Fran Richards Paul Rosevear Victoria Schmidt Hamish Sutherland Simon Taylor Claire Wills

Ski Patrol Volunteers Kirk Amos Peter Blake Simon Brand Keith Brandenberger Simon Dodd Shannon Elliott Libby Fox Inga Gilchrist Joseph Gunn Simon Harrod Tony Hart Orme Kewish Damian Lindau Maree McDonald Terri McNeil Tim Martin Brendan Moore Brett Norris Jackson Rundle Matt Sexton John Steen Malcolm Styles Joel Templar Andrew Tucker Jim Vavaroutsos Lilly Vavaroutsos Britta Wellar David Wilson

SEASONAL STAFF

Operations Neil Stevenson John Farrington Neville Kaeding Daniel Pichot Andrew Withell Brian “Butch” Thomas Noel Paten Ashley Cadwell Clinton Cahir Gary Coombe John Corbett Annie Dupleix Niall Evans Norman Glenister William Gosling Ronald Kenney Wayne Madison Edward Maguire Esmonde O’Reilly Michael O’Reilly Graham Payne Brian Perry Andris Salna Robert Schouten Gary Weston Shane Wills Glen Billman Eileen Ferguson Bill Hayes Ron Jamieson Gregory Newland Barbara Schouten Robert Studd Stephen Taylor

Corporate Services Workforce and Organisational Development

2008 Transit Staff photo

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The Board is an equal opportunity employer and all ap-pointments and promotions are merit based and based on the principles of the Public Administration Act 2004. The Staff Development and Training program continued this year again identifying areas for development and en-hancement of skill levels.

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

There were no industrial disputes during the reporting period. The current EBA agreement was negotiated for a 3 year period and is due to expire in 2008. The Board has begun negotiations on a new EBA to be finalized next reporting period. As part of the induction process prior to winter, all seasonal staff receive a full briefing on the Agreement with no issues being reported.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

OH&S is a significant component of our Risk Management policy and MHARMB is totally committed to establishing a healthy and safe work environment for our staff, contrac-tors and visitors by:

⇒ Encouraging individuals to practice work safety by providing information, instruction and training

⇒ Provide safe plant and systems of work ⇒ Ensure compliance with legislative requirements and

current industry standards.

Occupational Health and Safety Committee The OH&S Committee meets on a regular basis and has been actively engaged in:

⇒ Writing policy and procedures, including management and action plans

⇒ Conducting workplace inspections ⇒ Conducting training sessions ⇒ Reviewing the OH&S Management System

24

Corporate Services Emergency Management and Community Areas

COMMUNITY AREAS

Cultural Diversity In line with the government’s multicultural policy, the Board has maintained the signage systems which use graphic symbols to advise Resort users of important features about Resort use. This has been particularly appropriate in alert-ing non-English speaking visitors to the existence of safety hazards and to any limitations on the use of particular ar-eas within the resort.

Women

In line with the Government’s Office of Women’s Policy, the Board has appointed three female senior managers and a number of full and part time female employees. The Board is committed to providing equal opportunity advancement for all employees and has adopted a recruitment structure based on a merit based selection process. The Board is also committed and will continue to facilitate where possible work and family responsibilities for all employees.

Youth

In line with the Government’s vision for young people, the Board employs a work experience youth every season and actively encourages participation by the Alpine Leadership School. MHARMB also provides regular environmental and safety student talks throughout the winter season.

Indigenous Affairs

The MHRMB is committed to working closely with the local Indigenous community in developing partnerships to achieve Aboriginal aspirations for land, culture, heritage, family and community. The Board liaises with various lead-ers and councils in both capital works and planning projects within the resort. There is also an opportunity to explore the development of Indigenous cultural tourism through inter-pretation of walks and sites. We look forward to working closely with the Mt Hotham Indigenous community on our future projects.

CONSULTANCIES

There were 18 consultancies engaged by the Board during this financial year. The total cost of all consultancies amounted to $146,183. There were no consultancies greater than $100,000

MAJOR CONTRACTS

The Board did not enter into any contracts greater than $10 million during the reporting period.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT The Mt Hotham Resort Emergency Management Plan, as required under the Emergency Management Act 1986 continues to develop thereby meeting the needs of the Mt Hotham community.

The Resort Emergency Management Committee (REMC) conducts formal meetings twice a year and assists with the planning and coordination of emer-gency services for both response and recovery within the Resort.

The Committee comprises MHARMB staff, Victoria Police, Victorian State Emergency Service, Country Fire Authority, Department of Human Services, Resort stakeholders and other agencies as required.

In conjunction with the Alpine Shire (Dinner Plain EMP) and the Committee of the Mt Hotham Airport EMP, the Mt Hotham Resort EMP Committee have a Memo of Understanding (MOU) for the sharing of resources for both response and recovery during an emergency.

Training Exercises and Incident Reports

MHSC conducted a chairlift evacuation with the practi-cal exercise organised by Len Dobell (MHSC) at the Village Chairlift. Chairlift evacuation procedures are in place in conjunction with CFA.

RMB reported ski patrol attended 850 incidents with 500 being sent to the Medical Centre, no major searches were conducted. A gas incident in September was handled well although resulted in the mountain losing its gas supply for 1 day.

MHSC reported two incidents to Worksafe regarding chairlift incidents. A decision to trial new unloading signage will be made next year.

CFA aquired a new fire truck and attended 16 fire calls, all false alarms. 10-15 attended training each week.

The SES trained 40-45 new staff in search and rescue, a further 170 were trained to level 3 search capacity. Dispatching depots are to be reviewed in November with a computerized system compatible with other agencies to be introduced.

Vic Police reported speeding in chain fitting areas a concern, 75 drivers booked. Crime incidents down 16%, drug incidents up 200% with a reduction in abuse incidents due to an introduced lock out time at licensed establishments. A successful field exercise at Hotham Airport was conducted in winter 2008 of a scenario of a plane on fire. REMP Audit In 2005-2006 the Board appointed a consultant to re-view and update the Emergency Management Plan. The plan was sent for Audit in November 2006 and was successfully adopted.

A review of the plan will take place in 2009 with the Emergency Management Plan updated annually.

25

Corporate Services Organisational Information and Communication Systems

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The IT Manager is responsible for a number of key areas:

Administration of the MHRMB Domain Network Resort Entry Ticketing System IT hardware/software acquisitions and maintenance Telecommunication services Data integrity, access & security IT Helpdesk support for all RMB staff

The IT Department has seen a full and exciting year with many new systems and upgrades being commissioned throughout the year. The main improvements in these areas include a new Parking Infringement Notices system, replace-ment of the Mail Server, Fiber Optic Network extension to the Ultra Filtration Plant and the introduction of an internal Policy & Procedure Intranet Site allowing easy access to a consolidated information repository.

Further expansion of CivicView, the Financial Management Software Package continued throughout the year with the implementation of Asset Management, Creditor EFT and Property Reporting modules coming online.

An interruption to network services was experienced this year due to hardware failure in one of our servers resulting in a 24hr loss of File and Database access. This has high-lighted the need for a backup system to be shadowing our mission critical systems in the event an unforeseeable sys-tem failure should occur. Combined with a more accessible data backup regime, a remote offsite server has been in-stalled thus giving the capability to restore services within a 2hr time frame. No major changes where made to the Re-sort Entry Ticketing System this year with a problem free ski season.

Objective To have effective systems and procedures that ensure relevant, timely and accurate information is available to the Board, executive officers and line managers.

RECORDS MANAGEMENT

Due to the increasing need for storage of all Resort Management documents a records management facility was constructed at Mt Hotham in the summer of 2008.

This building now houses Mt Hotham Resort Man-agement Boards vital documents, plans & photos in one secure location. The records are properly cata-logued and filed according to the Public Records Act 1973.

The archive facility has approximately 200 cubic me-ters of shelf storage available within 4 compactus units as well as 2 large planning cabinets. A sorting table, photocopier and computer linked to our net-work are all available within this facility for easy ac-cess to important documents. The stored documents are also catalogued on an electronic record keeping system.

The newly constructed archive room

26

RISK MANAGEMENT A full review of the Risk Management Framework was initiated by the Audit Committee during the year and as a result management bought about actions to ensure that the Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board has practises of risk identification and management plan that is consistent with Australian/New Zealand Standard 4360:2004.

The review consisted of a full analysis of risks associ-ated with the operations of the resort by staff, manage-ment and the Board. Outcomes of the risk review high-lighted the safety of visitors in the hazardous alpine environment is a critical along with other risk areas in regard to water supply, treatment of waste products, bush fires and management information systems. In addition to the inherent risks an assessment has been made on the existing relevant controls to provide a priority of areas seeking attention and resources to minimize the risks of adverse events at the resort.

The risk management plan has also been incorporated into the annual financial reporting process to ensure adequate resources are allocated and prioritised to maintain the controls necessary for the secure man-agement of the resort.

These processes are to ensure that there is effective control of risk areas and processes within the risk man-agement framework to ensure the level of risk is satis-factory to the Board. As a result of the review the Audit Committee has endorsed the risk management pro-gram for the Chair’s attestation in this annual report of operations. The Board is one of the first government organisations to provide attestation in its report of op-erations in accordance with the Victorian Governments Risk Management Framework.

I, Geoff Provis certify that the Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board has risk management processes in place consistent with the Australian/New Zealand Risk Management Standard and an internal control system is in place that enables the executive to understand, manage and satisfactorily control risk exposures. The audit committee verifies this assurance and that the risk profile of the Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Manage-ment Board has been critically reviewed within the last 12 months.

Geoff Provis Chairman 15 January 2009

Objective To provide operational services of the workshop, fleet management and maintenance, transport, car parking and traffic control, snow clearing, cross country and ski field safety, public amenities, visitor safety, resort entry, tobogganing, insurance (public liability) and plant/vehicle workshop (part) to ensure visitors and staff of the resort have a safe and enjoyable experience.

Public Access, Safety and Education Risk Management

GEOTECHNICAL RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

The Board has worked in partnership with the Depart-ment Sustainability and Environment since 1998 to manage risk associated with land stability within the Alpine Resort. The focus of the ongoing program has been to ensure that very high and high hazards are reduced to an acceptable moderate or lower risk level.

At the request of the Department’s Public Land division we have undertaken an extensive desk top review of all the land stability documentation and provided a priori-tized schedule of works for the next three years.

During the reporting period the Board has developed solutions and received funding for a number of projects including

⇒ Cut Batter adjacent to Great Alpine Road at Fountains ski lodge - Construct retaining wall and erect passive mesh

⇒ Hull skier Bridge

The Department provided total funding of $278,440 for 3 land stability risk management projects for the period 2007/08. The funding was tied to two separate “Deed of Grant’s” between the State of Victoria and the Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board. Both deeds were executed on the 27th April 2007.

SERVICE AGREEMENT 2006-2007

27

SKIER SAFETY

Season 2008 began slowly with no snow for the opening weekend and only trace falls until the beginning of July. Heavy falls of snow fell early July and subsequent falls made it possible to open the beginner areas of the Summit and Big D areas. Within 10 days of the first lifts operating the resort was open 100%, a very busy period for all resort workers.

The resort remained fully operational until early September when significant rain episodes saw deterioration in the snow pack and lifts began to close. The resort enjoyed a period of 9 weeks with great quality snow, cold temperatures and all lifts operating.

The season consisted of approximately 860 lifted days, over a period of 113 days of the season. There where 24 nights of night ski at the Big D. Snow fall totals this year consisted of 163cm as maximum depth on 22 August and a season total accumulation of 334cm, the heaviest snow fall over 24hrs was 27cm on 21 August.

New snowmaking infrastructure was installed in the Heav-enly Valley area for this year on Upper Imagine, Milky Way and Snake Gully. The snow quality and quantity was much improved in these areas due to the new system, snow lasted longer and was able to be groomed and an improved prod-uct offered to skiers and boards. The cold temperatures in July and August offered the opportunity to make quality snow in all parts of the resort covered by snow making. This period had some great skiing conditions and this combined with lower patronage possibly produced less accidents.

The resort had 334,787 visitor days which is a decrease on last year’s figures, approximately 12%. This was accentu-ated by the lack of snow in the early period of the season. Ski patrol call out figures were also down accordingly, with 827 callouts and 452 sent to the medical centre. Incident figures showed the accident rate per 1000 visitor days this year at 1.16, this is lower than previous years. There were no major searches this year and only a few avalanche con-trol mornings. There were occasions that emergency evacuation by ambulance helicopter from the front of the Medical Centre were required.

The ski patrol was out on the hill performing duties of hazard

mitigation, rescue and rider education. The patrol again performed the task of gathering and dissemination of weather and slope in-formation. Talks to school groups and other interested parties is a valuable means of education and reinforcing the message of safety in the snow and on the slopes, and also to provide informa-tion about the resort and services provided.

Ski patrol members attended the Ski Patrol Vertical Rescue work-shop organized by the Victorian Police Search and Rescue unit to train patrollers in the activities and legislation pertaining to high angle and ice rescue. One of the Hotham patrollers was asked to perform a lecturer/training role at this course and has now been asked to participate in future courses. The New Zealand Ava-lanche Safety Management Course - Level 1 was attended by members of the Hotham patrol again this year.

The Australian Ski Patrol Association National Patrol on snow test was conducted at Falls Creek and two patrollers attended. One patroller passed and the other has become an examiner for future on snow testing.

The Hotham patrol was involved in an audit process which is con-ducted annually in conjunction with the three major resorts in Vic-toria. Verbally we received a very good report (report pending from Mt Buller patroller). An audit is an excellent means of deter-mining any short comings within the patrol so that improvements can be implemented, also it allows patrols the opportunity to learn from each other and grow.

The lift company continued early lift opening of Heavenly Valley at 7:30am on Wednesday to Sunday, for most of the season. The events run at Hotham this year had the lifts open even earlier on selected days with some 6:00am starts for many weeks. The events calendar was once again full this year. The patrol had a presence at all the events from early starts to finish. The main concern for the patrol with events held on Slalom Gully is crowd-ing of people and equipment at the bottom of the race course giv-ing rise to congestion in the area.

The Hotham ski patrol consists of 21 paid patrollers, 22 volunteers and a number of trainees. Paid patrol shifts were 1204 and volun-teer shifts 207. It is important to maintain a high standard within the patrol and training of all patrollers provides that forum. Struc-tured training continues to occur throughout the season to in-crease and maintain skill levels of all patrollers. It should be ac-knowledged that the volunteer members play a significant role, and are integrated into the Mt Hotham Ski Patrol and work as one along side the paid patrol members.

Public Access, Safety and Education Skier Safety

28

GATE ENTRY

Buckland and Mother J’s entry gates, located 10kms and 5kms respectively from the resort are the first points of contact for guests with resort management staff. Entry fees are collected here as well as the sharing of resort information and issuing of up-to-date road condition reports.

Entry fees collected contribute to the delivery of a wide range of visitor services provided by the Mt Hotham Resort Management Board. These include the village transport system, ski patrol services, traffic and car park management, snow clearing in the vil-lage area and car parks, grooming and maintenance of the cross country trails, provision of community facilities and management of environmental issues.

All gate entry staff must have customer service, finan-cial and computer experience, however staff can be asked to perform other tasks as necessary especially in the event of a road closure. A new gate supervisor was appointed prior to the season with a total of eight staff engaged to deliver our service objectives. The Buckland boxes were separated by two meters, to allow for better vehicle management and customer service. Even though the season started slowly, once the snow came so did the customers, with gate staff able to manage the change in conditions admirably. All staff are to be congratulated for their efforts this season.

Public Access, Safety and Education Resort and Customer Services

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management’s main aim is to continually improve the services we provide to visi-tors so that we can maintain a high quality customer service quality. To achieve this objective we ensure that all questions and complaints are attended to promptly.

VISITATION Visitors during the 2008 winter ski season totaled 121,425 a decrease on 2007. Winter visitor days totaled 334,787.

29

Public Access, Safety and Education Resort and Customer Services

TRANSPORT AND TRAFFIC CONTROL

Transit Operations consists of the internal Village Transport System and daily car parking functions. The transport sys-tem operates between 6.30AM and 3.00AM seven days a week during winter. Parking assistance and direction is pro-vided to day and overnight visitors between 7.00AM and 3.00AM with additional staff rostered for busy arrival nights. The transport system interfaces with the parking control to provide guests with a seamless service throughout the vil-lage whether they are arriving for the day or an overnight visit.

We have a fleet of seven 70 passenger Mercedes urban transit buses providing customer transport throughout the village including long term car parks and the cross country areas. Due to the layout of the village and the extreme weather conditions the transport service operates 20.5 hours per day to ensure the safety and comfort of resort visitors. Our bus operating hours are longer than any other ski resort in Australia. Our key performance indicator is to provide a bus at each stop within the village accommodation area every 10 minutes. With all buses in operation, the Vil-lage Transport has the capacity to transport in excess of 11,200 patrons per day.

An additional bus was purchased and “winterised”. This new

bus was sponsored by Nissan and is a visually striking addition to the fleet.

Our team is made up of a mix of experienced returning staff and new recruits. Customer service experience and good inter-personal skills are highly regarded. They come from a wide range of backgrounds and experience and are aged from 22 to 64 years. This range means that we have a wealth of life experience and enthusiasm to draw on. All staff are required to have a Medium Rigid Licence and Victorian Taxi Di-rectorate accreditation. New drivers must successfully complete a 4 day hazardous area bus driving course conducted by National Industrial Skills Training (Wodonga T.A.F.E.). All participants completed the course attaining a high level of competence. Two Parking Regulation Enforcement officers monitored the day and overnight parking areas to ensure compli-ance with the resorts parking regulations. Overall compliance continues to improve, assisting the safe and efficient functioning of the resort.

No major accidents or major breakdowns occurred this season reflecting the skill of the drivers and the high level of maintenance and interaction provided by the work shop mechanics.

30

Public Access, Safety and Education Resort and Customer Services

for the foreseeable future was implemented. It received major strengthening to its subframe, a track rebuild and other works to the drivetrain and electrics. This ensured it ran without any major downtime throughout the season. We are currently looking at upgrading the vehicle as well as possibly changing the way garbage is collected in the vil-lage. Until this is implemented the Skidozer should perform its task without needing major rebuilds as per the last few seasons, due to the large scope of work carried out.

We upgraded our recycle vehicle from a six wheel Land-cruiser to a six ton Isuzu 4x4 FTS 300 truck at the start of the ski season. A dedicated recycle body was manufac-tured for it resulting in easier loading and increased capac-ity. The vehicle went well, proving a reliable asset for gar-bage operations in winter, and a far better vehicle for tow-ing the recycle trailer to Omeo.

The light fleet received a welcomed upgrade in the form of two new Nissan Navara utes. These replaced two existing Toyota units which were requiring extensive repairs due to their age and condition. The new vehicles should reduce the maintenance time in the workshop allowing us to con-centrate in other areas, and represents good fleet manage-ment.

Our thanks to all that contributed their help into the running of the Workshop for the 07/08 period.

WORKSHOP The workshop had an effective summer period starting after the 2007 ski season, with fleet maintenance and rebuilding of equipment in preparation for the 2008 sea-son. Snowmobiles and light plant repairs were the first to be implemented, to ensure they would be ready with minimum preparation when the snow hit the ground.

The Buses provided more additional works than previ-ously needed, with one bus deemed economically un-sound to carry out repairs. Another bus was sourced from Sydney and components were swapped over, with the other bus becoming a spare parts machine, which proved valuable throughout the season to source parts that would normally take days from Melbourne or Syd-ney. The new bus was given a fresh look from Nissan whilst in Melbourne, in the form of a complete body sticker wrap, which generated a lot of interest in the ski resort from patrons. Thanks must go to Nissan for their support.

The buses ran throughout the season without any major breakdowns, requiring normal servicing and mainte-nance to keep them circulating.

The garbage Oversnow vehicle, a Bombardier Skidozer 252, was given a hasty rebuild after the decision to run it

31

Public Access, Safety and Education Resort and Customer Services

0

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1000

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Snow Clearing HoursDevoted 2006 - 2008

200620072008

SNOW CLEARING

The Mount Hotham Resort Management ensures that immediately after snowfalls extensive snow clearing be-gins of the car parks and village roads. During the 2008 winter season our snow clearers devoted 2,574 hours to clearing operations. Once again ‘Stadelman’ was the VicRoads appointed snow clearer in charge of clearing the carriageway from Harrietville to Omeo. There were no reported difficulties in maintaining access to the resort this season

CROSS COUNTRY SKIING Pre season snow proved to be only a tease as serious snowfalls did not occur until well into the 2008 season. The lack of snow in June however was a positive for the pre winter trail preparation works.

Assistant groomer Noel Paten and Greg O’Donohue, man-ager of cross country trails, achieved a considerable amount in terms of constructing culverts, stump removal, cutting low dead limbs and pruning snow gum suckers along the trails. Post 2003 fire damaged timber continues to cause problems but is reducing due to the amount that has been dealt with over preceding seasons.

A snow fence construction at the RMB workshop and at Tantani Crossing resulted in greater accumulation and much longer lasting snow cover in 2008. A bank of wood-chips at the edge of the ski trail at Skiers Crossing caught snow and shaded the edge of the trail retaining snow for longer than usual and illustrating the direction that needs to be followed to achieve lasting consistent snow cover.

Ongoing snowfalls and cold temperatures through July and August meant that trail conditions were very good through the middle of the season. Events on the trails all went ahead successfully and the Australian Defence Force events were very successful especially where they were run on the Competition Loops as no conflict with other ski-ers occurred. The ADF relays that were held in the Daven-port Village on the afternoon of Wednesday August 13th were a highlight that illustrated the usability of the Village area.

Construction of the bike trail including drainage at JB Plain helped to enable grooming of the Hotham Dinner Plain Ski Trail with the lowest ever snow level. The most consistent grooming of the Hotham Dinner Plain Trail ever was main-tained through the season to the delight of the many ski-ers. Late August and September saw warmer tempera-tures and little snowfall while warm northerly winds re-duced the snow pack rapidly. Snow loss in the usual places (exposed or poorly drained areas) occurred rapidly and by early September breaks in the snow cover reduced the ability to groom beyond Whiskey Flat and then Wire Plain. Snow farming helped maintain continuous cover but the spring weather took its toll eventually.

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REGIONAL MARKETING

Mt Hotham has continued to be involved with various re-gional tourism groups including a position on the Great Al-pine Road Marketing Committee, represented by Jessica Rose.

BART

Mt Hotham Resort Management is continued to be repre-sented by Jim Atteridge and Helen Moran on the Board of Alpine Region Tourism (BART), a partnership with Tourism Victoria and other representatives from participating Victo-rian Alpine Resorts.

SPONSORSHIP

The Board would like to thank the following companies for their continual support: Nissan, Bolle, RUD, Edge FM, K2, Skins and Outdoor Expe-dition

Marketing General Marketing

Objective To provide marketing, business development, communications, public relations, stakeholders information, sponsorship management and event managment to create and maintain a vibrant resort that offers value for money to it’s customers.

EVENTS Mountain Fresh Festival The Mountain Fresh Festival was held for the third time this year, cementing itself as a great part of the winter season. The festival was designed to foster relation-ships between on-mountain op-erators and off-mountain food and wine producers, to highlight the spectacular produce this region has to offer in a snowy setting and to provide winter visitors to the region with a gourmet experience. The festival has successfully increased visitation to Mt Hotham and Din-ner Plain in low snow periods and offers a more diverse tour-ism program to visitors than just skiing and snow play activi-ties.

A fantastic program of individual events were held at venues at Mount Hotham Alpine Resort and Dinner Plain Alpine Re-sort.

Mountain Fresh 2008

33

Marketing General Marketing

Highlights of the festival included the Grand Opening BBQ with cruisey blues by Lee Rosser held at Zirky’s Bis-tro, sensational Master Classes held by renowned chef Anthony Simone, the boutique producers and winemakers from Porepunkah, a fun family class for kids with local favourite Joy Young and a home beauty session held by the manager of the Onsen Spa and Retreat. The main feature of the program was the Taste Alpine Tour on Sat-urday 19 July where the flavours of the Alpine Valleys congregated at Hotham Central from 3-6pm. Visitors were able to sample their way around the region and meet some of the passionate winemakers and food pro-ducers from the valleys.

New events this year included Cruising The Mediterra-nean at Cilantro, Taste of the High Plains at High Plains Lodge, Sip, Sample & Pamper Yourself at Rundells the Grande Finale was held at Tsubo.

The village-like atmosphere of both Dinner Plain and Mt Hotham once again provided the perfect setting for this celebration of Alpine wine and food with altitude.

Cool Summer Festival The inaugural Cool Summer Festival was held this year at Mt Hotham and Dinner Plain. The festival was a celebration of the high country, with live music as a main focus. 19 different music acts from around Australia came to play on a spectacular open air stage, with select bands playing great tunes at the General Store each evening.

Other events during the weekend included a Dirt Jump Jam Session, Payne’s Picnic at Picnic Point, an Indigenous Talk and Tour for the kids and guided walks. The festival was a fabulous success with hundreds of people descending on the two vil-lages for the weekend. Local food and wine, great music and beautiful weather made the weekend one to remember.

Beyond Hotham Beyond Hotham is a four day 4WD event that the Resort Management designed and implemented for the first time this year. The event is designed to get people 4WDing in a sustainable manner in the alps. The support of Parks Victoria helped to create a program that gave participants the opportunity to learn, share, grow and experience the alps in new ways.

Event activities included guided 4WD trips, a golden opportunity dinner and film

night, self guided 4WD trips, a spit roast, musical entertain-ment, wine tasting, gourmet brunches, alpine senior rangers sessions and information sessions covering topics from flora & fauna and sustainable 4WDing to UHF radios and safe steep hill ascending and descending.

Dirt Bike Jam at the Cool Summer Festival 2008

Nicky Bomba at the Cool Summer Festival 2008

Beyond Hotham 2008

34

STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATION

A number of established communication channels with our stakeholders were successfully utilised in 2007-2008.

Executive Briefings—now held annually in February, executive briefings for head lessees have proven to be a successful stakeholder communication tool.

Stakeholder Meetings—held regularly over the year. This year the Off Mountain Business Meeting was held again to continue the dialogue with businesses off mountain who service the mountain.

Website—an important communication tool, our web-site provides regular stakeholder updates.

Hotham Times—a weekly newsletter in winter provid-ing up-to-date information on news and events.

VISITOR COMMUNICATION

Website—an important communication tool, our web-site has continued to improve over the year to help better inform our visitors.

Out and About—a daily report on events, activities and conditions in the resort. Information Pack—the info pack provides all visitors

with up to date information for the winter season. Ski Patrol Talks—provided throughout the winter sea-

son. Environmental Talks—provided throughout the year to

schools and organised groups.

Marketing Communications

COMMUNICATION MODEL

35

WEBSITE Once again this year, the Board’s website www.mthotham.com.au has grown in visitation numbers, prov-ing that the design and construction of the site is on track. The record for the highest single day visitation figure was previ-ously 21,555 in 2007 – this year the record was smashed with July 1st 2008 bringing 33,245 visitors to the site in a single day.

The website provides visitors to Mt Hotham with important in-formation such as snow and weather conditions, a business directory, latest news and events, general Hotham information and on mountain activities. It also provides a light hearted ap-proach to the season with Out & About and the Photo Gallery. Information on statistics and Mt Hotham related publications are available. It also provides an important communication tool with stakeholder information, strategic partners and the Board’s responsibilities available as well.

This year has once again seen a successful partnership be-tween the Board and our web designers, GoCreative. With over two million visits to the website in 2008, www.mthotham.com.au continues to be the number one point of contact for online information about the Mt Hotham Alpine Resort.

Statistics for www.mthotham.com.au 2008:

Visits - 2,060,348 Highest Day - 33,245 (Tuesday July 1st 08) 69 Days over - 10,000 Highest Week - 163,625 14 Weeks over - 50,000

Emails: Snow Report - 402,213 Newsletter - 62,160 Calendar Alerts - 21,648

Marketing Communication

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED

♦ Annual Report ♦ Corporate Plan ♦ Mt Hotham Village Guide ♦ Mt Hotham Cross Country Guide

36

Land Management & Environmental Services Environmental Management

CO2 Emissions

163.14 151.4

269.38

175.08 184.95

231

285.74 276.53257

0

50

100

150

200

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350

CO2-06 CO2 - 07 CO2 - 08

Years

kWh

STP Admin Pump Station

ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING

Natural Environment

The Board has a high level of commitment to the natural environment at the resort and protecting eco-logical and aquatic values. The Board continues to manage impacts on the surrounding environment including the waterways, native vegetation and habi-tat associated with unique alpine animals. The Board is very conscious of the sensitivity of the alpine envi-ronment and supervises all operations and construc-tion activities to ensure that impacts on the surround-ing environment are minimised.

We also undertake to work closely with our stake-holders including developers, head lessee’s, EPA, DSE, DPCD and Parks to ensure that new develop-ments at the resort are managed in accordance with the requirements of relevant legislation, management plans and in accordance with planning permits and site environmental management plans.

The Board employs dedicated staff to manage our environmental programs and works at the resort. These staff are trained and passionate about their work and are available to assist stakeholders with specific environmental works.

Environmental Programs

Section 1A of The Alpine Resorts (Management) Act 1997 specifies that the resorts are to be developed, promoted, managed, and used on a sustainable ba-sis. In April 2008 the Minister endorsed a document developed by the resorts in conjunction with the ARCC titled “Environmental KPI’s for Victoria’s Alpine Resorts.” The Board is committed to reporting on these legislative requirements by a set of environ-mental Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s). The KPI’s allow us to report, measure and mark a time-frame for our developed targets.

The environmental areas that are being targeted are; ⇒ Water Management ⇒ Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions ⇒ Solid Waste and ⇒ Biodiversity Management

In measuring our usage and waste in these areas, it has given us the ability to look at trends, and also to identify possible ways to reduce these results.

Objective To provide environmental management planning, monitoring and reporting, resort development compliance, environmental strategies, training and capital works to encourage business and property development while working to conserve and enhance the natural land ecological systems.

The graph shows carbon emissions from our three largest electricity accounts over the past three years. There has been a 40% increase in the CO2 emitted at the Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) over the past two years. This is higher than expected from the introduction of the UF Plant to create class A water for the snow making project. The UF Plant has been operational since May 2007. Currently, we are investigating strategies to reduce our energy use at the STP; these include more efficient use of the UV unit, improving the clarity of the feed water and sourcing low carbon energy.

Renewable energy is an important tool in reducing our CO2 emissions. The Board is currently in the process of purchasing 10% of their overall electricity from renewable sources. This will keep in line with the governments Our Environment Our future: Environmental Sustainability Ac-tion Statement.

Environmental Management Plan

Adopted In 1998, the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) forms the basis of the Boards environmental strat-egy. A review of the EMP began and this year saw a sec-ond draft plan developed in consultation with Biosis Re-search. Over the next year the Board plans to reassess the draft in regards to the KPI’s mentioned previously.

37

Land Management & Environmental Services Environmental Management

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

For a number of years the Mount Hotham Resort Manage-ment Board has supported an ongoing program by the Department of Sustainability and Environment and wildlife biologist Dean Heinz to carry out a trapping program to assess the population status of the endangered Mountain Pigmy Possum (Burramys parvus) within the resort.

The Mountain Pigmy Possum or Burramys is the only mammal restricted to the alpine and sub-alpine areas of mainland Australia. Currently, three distinct genetically regional populations are recognised, one between Mt Bo-gong to Mt Hotham, another in Mt Buller and the third at Mt Kosciuszko. Substantial colonies occur within the re-sort, in particular at Mt Higginbotham and Mt Little Higginbotham. Their main habitat is basalt boulderfield and associated heath vegetation above 1400 metres ele-vation.

In 2006, 124 females and 73 males were trapped at vari-ous sites around Mt Hotham. This year’s program trapped 47 adult females and 23 adult males. This result is of great concern as it shows a significant decrease, however it must be noted this result was constant throughout all the Mountain Pigmy Possum populations. There has been no development in habitat areas within the resort and rea-sons for this result can only be speculated. Further results in coming years will hopefully reveal more.

In an effort to diversify the genetic composition of the de-pleted population of Mt Buller, a captive breeding program began at Healesville Sanctuary. This program com-menced in February 2007 and 10 males have been re-moved from Mt Hotham and placed in the program. Two of the captive breed females have pouch young, however there are currently no plans for re-release.

PEST ANIMAL MANAGEMENT

Since the 2003 bushfires the Board has worked in part-nership with Parks Victoria to facilitate a fox baiting pro-gram. The 2007/08 program was conducted by Parks Victoria rangers with the RMB providing over snow trans-port during winter.

REVEGETATION AND WEED CONTROL

The summer of 07/08 saw continuing revegetation work on the water trust project; taking place in the following areas: ⇒ On the waterline between Nindethana lodge and the

Sewerage Treatment plant (STP) – 316 plants ⇒ Mother Johnstons return trail (with MHSC staff) –

260 plants ⇒ Continued planting in Dam batter – 320 plants ⇒ Several batters prepared and rock walls constructed

at the STP. The edge of the track was raked and straw placed with a total of 1703 plants

The Mount Hotham Resort Management was contracted to revegetate the Higgi Drive Lot 2001 site, including the planting of 340 shrubs. This work will continue in the 2008/09 summer period.

Vagabond Lodge also requested advice regarding a sloping site behind their lodge; they purchased straw bales and 200 plants from the Board.

The ongoing weed eradication program continued with the following areas and weeds being targeted: ⇒ Blackberries at Buckland House ⇒ Willow at the STP and below the Great Alpine Rd

(GAR) ⇒ Broom in the creek line below the Village Chair ⇒ Yarrow around the MHARMB office ⇒ Stinkweed at the Tip (Cobungra Landfill) ⇒ Sorel at the STP mass block batter ⇒ Oxe eye daisy & Twiggy Mullien along the GAR ⇒ Vipers bugloss at Asterix and the STP track

Work was started on the Police Offset Site, with the area located via G.P.S; marked out, pegged and photo-graphed. Weed control will begin in spring 2008.

Educational talks were given to a number of schools by the Environmental officer about issues that affect the alpine area. A work experience student also worked for a week during the year helping on the STP batters.

Revegetation works on the waterline near Nindethana

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MAJOR CAPITAL WORKS 2007-2008

Each year the Board adopts a capital works program which is prioritized from a comprehensive 10 year program. Works are funded from the Boards surplus so investment in capital works varies from year to year and projects are selected to meet the highest priorities based on seven key drivers:

⇒ Asset Replacement ⇒ Infrastructure Maintenance And Development ⇒ Opportunistic ⇒ Regulatory ⇒ Village Aesthetics ⇒ Geotech / Land Stability ⇒ Risk Management

From time to time the Board secures third party funds for specific projects, currently the Board has a partnership with Alpine Shire and Parks Victoria for the construction of the Hotham to Dinner Plain Multi Purpose Trail and has also received funding from the Federal Government as a contri-bution towards the Three Huts Walking Track.

The capital works program for 2007/08 was adopted by the Board at the October 2007 Board meeting and the total value of RMB funds approved for expenditure was $789,000 supplemented by an additional $626,000 of exter-nal grants. The break down of external grants and funding was:

⇒ Geotechnical / land stability projects (DSE) $406,000

⇒ Aqueduct Trail (Department of Sport & Recreation) $100,000

⇒ Hotham - Dinner Plain Multi Purpose Trail (Alpine Shire) $120,000

The Boards capital works program was a balance of Infra-structure Maintenance & Development and Asset Replace-ment. The main projects were:

Completion of augmentation works at the sewerage treat-ment plant valued at $305,000 which included: ⇒ Installation of aeration system in the new 450 cubic

meter bioreactor tank ⇒ Installation of Vorti sand filter system ⇒ Major upgrade and maintenance works to the clari-

fier ⇒ Site landscaping and drainage works ⇒ Upgrade of the mixed liquor pipe work ⇒ Stage 1 upgrade of the General purpose pump well

and upgrade of adjoining valve and electrical pit Hotham Dinner Plain Multi Purpose Trail, although there have been some delays with finalizing the Cultural Heritage Management Plan for this project, some areas were ap-proved for construction under the previous agreement with Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Cooperative (GEGAC) and 1250 metres of trail were constructed be-tween Dinner Plain and JB Plain. The value of these works was $91,000 which included the purchase of bulk gravel for future works.

Land Management & Environmental Services Capital Works

Archive Storage Facility was constructed by utilizing air pace within the new Ultra Filtration building. A mezzanine floor was constructed and partition walls were erected and external doors and windows in-stalled to create approximately 200 square metres of floor space. Appropriate benches and metal filing compactuses were installed. The value of this project was $47,000. The Board has an ongoing obligation to maintain and improve the fire hydrant system throughout the re-sort, a new self draining hydrant was constructed in the vicinity of the sewerage treatment plant. Project value was $7,000. The diesel fuel bowser was upgraded and a new electronic metering system was installed. The value of this project was $6,500. The Boards fleet incorporates a range of trucks, light vehicles, heavy plant and specialised equipment. This year we purchased a new Isuzu NPS Tipper Truck 4x4. The new truck was used to transport recyclables to the contractor at Omeo and will be a very valuable support vehicle for the Boards ongoing capital works, The truck cost $70,500. A new snow-mobile was also purchased valued at $9,000. We completed the installation of the last 80 metres of the Class A Water pipe line. These were delicate works and progress was slow as we had to excavate under the existing Burramys parvus love tunnel which crosses the Great Alpine Road (GAR). In addi-tion to placing the new pipes under the love tunnel we under took extensive works to clean sediment out of the culverts that form the love tunnel and com-pleted other improvements to reduce sediment enter-ing the love tunnel. The scope and timing of these works were negotiated with DSE Flora and Fauna offices to ensure that there was no impact on the possum. Future works at this site will include sealing of the shoulder of the GAR and further enhancement of the upstream stormwater drainage system to re-duce sediment load. The value of the works was $50,000. The board allocates a proportion of management and engineering salaries against capital works, this year the allocation was $220,000. Minor items including office equipment, mobile phones and computes were purchased at a value of $20,000

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Land Management & Environmental Services Business Development

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Leasing Since the adoption of the Alpine Resorts Leasing Policy in 2002, 12 new leases have been issued in the Alpine Standard Lease form. The most recent new lease issued was with the Australian Alpine Club in April 2008. New lease negotiations are also progressing at 15 sites. Of these there are 12 ex-pired leases which are still under occupation by the original lessee. Four negotiations have reached the stage of obtaining Ministerial approval-in-principle and these should be finalized in the next reporting period. Planning and Development Investment activity in the resort is still strong with a number of new development and refurbishment works approved or underway. The most significant new development approved last year was the Hotham Freehold subdivision. This exciting new project will see the development of the highest free-hold land in Australia into 20 allotments serviced by an internal road providing vehicular access and on-site car parking. A triangular piece of land at the southern end of the site which makes up more than a quarter of the total site area has also been set aside as a fauna reserve and this land will be trans-ferred into public ownership as Crown land. More than $16M of investment and redevelopment activity has been generated through the granting of new leases under the new leasing policy.

Construction at Ultima April 2008

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ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

Food Premises Over the 2008 season we registered 21 food premises op-erating at Mt Hotham. Each of these premises was in-spected on at least two occasions. These premises were inspected to ensure they complied with the Food Act 1984 and the Tobacco Act 1987. Food premises inspections fo-cused on aspects such as construction and cleanliness of the buildings including ensuring that ceilings, walls, work areas, hand-wash basins, cooking equipment, cool room equipment, garbage area’s, toilets and all other fixtures were of a hygienic and sound standard. Hygiene and food handling procedures were also monitored and advice pro-vided on food safety plans and temperature control.

Tobacco Act Compliance Tobacco compliance for food premises involves having the correct signage displayed, correct facings of cigarette pack-aging, and no unauthorised advertising or illegal sales to minors. There are also issues relating to new smoking re-strictions in enclosed places.

As in previous years there were a number of new staff members who were unaware of Victorian State legislative requirements. Information and advice was provided to these people and the general public in order to encourage compliance.

Accommodation All accommodation facilities that have paying guests or cater for members of the public who are not members of the group or club that operates the building are required to register with Council under the provisions of the Health (Prescribed Accommodation) Regulations 1990. For the 2008 season there were a total of 50 accommodation facili-ties registered and inspected. Accommodation facilities were inspected for their maintenance of construction condi-tions such as ceilings, walls and floors to ensure they are of satisfactory condition. Toilets and shower facilities were also inspected to ensure that there were enough facilities to accommodate the patrons. In addition laundry, bed linen and bins were also inspected.

Land Management & Environmental Services Contract Administration

Rooms are also measured to ensure that they are of legal size and over crowding does not occur. The regulations require such rooms to be of specific size for the number of patrons they accommodate. Throughout the season the majority of accommodation facilities inspected were found to be satisfactory although three lodges were below the required standards and action will be taken to raise the standard in these premises. Once again there were some difficulties experienced gaining access to the accommo-dation facilities due to lodge managers and owners not being present at the premises during business hours how-ever, some off-season inspections did reduce this prob-lem somewhat.

Hair Dressers, Beauty Parlours, and similar establish-ments For the 2008 season there was only one premises regis-tered under the Health (Infectious Disease) Regulations 2001. This premises was visited during the season and was found to comply with the regulations.

Infectious Disease Upon request by the Manager an inspection of the Big D Child Care facility was carried out to review the measures she had introduced to reduce the spread of outbreaks of infectious disease. A thorough inspection was undertaken and advice provided to the Manager on measures to em-ploy to limit the spread of infectious disease outbreaks at the facility. As a result of the efforts of the management no infectious disease outbreaks were encountered this season at the childcare centre and the Manager and staff should be congratulated on their efforts.

Conclusion In concluding this report it must be stated that the Envi-ronmental Health team of Indigo Shire Council have been pleased to provide this service for the Mt Hotham Resort Management Board who have been supportive of our actions. The protection of the health of the many patrons that use Mt Hotham on a yearly basis is paramount and it allows our Environmental Health Officers to provide their professional services in an interesting and varied environ-ment.

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BUILDING SERVICES

The Mount Hotham Resort Management Board (RMB) has a responsibility under s. 212 of the Building Act 1994 to administer the provisions of the Act, the Building Regula-tions 2006 and the Building Code of Australia 2008 within its jurisdictional boundaries.

Historically, the RMB has engaged the services of the Al-pine Shire Council Municipal Building Surveyor (MBS) to fulfill its obligations under the legislation. This arrangement has continued over the past 12 months with respect to the inspection of buildings for compliance with relevant building and fire safety regulations.

This past season a letter was sent to all lease holders re-questing contact be made with the MBS to arrange a suit-able time for the inspection. The response rate to the letter was low and a number of buildings have now been without an annual inspection for some 7-8 years. This situation will need to be addressed prior to the commencement of the 2009 ski season and these specific properties targeted for inspection. In this regard, the current arrangements in rela-tion to the inspection of buildings should be reviewed and a more efficient process identified and implemented immedi-ately.

It is noted that there were no recorded incidents of an in-building fire threat to life or property in this past 12 months.

Although no major issues were reported this past season, there is a clear need to continue to inform and educate building managers of the regulatory requirements. Matters that continually surface during audits include exit signage, exit door furniture and the installation of a compliant smoke detection and alarm system, indicating that there may be a benefit in holding an information session for lease holders specifically on these and other fire safety related issues.

Land Management & Environmental Services Contract Administration

The 2009 season brings with it a significant event in the administration of the Building Regulations 2006. June 2009 represents the deadline for building owners to install resi-dential fire sprinkler systems in their buildings where re-quired to do so. The RMB will need to give consideration to a suitable process by which lease holders can demonstrate that this specific legislation has been complied with either through the installation of the required system or alterna-tively, via clear documentary evidence that their building meets the various exemptions available to delete the re-quirement for the installation.

Although new development works have slowed considera-bly over the past 12-18 months reflecting the global eco-nomic situation, the 2008 season did see the construction of new apartments at the Ultima site, and, as in the case of previous years, a large percentage of internal refurbish-ment projects undertaken. This scenario is likely to con-tinue in the immediate short term with the emphasis on replenishing existing building stock in preference to new construction projects.

42

Under the Alpine Resorts Management Act 1998, the Board is responsible for the provision of a range of key infrastructure services that support the safe and reli-able operation of the Resort. The key utility services provided by the Board include:

⇒ supply of potable water conforming to Australian Drinking Water Guidelines,

⇒ collection and processing of wastewater to comply with EPA license limits and DHS Risk Management Plan

⇒ disposal of putrescible waste at the Cobungra land fill in accordance with the EPA licence and the Site Management Plan.

⇒ the storage & supply of LPGas throughout the Vil-lage in compliance with Gas Safety Act.

POTABLE WATER

The demand for potable water was slightly reduced this year. This is in keeping with the decline in winter visita-tion which was 11% down on the previous year. Dur-ing the reporting period 1 Nov 2007 to 31 Oct 2008 the total consumption of potable water was 81.4 ML, the average for the past five years is 90ML. The majority of water is supplied during the winter snow season, June to September, 60 ML and the balance over the rest of the year.

The demand for potable water was 188 litre/VD which is very close to the bench mark of 180 litre/VD estab-lished by Sinclair knight and Mertz in 1996. Based on the new reporting criteria the consumption was 0.1 Ml/ year / equivalent person.

The source of our potable water is the upper Swindlers Creek. The catchment comprises 160 hectare’s of rela-tively intact landscape which is fed by ground water from springs in the surrounding area. Water is har-vested at a small weir, 0.5 Ml capacity and pumped 300 metres vertical to the storage tanks located on Mt Higginbotham. The capacity of the storage tanks is approximately 2.6 Ml.

The water distribution system is reticulated throughout the village and comprises two independent gravity mains that supply the Davenport lodges and Hotham Central. Fire service water is also provided through this system with fire hydrants located at regular intervals along the water mains.

The water harvested from the upper Swindlers Creek is very high quality. All water that is supplied to customers is disinfected with ultra violet

Utilities Potable Water and Wastewater

Objective To provide urban services of water, sewerage, solid waste, drainage, car parks and roads (overnight), insurance (assets), building maintenance and plant/vehicle workshop (part) and the delivery of quality and reliable utility services that meet customer needs for both the success of the Board and Resort.

disinfection at a minimum dose rate of 66 mWs/cm2 at a flow of 20 l/s, the wave length of the UV light is 254 nM.

Water testing is conducted on a weekly basis. Each week two samples are collected one immediately down stream of the UV disinfection unit and another from one of the designated consumer tap points. Samples are tested for Turbidity, Plate Count, Coliforms and E.coli.

The water analysis results over the previous three report-ing periods reflect a consistently high standard of supply. On one occasion during the reporting periods 07/08 sin-gle e coli organisms were detected.

In the 2007/08 reporting period there have been no emer-gencies, incidents or events that have affected the quality of the drinking water supplied or posed a risk to human health. DHS was notified under section 22 of the Safe Drinking Water Act 2003 of the one Ecoli detection during July 2008.

Through ongoing comprehensive monitoring and mainte-nance programs the board will endeavor to maintain this high standard for potable water supply and distribution.

During September 2008 the board underwent a formal audit of our Risk Management Plan, this audit identified deficiencies with the documentation of our management systems but did not highlight any critical compliance is-sues with the supply system.

A key issue identified was the need to install a back up generator on the UV disinfection plant to ensure continu-ity of electrical supply during the rare times that the mains electricity supply has failed.

WASTEWATER

The total inflow to the wastewater treatment plant during 2007- 08 was approximately 80 million litres, the majority of this, 59 million litres was received in the winter months, June to September. Stormwater infiltration was minimal due to a very dry season; precipitation fell as snow and ambient temperatures were cold through June – August. These figures reflect the reduction in winter visitor days this season.

Month Avg Daily Influent 2008 ML

Avg Daily Influent 5 year Avg ML

Variation ML

June 0.3 0.29 0.01 July 0.58 0.66 - 0.08 August 0.63 0.67 - 0.04 September 0.37 0.43 - 0.06 Peak Daily Flow 0.78 on 16 Aug 0.80 - 0.02 Total (Winter) 59 ML 65 ML - 6 ML Class A Water 25 ML NA NA

Table 1: Summary of Daily Flows & Class A Water Production

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Utilities Wastewater and Water Conservation Project

WASTEWATER AND WATER CONSERVATION PROJECT During the year 2007/08 the Board undertook a capital works program to complete outstanding works associated with the Class A water recycling project. The following overview pro-vides an account of the project including deliverables and also provides some detail in relation to the treatment proc-esses.

The Wastewater and Water Conservation Project (“The Pro-ject”) was an initiative of the Mt Hotham Resort Management Board to meet State Environmental Protection Policy, Waters of Victoria. The Board worked closely with the EPA and our consultant Mr Zlatko Tonkovic of Yabbie Pond Pty Ltd to develop a project brief and undertake stakeholder consulta-tion. Yabbie Pond was subsequently engaged by the Board, to establish a pilot plant at Mt Hotham, to manage the trials and to report on the effectiveness of ultra filtration process as a barrier for removal of pathogens found in secondary efflu-ent. The data obtained from the pilot project was then used to inform the design of the full scale system.

The delivery of the project was based on a public private partnership between the Victorian Water Trust (VWT), Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board (MHARMB) and The Mt Hotham Skiing Company (MHSC), each partner con-tributed project capital, VWT (4.18m) MHARMB (2.09m plus .38 m additional contribution by The Board) MHSC (2.09m) Total 8.74 m

The project was developed to meet the four strategic objec-tives of the VWT which are: ⇒ Enhance the health and sustainability of the water re-

sources of Victoria, including rivers. ⇒ Provide greater security for meeting future water needs

of Victorians ⇒ Encourage the increased reuse and recycling of water in

Victoria ⇒ Improve efficiencies in the use of water across Victoria These VWT objectives have been met through the imple-mentation of the following initiatives which form the basis of the Project; ⇒ constructing a multi barrier treatment train, comprising

the upgraded activated sludge plant, ultra filtration plant, UV disinfection plant and Chlorination system that will allow secondary effluent to be treated to Class A stan-dard as determined by the EPA and DHS standards for Class A Water. (Environmental Guidelines for Class A Water)

⇒ reducing the point discharge of secondary effluent to the Dargo River catchment by 25 million litres (ML) in our first season of operation. This quantity will increase as the plant production rate increases to the design capacity.

⇒ achieve EPA and DHS accreditation for the reuse of Class A water at the Resort.

⇒ reducing cross catchment transfer of water diverted from Swindlers Creek and will continue to work on the ulti-mate goal of eliminating cross catchment transfer. Best practice returns treated water to its original source.

⇒ reticulating Class A water throughout the village and will connect a new 20 lot sub division to the Class A reticula-tion within 24 months. The subdivision has installed a third pipe for distribution of Class A water and service

connections to individual lots have been installed. ⇒ undertaking to ensure, that where possible, all new devel-

opment at Mt Hotham will be connected to the Class A reticulation so that toilet flushing would use Class A water.

⇒ providing Class A water to the Resorts snowmaking sys-tem, this has reduced the demand on Swindlers Creek supply. The level of supply will continue to increase to the full potential 90ML, as we work through issues with pro-duction capacity related to the ultra filtration plant. When we are in a position to deliver full quota of class A water we will implement 28.2 Memorandum of Understanding between MHSC and MHARMB which requires MHSC to reduce its bulk diversion license by the Volume of water delivered by the MHARMB and notify Goulburn-Murray Water and the Minister in writing of its reduction. The notifi-cation must request that the annual reduction be returned to the “Environment Water Reserve” and in the future to negotiate an amended bulk diversion license that reflects the reduced diversion quantity.

Project Overview The scheme takes secondary effluent from the Mt Hotham resort that is currently discharged into the adjoining Dargo River catchment and provides additional tertiary treatment to Class A standard. The class A water is now used to supple-ment snowmaking water supply and will also be used for other water saving initiatives at the resort, such as toilet flushing via a third pipe system. The key benefits of the project include:

⇒ Contribution to the sustainable future of the Mt Hotham Resort and local rivers and creeks,

⇒ 25 million litres (ML) of Class A recycled water provided for snowmaking in 2008 and this quantity will increase as the recycled plant production increases. Ultimately, recycled water will be used at a rate of up to 90 million litres per year, with potential to increase beyond this level in the future depending on the quantity of secondary effluent available for processing.

⇒ Becoming an icon project of national significance that will increase environmental flows to regional waterways, rein-forcing the future viability of the regional economy and underpin community prosperity in the region. It has been agreed that once the project is fully commissioned and its performance has been demonstrated that the Bulk diver-

Minister Holding and Geoff Provis opening the Recycling Plant

44

Utilities Wastewater and Water Conservation Project

sion license held by MHSC will be reduced by the volume of water generated by the project.

⇒ A highly innovative project, based on membrane filtration technology that has been tailored to this application through a research and development program, including pilot plant trials at Mt Hotham and Mt Buller.

⇒ Improved river health for the Dargo River, as the dis-charge of 90 million litres per year of secondary treated effluent into the catchment will be reduced significantly. The ultimate goal is to eliminate discharge of secondary effluent completely as per the amended EPA licence. Emergency discharge will be permitted.

Project status The Mt Hotham Recycled Water treatment plant comprises two key treatment processes:

1. The upgraded activated sludge plant (ASP) 2. The new ultra filtration membrane Plant (UF Plant)

The construction and commissioning works were completed for the opening of the 2008 ski season, when the minister for Water, Hon Tim Holding visited Mt Hotham. One of his offi-cial duties was to open the new “Class A Water Recycling Plant”, this event was held at the site on Saturday 7 June 2008. The event ran smoothly and there was an excellent attendance by the community, a light lunch was served and people mingled for an hour or so. The minister completed an extensive tour or the plant.

Augmentation of the Activated Sludge Plant The focus of these works has been to enhance the biological treatment process to ensure a more consistent and higher quality secondary effluent, with low levels of total Phospho-rus (TP) and total Nitrogen (TN), reduced suspended solids (SS) and low turbidity;

The following projects have been completed and the benefits are evident in the improved quality of the secondary effluent observed during the past winter season:

⇒ construction of new 450 m3 bioreactor tank, fitted with fine bubble aeration diffusers, which has increased the mixed liquor detention time by approximately 60%, to an average detention time of 24 – 30 hours during August, which is our peak visitation time.

⇒ installation of an Alum dosing system. The alum is a co-agulant which increases the precipitation of fine organic particles reducing turbidity. Secondly the Alum reacts with Phosphorus to form highly insoluble aluminum phos-phate, which then precipitates out of solution, effectively reducing total Phosphorus through chemical precipitation.

⇒ installation of 3 new dissolved oxygen probes, which are providing accurate and reliable data to enhance aeration control

⇒ installation of a new Siemens control system which has simplified connection of remote sensors and improved reliability of the PLC control system.

⇒ implementation of a new computer interface which allows more operator interaction to adjust process set points and view process trends.

⇒ reconstruction of the clarifier launder trough and skimmer mechanism which has improved the removal of fats and scum floating on the surface of the clarifier.

⇒ installation of new, larger diameter, mixed liquor pipe work and valves to provide more flexible flow path and enhance peak hydraulic flow

Activated Sludge Plant - Process Description The ASP incorporates a primary maceration process to break up organic solids. The wastewater then flows into a series of bioreactor tanks where the mixed liquor is detained and aer-ated in accordance with the control regime. The environment in the bioreactor tanks is managed by a dedicated computer system to provide an alternating aerobic - anoxic environment.

This biological treatment phase is critical for the successful treatment of wastewater to reduce pollutants contained in wastewater, the main pollutants that are total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), turbidity, suspended solids, Ecoli and biological oxygen demand (BOD). Storm infiltration is an ongo-ing challenge which is kept in check through an ongoing main-tenance program.

Finally, the clear water from the clarifier forms the secondary effluent. Under the amended EPA Licence, the Board is re-quired to divert all effluent to the Ultra Filtration Plant for terti-ary treatment. The licence allows limited discharge to the envi-ronment when storm infiltration increases flows beyond the validated influent flow rate or when the ultra filtration plant is offline for maintenance.

Class A Water Recycling Plant (Tertiary Treatment) The tertiary phase of the treatment process produces Class A water where secondary effluent is filtered through ultra filtra-tion membranes and then disinfected with high dose ultra vio-let irradiation and finally dosed with chlorine. The ultra filtra-tion plant commenced operation in July and operated suc-cessfully through to the end of August 2008. During this period we were able to treat 25 ML of secondary effluent to Class A standard, this equates to 31 % of the total influent for 2008 ski season. The final testing and commissioning of the Class A water recycling plant was completed during June – August 2008.

45

Utilities Wastewater and Water Conservation Project

Works were undertaken to complete: i. The ultra filtration membrane system; ii. The ultra violet disinfection plant ; and iii. the chlorination system.

Work on other support systems was also completed. The works included the clear water pump station which transfers Class A water to the Loch reservoir and the installation of a pre treat-ment sand media filter. The sand filter provides pre-filtration to improve the filterability of the secondary effluent, prior to ultra filtration by removing suspended solids in the range of 5–8 mi-cron.

Ultra Filtration – Process Description The ultra filtration process is based on equipment manufactured

by Koch Membrane Systems Inc. The Mt Hotham plant has two pre-fabricated skids, each comprising 8 membrane modules, plus associated equip-ment for back flushing and clean in place pro-cedures (CIP) as well as various control systems. Koch Membrane Sys-tems manufacture hol-low fibre membranes used for ultra filtration from polysulfone, a ma-terial that has been used in potable water

treatment systems around the world for more than a decade. These durable fibres are resistant to chemical oxidation and can tolerate a broad pH range. Ultra filtration was chosen as it provides the best compromise between providing an effective barrier for removal of pathogens, organic solids, colloidal parti-cles and biological debris while producing a retentate stream that can be managed on site, by returning it to the head of works.

The flow of feed water is from the inside of the hollow fibre through the fibre wall to the outside. During normal operation the organic solids and other materials accumulate on the inside surface of the hollow fibres. The driving pressure inside the membrane cartridges increases in proportion to the fouling, when this pressure reaches a predetermined level it is neces-sary to back flush the system.

The fouling rate of the membranes is influenced by many fac-tors, but fundamentally the filterability of the feed water deter-mines how efficient the ultra filtration process will be.

Secondary effluent contains an enormous range of physical, chemical and biological constituents. The sub-micron colloidal organics found in the wastewater form a major component of the suspended solids that influences the membrane fouling rate.

Ultra Filtration Challenge – Feed Water Quality & Flux The key challenge for a given feed water quality is to maintain the flux rate below the critical flux. Critical flux being the flux at

which it is not possible to maintain a constant Trans Mem-brane Pressure (TMP) for a given constant flow.

In contrast to last season (2007), the majority of process challenges have been overcome and the secondary efflu-ent, was of a much more consistent standard, throughout July and August when resort visitation was high. It is our expectation that an activated sludge plant that is not over loaded and is configured for Biological Nutrient removal should produce effluent quality of a consistently high stan-dard suitable for ultra filtration, with a turbidity < 2 NTU and SS less than 5 mg/l. We would expect to improve on our current situation and will continue to focus on this aspect of the overall plant performance.

In September we experienced increased turbidity >20 NTU and increased suspended solid levels. We understand that this was due to a subtle change in plant biology caused by a process change. These changes in feed water quality have a strong correlation to heavy fouling of the mem-branes and rapid increases in the transmembrane pres-sures (TMP).

The key challenge is to maintain a flux rate that meets the requirements for production targets whilst maintaining the TMP within acceptable limits. There is a balance between the cost of chemicals and electrical energy whilst maintain-ing an acceptable TMP and flux rate. It is important to ex-periment with all the variables to find a set of operating parameters that best suit the characteristics of the feed water and its inherent propensity to foul the membrane.

We believe that all initiatives that improve feed water qual-ity should be fully investigated and implemented as far as possible. Our experience is that the cumulative improve-ments will lead to more consistent high quality feed water. This was highlighted during the two months of operation, July – August 2008, when plant production was found to be significantly better than the previous year when feed water quality was very poor.

Towards the end of the 2008 ski season, a routine change was made to the secondary treatment process. This re-sulted in significant deterioration of the effluent quality, which most likely would have gone unnoticed in historical mode of operation. This further reinforces the emphasis on maintaining feed water quality and learning more about cause and effect.

Based on our experience over the past two years, we be-lieve that it is essential to maintain the activated sludge plant in equilibrium. There are many subtle factors that ef-fect effluent quality and ultimately the fouling rate of the membranes. Our main focus is now on improving feed wa-ter quality. Therefore, optimisation of the activated sludge plant process control; fine tuning of Alum dosing to en-hance floc to limit post-precipitation of Aluminum Hydroxide and manage fats and greases better. This strategy should reduce suspended solid load and turbidity to more optimum level and enhance membrane performance and production rates.

46

WASTE AND RECYCLING COLLECTION

There were several changes to waste collection this year including the change from using DP Services as our recyclables transport contractor. Previously recyclables were reloaded by hand in Dinner Plain for transport to Omeo by contractor at a cost of $10/m3. On busy days waste management staff had to transfer recyclables to DP twice or even three times a day.

This year the recycling collection and transport was up-graded to an Isuzu 4x4 light tipper truck with an 18.5m3 cage. Together with the 6.5m3 tipper trailer, 25m3 of recyclables was able to be transported directly to Omeo with no double handling. The new truck holds 2.5 times the amount of recyclables reducing manpower and transport time.

Extensive renovation works on our oldest asset, the Ski-Dozer, improved cold start and structural integrity.

2008 Garbage Audit Category Mt Hotham Region

Total weight (kg) 193 6784 Recyclables 7.6% 9.6% Paper/News/Cardboard 5.0% 11.7%

Garden Waste 0.0% 11.7% Food Waste 57.5% 27.9% Organics 57.5% 39.6% Disposable 29.9% 39.1% Total 100.0% 100.0%

New Isuzu truck and garbage compactor

Household Garbage Bin (bag) Audit 2008 Education and infrastructure are reasons for greatly improved results in the garbage bag audit 2008. Households reduced the fraction of recycla-bles in the household garbage bag from 20.7% to 7.6% and nearly doubled disposables from 16% to 29.9%

Outlook Projects for 2008/2009 may include lobbying for a voluntary ban on the sale of glass bottles on the mountain, to decrease weight and sharps hazard. Decreasing landfill space, stringent emission targets and the commitment of the RMB to decrease Mt Hotham’s carbon footprint could lead to significant changes in the future and present a chance to radi-cally simplify garbage collection, create energy through co-generation and reduce waste to landfill.

Utilities Solid Waste Management

47

Utilities Solid Waste Management

LITTER

The Litter Management Program is part of the Boards ongoing commitment to our alpine environment and pro-tecting the water catchment areas fed by the resort.

The Mt Hotham Land Care Group has ceased operation and donated their remaining bank balance of $1600 to be used for an environmental project. Choosing to target cigarette litter, a proposal was put forward to Butt Out Australia. 10 stainless steel column mounted butt bins, were offered at ½ price to the first 10 lodges that re-sponded to an ad placed in Hotham times and our web-site. Butt Out Australia were delighted with the idea and offered a further four bins free of charge. The $2000 raised will be spent on purchasing more personal butt bins. The personal complimentary “butt bin” program continued, patrons seem very happy to receive a bin and they are rarely seen as litter items.

As in previous years much of the litter collected during winter is from between the bus stops, mainly bottles, cans and cigarette butts presumably as patrons leave the bars at night. Education does not seem to be effective and officers are looking for other solutions. The Ski School Muster area also continues to be a high litter area, and the Board is in discussion regarding the pur-chase and placement of extra bins.

Litter Officers are continuing education by talking to resi-dents and lodge managers, encouraging them to clean up areas in and around their lodges. Litter officers are proposing to formally meet with employers and lodge members/managers at the start of next season to com-municate their responsibilities regarding their employees and living quarters.

LANDFILL OPERATIONS

The landfill site is located at Cobungra, approximately 30 km East of Mt Hotham on the Great Alpine Road. The area of the site is approximately 2 hectares and was commissioned in the early 1980’s. The landfill receives putrescible waste from the Mt Hotham Alpine Resort only and there is no public access per-mitted. Approximately 0.4 hectare of the site is dedicated to processing of old sewerage sludge.

Over the past 20 years approximately 1.1 hectares of the site has been utilized for land fill activities. Based on our estimates the site has approximately 0.35 hectare of surface area avail-able for future land fill activities, this equates to approximately 20,000 m3 of air space available for future disposal of pu-trescible waste.

Disposal of putrescible waste to landfill is regulated by the EPA and all our activities at the Cobungra landfill site must comply with the License conditions and be managed in accordance with EPA publication 788, “Siting, Design, Operation and Rehabilita-tion Of Landfills”. The key items that we must manage are:

⇒ Diversion of surface water from fill areas ⇒ No discharge of Leachate from the site ⇒ Safe access for garbage vehicles on all weather roads ⇒ Installation of litter control fences ⇒ Construct and manage the tipping cells ⇒ Compaction and cover of waste ⇒ Stock pile of cover material ⇒ Fire management plan ⇒ Litter control ⇒ Ongoing Rehabilitation of the site

The RMB pays an annual land fill levy based on the cubic me-tres of air space used for disposal of waste.

To ensure that long term rehabilitation of the site is funded, the EPA have developed a scheme where the site operator must provide security to ensure that funds will be available to perform any outstanding rehabilitation works when the site is closed. The Board has undertaken a proactive approach to site rehabili-tation and has commenced rehabilitation at the site which is in accordance with EPA publication 788. The key outcomes of the plan include capping old landfill cells with low permeability ma-terial, adequate cover over old waste cells and creating surface profiles that will divert surface water away from the old tipping zones. Revegetation of the site is incremental with the first phase being collection of local providence plant material and propagation of a variety of species to allow revegetation works to be undertaken.

Another key objective of the Board is to divert waste from land fill, this is an important strategy and this is discussed in the sec-tion of the annual report under Solid Waste Management.

During the reporting period the volume of air space used at the landfill was 1,715 cubic metres which equates to 1,697 Tonne of waste. The average air space used over the past five years is approximately 1,713 cubic metres per year.

Utilities Solid Waste Management

48

GAS MANAGEMENT LPG consumption decreased during the 2007/2008 period. This was in part due to the 2008 season begin-ning slowly, with no significant snowfall in the month of June leading to reduced visitor numbers. The summer months saw high temperatures again reducing the need for gas heating.

There were ten new apartments connected to the LPG system at the Ultima site. These units are only using LPG for cooking and partial heating. These sites had ESV approval in July 2008.

LPG product costs had a large yearly increase be-tween 2007 and 2008, with an average increase of 26% Over the same period world oil and gas prices increased significantly.

LPG usage has been reducing over the last four years. This is partly due to mild winters and partly due to old appliances being replaced by new models more effi-cient in design.

LPG propane continues to be a clean efficient and cost effective energy source.

This year Energy Safe Victoria conducted an annual audit of the LPG system, and a revised Safety Case has been accepted. The audit highlighted some areas needing improvement, mainly in the training of staff and upgrades to the Emergency Management of gas incidents.

Business Undertakings Gas Operations

Objective To provide safe bulk storage and reticulation of the village gas supply in compliance with the Gas Safety Act to ensure cost effective and reliable service.

Work continues on the Emergency Management Plan to define different gas emergencies and there has been an upgrade in the LPG system staff training.

Partway through September an incident occurred in which gas was cut off to the entire resort overnight. The system has emergency backcheck valves installed at the tank regu-lator and these activated, preventing gas from being sup-plied to the village. As a result, a resort services employee was required to visit all premises to manually shut off gas systems and reopen the backcheck valves. The pipe work was then refilled and the main regulators reset, with all premises put back on line one by one and appliances relit.

This process was completed within a period of 20 hrs and all premises had gas available for the next night.

Upgrades and regular maintenance during the 08/09 sum-mer period will be conducted on the regulator train at the tanks.

Regular maintenance works on the LPG system continue annually, including cathodic protection survey, LPG leak survey, regular servicing of tank components and continua-tion of the ten year regulator and metre change over pro-gram.

The advent of new developments in the village will see an increase of service to apartments and buildings.

Annual Usage

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

1

year

tonn

es

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

49

VICTORIAN ALPS NURSERY Since 1990, the Alpine Plants Nursery at Ovens Re-search Station, under the management of DSE, pio-neered production methods of alpine species and pro-duced indigenous plants and seed for use in alpine reha-bilitation projects and national parks. The Board as-sumed management in 2005 when DSE indicated that it was going to cease operating the nursery. With a limited number of commercial nurseries supplying plants indige-nous to the alpine region, it was important to ensure continuing operation of the nursery to provide a diverse and reliable quantity of alpine plants. Operations at the nursery since the Board assumed responsibility have grown threefold.

The nursery produces high quality plants for rehabilita-tion and restoration projects at all major Victorian ski resorts, the Mt Buffalo and Alpine National Parks as well as Kosciusko National Park and NSW ski areas. It pro-vides a diverse range of grasses, wildflowers and shrubs to suit a range of ecological communities and caters for big and small orders.

⇒ Since the Board assumed responsibility of the nurs-ery, upgrades of these facilities have included:

⇒ replacing the skin in polyhouse 1 and 2 ⇒ replacement of shade cloth in polyhouse 1 and 2 ⇒ new side venting curtains in polyhouse 1 ⇒ reconditioning of the heating and cooling systems in

polyhouse 1 and 2 ⇒ connection of electricity including upgrade of power

box to polyhouse 3

Business Undertakings Victorian Alps Nursery

⇒ relocation of all hot beds to polyhouse 3 ⇒ additional hot bed installation ⇒ upgrade electrical systems to safety standards in the

glasshouse ⇒ replacement of shadecloth cover of glasshouse ⇒ refurbishment of evaporative cooling system to glass-

house ⇒ upgrade of watering system to all areas of nursery

including glasshouse, the three polyhouses and out-door areas

⇒ an expansion of the outside nursery, doubling the size of the first area

⇒ gravelling and bordering to three outdoor areas

The nursery site currently consists of one glasshouse and three polyhouses, three outdoor gravelled areas and a paddock currently used for poa stock and orchard and storage areas. It is now operating at capacity.

Nursery Manager Annie Marlow, with support of Rebecca Reed, have specialist knowledge of alpine areas, plants and propagation techniques. Staff have also developed relationships with “on-site staff” such as Bev Lawrence at Mt Hotham and Parks Vic at Mt Bogong and Mt Buffalo to understand requirements for successful revegetation in certain alpine areas. This summer/autumn saw staff as-sisting in the planting of wetland species grown at the nursery on the Bogong High Plains “bogs” and remote Mt Fainters, as well as planning for rehabilitation of Mt Buf-falo bogs. Tube stock will be ready for planting on Mt Buf-falo this summer/autumn season. This work has estab-lished cross border cooperative management of the alpine area and an essential professional development opportu-nity for nursery staff and is a credit to the Board.

Objective To provide an economically viable operation of a nursery specialising in the production and propagation of Alpine Flora and make available an ongoing supply of native plants for all alpine resorts and parks that will be available for rehabilitation works relating to development and fire recovery.

Nursery Sales

0

2 0 , 0 0 0

4 0 , 0 0 0

6 0 , 0 0 0

8 0 , 0 0 0

10 0 , 0 0 0

12 0 , 0 0 0

14 0 , 0 0 0

Tot al 0 4 / 0 5 Tot al 0 5 / 0 6 Tot al 0 6 / 0 7 Tot al 0 7 / 0 8

Ye a r

50

Financial Management Letter from the Auditor General

51

Financial Management Letter from the Auditor General

52

Financial Management

ALPINE RESORT MANAGEMENT BOARDOPERATING STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2008

Note 2008 2007$ $

Revenue

Government Contributions 243,434 4,808 Rendering of Services 7,910,784 7,184,829 Contribution to Water Recycling Project - 2,090,000 Interest 59,734 68,250 Other Revenue 271,365 329,596

2 8,485,317 9,677,483

Expenses

Infrastructure services 2,654,371 1,688,925Village operations 1,262,288 1,004,487Visitor services 761,750 1,478,842Administration 2,666,318 2,388,013Marketing 428,079 425,759Loss on Sale/Write down of assets 232,035 Board costs 161,350 188,087Interest Expense 129,809 93,837Water Recycling Project - Transfer of Snowmaking Plant and Equipment 350,800 1,163,713Total Expenses 3 8,646,801 8,431,663

Net Result for the Reporting Period (161,484) 1,245,820

Net Increase in Asset Revaluation Reserve 29,229,650

Total Revenues, Expenses and Revaluation Recognised in Equity - 29,229,650

Total changes in equity other than those resulting from transactions with the (161,484) 30,475,470 Victorian State Government in its capacity as owner

The above Operating Statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

MOUNT HOTHAM

53

Financial Management

ALPINE RESORT MANAGEMENT BOARDBALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 OCTOBER 2008

Note 2008 2007$ $

ASSETS

Current AssetsCash assets 4,20 1,527,069 1,609,014 Receivables 5,20 478,613 568,234 Inventories 6 170,034 184,024 Prepayments 89,584 130,723

Total Current Assets 2,265,299 2,491,995

Non-Current AssetsProperty, Plant & Equipment 7 86,895,375 87,058,515

Total Non Current Assets 86,895,375 87,058,515 TOTAL ASSETS 89,160,675 89,550,510

LIABILITIESCurrent Liabilities

Payables 8,20 483,203 870,115 Leased (Chattel Mortgage) Assets 15,20 82,626 Provisions 9 558,701 637,335

Total Current Liabilities 1,124,531 1,507,450

Non-Current Liabilities Treasury Corporation of Victoria 20 2,036,372 2,090,000 Leased (Chattel Mortgage) Assets 15,20 75,433 Provisions 9 3,590 20,827

Total Non-Current Liabilities 2,115,395 2,110,827 TOTAL LIABILITIES 3,239,926 3,618,277

NET ASSETS 85,920,749 85,932,233

EQUITYContributed Capital 10.2,21 31,618,328 31,468,328 Asset Revaluation Reserve 10.3 48,860,895 48,860,895 Accumulated Earnings 10.1 5,441,526 5,603,010

TOTAL EQUITY 10.4 85,920,749 85,932,233

The above Balance Sheet should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

MOUNT HOTHAM

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Financial Management

ALPINE RESORT MANAGEMENT BOARDSTATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2008

Note 2008 2007$ $

Total Equity

Total equity at the beginning of the financial year 85,932,233 55,178,323

Net Result for the period -161,484 30,475,470 Transactions with the Victorian State Government:Equity contributions 10.2 150,000 278,440

Total equity at the end of the financial year 10 85,920,749 85,932,233

The above Statement of Changes in Equity should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

MOUNT HOTHAM

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Financial Management

ALPINE RESORT MANAGEMENT BOARDCASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2008

Note 2008 2007$ $

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

Receipts from Government 243,434 4,808 Receipts from other entities 8,239,147 9,903,258 Payments to suppliers and employees (7,581,454) (6,735,892) Interest received 59,734 68,250 Interest paid (129,809) (93,837) Net Cash provided by Operating Activities 11 831,052 3,146,587

Cash Flows from Investing ActivitiesPayments for property, plant & equipment (1,026,017) (4,876,862) Proceeds from sale of non-current assets 16,649 - Net Cash used in Investing Activities (1,009,368) (4,876,862)

Cash Flows from Financing ActivitiesCapital contribution 10.2 150,000 278,440 Borrowings from Treasury Corporation Victoria (53,628) 2,090,000 Net Cash provided by Financing Activities 96,372 2,368,440

Net Increase/(Decrease) in Cash Held (81,945) 638,165

Cash at the beginning of the Financial Year 1,609,014 970,849

Cash at the end of the Financial Year 4 1,527,069 1,609,014

The above Cash Flow Statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

MOUNT HOTHAM

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Financial Management

NOTES TO AND FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSFOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2008

NOTE 1 SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The financial statements consist of an Operating Statement, Balance Sheet, Statement of Changes in Equity, Cash Flow Statement and notes accompanying the financial statements. The general purpose financial report complies with the requirements of Australianequivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards (A-IFRS), other authoritative pronouncements of the Australian Accounting Standards Board,

The accounting policies set out below have been consistently applied to all years presented. The Board has taken the exemption availableunder AASB 1 to only apply AASB 132 Financial Instruments: Presentation and AASB 139 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurementfrom 1 January 2005.

The financial report has been prepared on an accrual basis and going concern basis, using the historical cost convention,except for certain assets which, as noted, have been shown at valuation.

The reporting period covered in the financial statements is 1 November 2007 to 31 October 2008.

The following is a summary of the material accounting policies adopted by the Board in the preparation of the financial report. The policies have been applied, unless otherwise stated.

a) Classification between current and non-currentIn the determination of whether an asset is current or non-current, consideration is given to the time when eachasset or liability is expected to be realised or paid.The asset or liability is classified as current if it is expected to be realised or settled within the next twelve months, or cannot be unconditionally deferred by the Board.

b) Basis of preparation

Under A-IFRS, there are requirements that apply specifically to not-for-profit entities that are not consistent with IFRS requirements. The Board has determined it does not have profit generation as a prime objective. Consequently, where appropriate, the Board has elected to apply options and exemptions within the A-IFRS that are applicable to not-for-profit entities.

c) Critical accounting estimatesThe preparation of these financial statements in conformity with A-IFRS required management to make judgements,estimates and assumptions about carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent fromother sources.The estimates and associated assumptions are based on experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstance, the result of which form the basisof making the judgements. Actual results may differ from these estimates. It also required management to exercise its judgement in the process of applying the Board's accounting policies. The estimates andunderlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis.

d) InvestmentsInvestments are brought to account at cost with interest revenue recognised in theoperating statement when it is earned. All investments expected to be disposed ofwithin 12 months of balance date are classified as current assets and all others are classified as non-current assets.

e) InventoriesInventories comprise stores and materials used in the construction of new works and forthe repair and maintenance of existing assets. All inventories are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

f) Revenue RecognitionRevenue is brought to account when services have been provided or when a rate/tariffis fixed for service charges levied under Section 13 of the Alpine Resorts (Management) Act 1997.

Site rental is recognised under the terms and conditions of each lease and in accordance with

Service Charges are imposed on an annual basis and revenue is recognised when an invoice is raised by the Board

Grants and contributions for capital works from all sources are recognised as operating revenue in accordance with AASB 1004.Any grants and contributions received from the Victorian State Government that are deemed as beingin the nature of owner's contributions are accounted for as Equity - Contributed Capital.

Contributions recognised as revenue in 2008 amounted to $243,424 (2007 $2,094,080).

g) ReceivablesDebtors are carried at amounts due. Where necessary interest is charged on overdue debts

Bad and Doubtful DebtsA provision is made for any doubtful debts, based on a review of all outstandingreceivables at balance date. Bad debts are written off in the period in which they areidentified. The Board considered that no provision was necessary for bad or doubtful debts as at 31 October 2008. (2007- nil)

h) Employee BenefitsEmployee BenefitsIn accordance with AASB 119 "Employee Benefits", liabilities for wages and salaries, including non monetary benefits and annual leave entitlements which are expected to be settled within 12 monthsof the reporting date are measured using remuneration rates expected to apply when the obligationis settled.

Urgent Issues Group Interpretations and the requirements of the Financial Management Act (1994) and the relevant Financial Reporting Directions (FRDs) issued by the Department of Treasury & Finance, and relevant Standing Directions (SD) authorised by the Minister for Finance and the Alpines Resort (Management) Act 1997 and interpretations and other mandatory professional requirements.

the Board's role as a Committee of Management of any Crown land deemed to be permanently reserved under the Crown Lands Reserve Act 1978

at the rate of 12% per annum to the 31 August 2008 and 11% from the 1 September 2008. The Board's stated terms in respect of amounts receivable are payment in full within 30 days.

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Financial Management

Long Service LeaveUnconditional vested long service leave representing over 5 years continuous serviceis disclosed as a current liability, even when the Board does not expect to settle the liability within 12 monthsas it will not have the right to defer the settlement of the entitlement should an employee take leave within 12 months.Long service leave expected to be paid within 12 months has been measured at nominal value, and long service leaveexpected to be paid after 12 months has been measured at present value.

Performance Payments

SuperannuationThe Board contributes to several Victorian Government superannuation plans. Contributions are charged against income when they are made. Further informationis set out in Note 18.

Employee OncostsEmployee benefit oncosts, including payroll tax, are recognised and included in employee benefit liabilities and costs when the employee benefits to which they relate are recognised as liabilities.

i) Property, Plant and EquipmentAcquisition

Valuation of Fixed Assets Excluding LandNo fixed asset is held at an amount which will exceed its recoverable amount.

Subsequent to the initial recognition as assets, non-current physical assets, other than plant and equipment are measured at fair value. Plant and equipment are measured at cost. Revaluations are made with sufficient regularity to ensure that the carrying amount of each asset does not differ materially from its fair value at the reporting date. Values are assessed annually and supplemented by independent assessments, at least every three years. Land, buildings were revalued by the Valuer - General as at 31 October 2007 at fair value.

Revaluation increments are credited to a revaluation reserve and decrements arerecognised as an expense in the operating statement. To the extent that a revaluation decrement reverses a revaluation increment previously credited to andstill included in the balance of the asset revaluation reserve, the decrement is debited directly to that reserve up to the value of that prior increment.

Valuation of Land The reported value of the Board's land assets have been determined by the Office of the Valuer-General using the "site value" methodology defined in the Valuation of Land Act 1960.

Under "site value" concepts the value is determined by referring to the market value of the freehold property assuming it is vacant but could be developed in accordance with the current planning scheme to its highest and best use, but having regard to all surrounding facilities both of a beneficial and detrimental nature. As the Board's land is primarily Crown land, occupancy to site holders is provided through the granting of leases over individual sites. As a result of the trading of these leases from one Lessee to another, the value of the Board's land includes both the Board's interest ( as Lessor) in the Crown's leasehold land and the Lessee's interest.

Under fair value the Board's interest in the Crown's leasehold land is measured as the Lessor's interest using Net Present Value (NPV) calculations based on the income and land values for the period of the individual leasesusing a discount rate of 8 percent obtained from comparable financial market evidence. Broad area land valueshave been applied to the other areas of the Board's controlled area based on comparable sales evidencemethodology. The addition of these values represents the fair value of the land assets under the Board's control.The figures do not include any improvement values. The revaluation was performed by the Valuer-GeneralVictoria.

Depreciation of Non-Current AssetsDepreciation is calculated on a straight line basis to write off the cost or revalued amount of each non-current asset item (excluding land) over its expected useful life to the Board.Additions to non-current assets in the financial year are depreciated from their respective dates of acquisition.

Estimates of remaining useful lives of all non-current asset items are made on a regular basis with anannual review of all major non-current assets.

Depreciation rates currently applied to each class of asset are as follows:

Buildings 2.5%Infrastructure Assets 1.25% to 10%Plant & Equipment 5% to 20%

The above rates have remained unchanged from the previous year.

Performance payments for the Board's Executive Officers are based on a percentage of the annual salary package provided under their employment contract and is measured as the amounts accrued under the contracts at balance date. These are recognised as a liability.

Fixed assets include land, buildings, infrastructure, plant, equipment, furniture and motor vehicles. Items with a cost or value in excess of $1,000 and a useful life to the Board of more than one year are capitalised. All other assets acquired are expensed.

Fixed assets are brought to account at acquisition cost or in the case of assets acquired at no cost, at a fair value determined by the Board in conjunction with the grantor, at the date they are acquired.

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Financial Management

i) Property, Plant and Equipment cont.

Impairment of assetsAssets are assessed in the normal course of operations for indicators of impairment, except for:

- Financial Assets- Inventories- Non-current assets held for sale

If there is an indication of impairment, the assets concerned are tested as to whether their carrying valueexceeds their recoverable amount.Where an asset's carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount,the difference is written off by a charge to the Operating Statement, except to the extent that the write-downcan be debited to an asset revaluation reserve amount applicable to that class of asset.

The recoverable amount for most assets is measured at the higher of depreciated replacement costand fair value less costs to sell. Recoverable amount for assets held primarily to generate net cash inflowsis measured at the higher of the present value of future cash flows expected to be obtained from the asset and fair value less costs to sell. It is deemed that, in the event of a loss of an asset, the future economic benefits arising from the use of the asset will be replaced unless a specific decision to the contrary has been made.

An impairment loss on a revalued asset is credited directly to equity under the heading Revaluation Reserve.However, to the extent that an impairment loss on the same class of asset was previously recognised in theOperating Statement, a reversal of that impairment loss is also recognised in the Operating Statement.

In the Boards view, asset values do not exceed their recoverable amount from their continued use and their subsequent disposal and as such, no adjustment to these values was made in the reporting period.

j) PayablesLiabilities are recognised for amounts to be paid in the future for goods or services received, whether or not billed to the Board. The carrying amount of accounts payable approximates net fair value.

k) Cash Flow StatementFor the purpose of the cash flow statement, cash includes cash on hand, cash at bank and "highly liquid investments" net of any bank overdraft. Cash at the end of the financial year as shown in the cash flow statement is reconciled to the related itemsin the balance sheet.(see note 4)

l) Goods and Services TaxRevenues, expenses and assets are recognised net of the amount of goods and services tax (GST), except where the amount of GST is not recoverable from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). In these circumstances the GST is recognised as part of the cost of acquisition of the asset or as part of an item of expense.

Receivables and payables are stated with the amount of GST included.

The net amount of GST recoverable from, or payable to, the ATO is included as a current asset or current liability in the balance sheet.

Cash flows arising from operating activities are disclosed in the cash flow statement on a grossbasis - i.e. inclusive of GST. The GST component of cashflows arising from investing and financingactivities which is recoverable or payable to the taxation authority is classified as operating cash flows.

m) Contributed Capital The Financial Reporting Directions under the Financial Management Act 1994

During the year the Department of Sustainability and Environment transferred $150,000 to the Board designated as Contributed Capital.

n) Leases and Chattel Mortgage A distinction is made between finance leases, which effectively transfer from the lessor to the lesseesubstantially all the risks and benefits incidental to ownership of leased non-current assets, andoperating leases under which the lessor effectively retains substantially all such risks and benefit.

Operating leases are charged to the operating statement in the period in which they areincurred, as this represents the pattern of benefits derived from the leased assets.

The Board has a chattel mortgage with Esanda finance for the purchase of vehicles with Nissan Australia.

o) Rounding Unless otherwise stated, amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.

provides that transfers of net assets are to be designated as Contributed Capital when the transfer satisifies the definition of contribution by owners as per FRD 2A Contributions by Owners.

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Financial Management

2008 2007$ $

NOTE 2 Revenue RevenueRevenue from GovernmentGovernment grants 243,434 4,808

Service and site feesSite rental 16 1,481,073 1,210,576 Service charges 2,791,727 2,798,879 Capital development ingoings 68,532 182,006 Gas trading operations 1,212,782 936,593

5,554,114 5,128,054

ContributionsMt Hotham Ski Company Pty Ltd contribution to the Water Trust Recycling Project - 2,090,000

Other chargesGate entry 2,224,378 1,966,505 Horticultural supplies 132,293 90,270

Other Revenue 271,365 329,596 2,628,035 2,386,371

Interest 59,734 68,250

8,485,317 9,677,483

- NOTE 3 Expenses

Included in Expenses are :

Depreciation charge for the period :

Buildings 93,530 71,195 Infrastructure 407,548 346,854 Plant, equipment and motor vehicles 248,219 225,013

749,298 643,062

Employee Benefits ExpenseSalaries,wages and other oncosts 2,554,946 2,371,767 Superannuation 409,643 435,060

2,964,589 2,806,827 Loss on disposalProfit on Sale of Assets (14,634) - Assets scrapped at WDV after management review at the conclusion of the Water Trust Project 246,669 -

232,035 -

Audit FeesVictorian Auditor - General's Office 20,000 16,610Internal Auditor 34,626 21,713

54,626 38,323

Other costs includingMaintenance 392,980 323,017 Energy (including LPG purchases for resale) 1,307,042 1,025,332Marketing 262,198 237,773Consultants and Contractors 347,086 345,040Communications 122,906 111,885Accommodation - Staff 104,957 33,311Support Payments 144,273 180,000Insurance 219,876 183,380Interest 129,809 93,838Water Recycling Project - Transfer of Snowmaking Plant and Equipment 350,800 1,163,713Other 1,264,326 1,246,162

4,646,253 4,943,451

Total Expenses 8,646,801 8,431,663

NOTE 4 Cash Assets 2008 2007$ $

Cash at bank and on hand 20 1,527,069 1,609,0141,527,069 1,609,014

NOTE 5 Receivables

Current Trade debtors 20 478,613 568,234 Less provision for doubtful debts - -

478,613 568,234

Where necessary interest is charged on overdue debts at the applicable rate under the Penalty Interest Rate Act. The carrying value of debtors approximates fair value.

All debtors have been reviewed by management at period end and no debts are considered doubtful.

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Financial Management

NOTE 6 Inventories

Current Fuel 18,176 7,008 Gas 27,375 44,935 Inventory 124,482 132,081

170,034 184,024

2008 2007NOTE 7 Property, Plant & Equipment $ $

Land At Valuation 31 October 2007 59,467,865 59,467,865 59,467,865 59,467,865

Buildings At Valuation 31 October 2007 5,459,000 5,474,000 Less accumulated depreciation (89,749) -

5,369,251 5,474,000 At Cost 48,596 296 Less accumulated depreciation (224) (32)

48,372 264 5,417,623 5,474,264

Infrastructure At Valuation 31 October 2004 10,838,867 10,838,867 Less accumulated depreciation (1,255,849) (992,911)

9,583,018 9,845,956 At Cost 9,582,780 2,006,349 Less accumulated depreciation (145,444) (41,040)

9,437,335 1,965,309 19,020,354 11,811,265

Plant, Equipment & Motor Vehicles At Cost 1,915,767 1,891,541 Less accumulated depreciation (1,042,265) (891,230)

873,502 1,000,311 Capital Works in Progress 2,116,032 9,304,810 Total 86,895,375 87,058,515

Note 7.1: Property, Plant and Equipment

Reconciliations of the carrying amounts of each class of asset at the beginning and end of the current financial year are set out below.

Carrying amount at start of

year Additions Disposals Transfers Depreciation Expense

Carrying amount at end of year

Land 59,467,865 59,467,865Buildings 5,474,264 34 (14,688) 48,300 (93,530) 5,414,380Infrastructure Assets 11,811,265 63,391 (200,938) 7,488,286 (407,548) 18,754,456Plant & Equipment 1,000,311 248,292 (31,494) 173,753 (248,219) 1,142,642Capital Works in Progress 9,304,810 872,360 (350,800) (7,710,339) 2,116,032

87,058,515 1,184,077 (597,920) (749,298) 86,895,375

Note 7.2: Property, Plant and Equipment

In accordance with the Water Recycling Project Memorandum of Understanding, snowmaking assets worth $350,800 were transferred to MHSC Pty Ltd. No other asset disposals occurred in the reporting period.

NOTE 8 PayablesTrade creditors 379,088 509,541

Other creditors 104,115 360,574 483,203 870,115

All trade and other creditors are non-interest bearing. The carrying amount of creditors approximates fair value.

NOTE 9 Provisions

Current

Unconditional and expected to be settled within 12 months (ii) 389,456 324,506 Unconditional and expected to be settled after 12 months (ii) 58,902 185,362 Provisions related to employee benefits on-costs Unconditional and expected to be settled within 12 months (ii) 101,508 81,127 Unconditional and expected to be settled within 12 months (ii) 8,835 46,340

Total current provisions 558,702 637,335

Non-current

Employee Benefits (i) 3,122 17,703 Provisions related to employee benefits on-costs 468 3,124

Total non-current provisions 3,590 20,827

Total Provisions 562,292 658,162

Employee Benefits (i) (note 9(a))

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Financial Management

9(a) Employee Benefits and related on-costs

Current Employee Benefits

Annual Leave entitlements 215,443 185,094 Time off in Lieu entitlements 22,943 18,181 Unconditional Long Service Leave Entitlements 209,974 188,368

Non-current employee benefits Conditional long service leave entitlements 3,122 17,703

Total Employee Benefits 451,481 409,345

Current on-costs 110,342 245,693 Non-current on-costs 468 3,124

Total on-costs 110,811 248,817

Total employee benefits and related on-costs 562,292 658,162

NOTE 10 Equity 2008 2007$ $

10.1 Accumulated EarningsBalance at start of year 5,603,010 4,357,190 Result for the Reporting period (161,484) 1,245,820 Balance at end of year 5,441,526 5,603,010

10.2 Contributed CapitalBalance at start of year 31,468,328 31,189,888 Capital contributions 150,000 278,440 Balance at end of year 31,618,328 31,468,328

An amount of $23,345,009 represents the capital portion of the contributionreceived from the Alpine Resorts Commission as at 30 April 1998. This amount is included in the total contributed capital at 31 October 2008.

Accumulated Earnings as at 31 October 2001 amounting to $1,637,471was transferred to Contributed Capital in accordance with the then applicable accounting standards AFRB 39 and AFRB 40 (Note 10 ).

In addition, transfers of $6,535,855 since 2001 plus $150,000 this year were received from the Department of Sustainability and Environment and in accordance with the Financial Reporting Direction 2A (FRD 2A ) these amounts were designated as an addition to Contributed Capital.

10.3 Asset Revaluation ReserveBalance at start of year 48,860,895 19,631,245 Net Increment on Revaluation 29,229,650 Balance at end of year 48,860,895 48,860,895

10.4 Movements in EquityBalance at start of year 85,932,233 55,178,323Total changes in equity recognised in the operating statement -161,484 30,475,470Capital contributions 150,000 278,440Balance at end of year 85,920,749 85,932,233

Reconciliation of results to net cash inflow from NOTE 11 operating activities

Net Results for the period (161,484) 1,245,820

Depreciation 749,298 643,062 Water Recycling Project - Transfer of Snowmaking Plant and Equipment 350,800 1,163,713 Sale / Write down of Assets 230,469 -

Change in operating assets and liabilities :Decrease/(increase) in receivables 89,621 301,443 Decrease/(increase) in inventories 13,990 (2,610) Decrease/(increase) in prepayments 41,139 (7,761) Increase/(decrease) in payables (130,453) (414,107) Increase/(decrease) in accrued expenditure (256,459) 114,150 Increase/(decrease) in employee entitlements (95,870) 102,877 Net Cash Inflow from operating activities 831,052 3,146,587

(i) Provisions for employee benefits consist of amounts for annual leave and long service leave accrued by employees, not including on-costs.

(ii) The amounts disclosed are nominal amounts.

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Financial Management

- NOTE 12 Financing Arrangements

The Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board has no access to any pre-arranged finance facilities.

NOTE 13 Capital Commitments

NOTE 14 Lease CommitmentsAt balance date the Board had the following obligation under operating leases:

Not later than one year 93,163 155,227Later than one year but not later than five years 142,869 236,033

236,033 391,260

NOTE 15 Chattel Mortgage2008 2007 2008 2007

Chattel Mortgage liabilities payableNot longer than 1 year 93,239 82,626Longer than 1 year and not longer than 5 years 78,295 75,433Longer than 5 yearsMinimum Future payments 171,535 158,059Less future finance charges (13,475)Present value of minimum lease payments 158,059 158,059

Included in the financial statements as:Current interest bearing liabilities (Note 20) 82,626Non-current interest bearing liabilities (Note 20) 75,433 158,059

2008 2007$ $

NOTE 16 Future Lease Rent RevenueThe Board acting as a Committee of Management under section 38 of the Alpine Resorts (Management) Act 1997, manages 80 Crown leases with site holders. The leases cover periods up to 99 years with expected rent revenue from these leases within the next year of $1,281,614

Not later than one year 1,494,283 1,203,200Later than one year but not later than five years 6,055,819 4,812,800Later than five years 39,055,224 31,395,859

NOTE 17 Contingent Assets and Liabilities

Native Title

a) A Native Title claim in relation to Mount Hotham remains unresolved at reporting date. As the claim is yet to be resolved any potential liability is unclear.

b) There are no other contingent liabilities or outstanding claims as at 31 October 2008.

NOTE 18 Superannuation

Contribution details are shown in the following table:

Type of Scheme Rate 2008 2007% $ $

Government Superannuation Office (Defined Benefits) 9-9.7 17,378 17,718 New/Revised Scheme

Government Superannuation Office (Defined Benefits) 12.8 13,500 12,344 (SERBS)

Other (Accumulated Benefits) 9 378,765 404,998

Total contributions to all Funds 409,643 435,060

At reporting date there were outstanding contributions of $12,730 (2007 $5,771) payable to the above funds.No loans have been made to the Board from these funds.

There were no unfunded liabilities in regard to the Board's membership of defined benefitsuperannuation schemes.

Minimum Future paymentsPresent value of minimum future

payments

The Board has signed agreements for the construction of walking trails and geo-technical work. The forward commitments on these works toals $520 289.

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Financial Management

NOTE 19 Responsible Persons Related DisclosuresResponsible PersonsThe names of persons who were Responsible Persons during the financial yearwere:Responsible Minister Gavin Jennings, MP Minister for Environment and Climate Change Board Geoffrey Provis, Chairman of the Board Debbie Goodin, Board Member Helen Moran, Board Member Nicole Feeney Board Member Roderick Sloan, Board Member Timothy Piper, Board Member Wayne Talbot, Board MemberAccountable Officer Jim Atteridge, Chief Executive Officer

Remuneration of Responsible PersonsRemuneration received, or due and receivable from the Board in connection with the management of the Board for the financial period ended 31 October 2008 was $280,732 (2007 - $302,511)

The number of Responsible Persons whose remuneration from the Board was withinthe specified bands are as follows:

2008 2007No. No.

$0 - $9,999 6 6$10,000 - $19,999 1 1$180,000 - $189,999$200,000 - $219,999 1 1

8 8The relevant Minister's remuneration is reported separately in the financialstatements of the Department of Premier & Cabinet.

Retirement Benefits of Responsible PersonsThere were no retirement benefits paid by the Board in connection with the retirementof Responsible Persons of the Board during the financial year.

LoansAt 31 October 2008 there were no loans in existence that have been made, guaranteed orsecured by the Board to a Responsible Person of the Board or a related partyof a Responsible Person.(2007 - nil)

NOTE 19 Related Party Disclosures Other transactions:

Ms. Helen Moran is the Group General Manager, Property Division of Australian Alpine Enterprises PtyLtd, the parent company of MHSC Pty Ltd, which has dealings with the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board. All transactions are conducted on an arms length commercial basis between the two organisations and during the year the Board paid $22,549 (2007 - $331,536) to MHSC.

At reporting date the Mount Hotham Skiing Company Pty Ltd owed $173,837 (2007 -$163,332) to the Board,being unpaid amounts for annual transport levy, gas, annual service charges and site rental.

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Financial Management

NOTE 20 Financial Instruments(A) Interest Rate Risk Exposure

The Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board's exposure to interest rate riskand the effective weighted average interest rate for classes of financial assets and financialliabilities is set out below:

Weighted Average Fixed Interest Variable Non-Interest 2008 Interest Rate Interest Bearing

$ $Financial AssetsCash 3.81% 1,527,069 1,527,069 Receivables 478,613 478,613

2,005,682 1,527,069 478,613

Financial Liabilities

Accounts Payable 483,203 Leases / Chattel Mortgage 5.54% 158,059 158,059 Variable Rate Borrowings - TCV 6.58% 2,036,372 2,036,372

2,194,431 158,059 2,036,372 483,203

2007$ $

Financial AssetsCash 4.08% 1,609,014 1,609,014 Receivables 568,234 568,234

2,177,248 1,609,014 568,234

Financial Liabilities

Accounts Payable 870,115 870,115 Variable Rate Borrowings - TCV 6.58% 2,090,000 2,090,000

2,960,115 2,090,000 870,115

Weighted Average More than2008 Interest Rate 3 months - 1

$ $ $ $ $Financial AssetsCash 3.81% 1,527,069 Receivables 478,613 92,719 334,153 51,741

2,005,682 92,719 334,153 51,741

Financial Liabilities

Accounts Payable 483,203 398,564 14,941 Leases / Chattel Mortgage 5.54% 158,059 1,334 2,841 78,451 75,433 Variable Rate Borrowings - TCV 6.58% 2,036,372 - 13,963 43,281 270,256 1,708,873

2,677,634 399,897 31,745 121,732 345,689 1,708,873

2007

Financial AssetsCash 4.08% 1,609,014 Receivables 568,234 131,324 420,614 16,296

2,177,248 131,324 420,614 16,296

Financial Liabilities

Accounts Payable 870,115 561,842 263,706 44,566 Variable Rate Borrowings - TCV 6.58% 2,090,000 - 13,081 40,547 249,572 1,786,800

2,960,115 561,842 276,787 85,114 249,572 1,786,800

(B) Credit Risk Exposures

(C) Net fair values of financial assets and liabilities

The carrying amounts of accounts receivable and accounts payable approximate their fair value.

Interest Rate Exposure

Nominal Amount Less than 1 month 1-3 months > 5 years1-5 years

Maturity Dates

Carrying amount

The Board's maximum exposure to credit risk at reporting date in respect to financial assets is limited to the carrying amount in the balance sheet.

The credit risk on financial assets of the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board which have been recognised on the balance sheet is the carrying amount, net of any provision for doubtful debts.

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Financial Management

NOTE 20 Financial Instruments (continued)

Carrying Amount -2% -2% 1% 1%$ Surplus Equity Surplus Equity

2008

Cash on hand and on short term deposit 1,527,069 (30,541) (30,541) 15,271 15,271

2007

Cash on hand and on short term deposit 1,609,014 (32,180) (32,180) 16,090 16,090

NOTE 21 Contributed Capital

On 29 April 1998 the Alpine Resorts Commission was dissolved and seven (7) bodies were established in its place, one of these bodies being the Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board.

The equity from the Alpine Resorts Commission was allocated to the newly formed bodiesby the Minister for Conservation and Land Management pursuant to Section 59 of theAlpine Resorts (Management) Act 1997. The allocation received from the Alpine Resorts Commission included revenue and capital items.

An amount of $23,345,009 represents the capital portion of the contributionreceived from the Alpine Resorts Commission as at 30 April 1998. This amount is included in the total contributed capital at 31 October 2008.

Financial Assets

(D) Liquidity Risk Liquidity risk arises when the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board is unable to meet its financial obligations as they fall due. The Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board operates under the Government fair payments policy of settling financial obligations within 30 days and in the event of a dispute, make payments within 30 days from the date of resolution. It also continuously manages risk through monitoring future cash flows and maturities planning to ensure adequate holding of high quality liquid assets and dealing in highly liquid markets.+C868

(E) Interest Rate Risk Exposure to interest rate risk is insignificant and might arise primarily through the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board’s interest bearing liabilities. Minimisation of risk is achieved by mainly undertaking fixed rate or non-interest bearing financial instruments. For financial liabilities, the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board mainly undertake financial liabilities with relatively even maturity profiles.

(F) Sensitivity disclosure analysisThe following table details the sensitivity to movements in interest rates based on a parallel shift of -2% and +1% from market rates at year end.

CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL REPORT

In our opinion, the financial report of the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board,comprising the Operating Statement,Balance Sheet, Statement of Changes in Equity andCash Flow Statement and notes to and forming part of the financial statements, for the year ended 31 October 2008:

(a) Present fairly the financial transactions of the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board during the year ended 31 October 2008and its financial position as at 31 October 2008;and

(b) Have been prepared in accordance with Standing Direction 4.2 of the Financial Management Act 1994 , applicable Financial Reporting Directions, Australian accounting standards andother mandatory professional reporting requirements.

At the date of signing we are not aware of any circumstances which would render any particularsincluded in the report to be misleading or inaccurate.

Geoffrey ProvisCHAIRMAN21st January 2009

Jim AtteridgeCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER21st January 2009

Jonathan HutchinsCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER21st January 2009

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The Annual Report of the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board is prepared in accordance with all relevant Victorian legislation.

This Index has been prepared to facilitate identification of our compliance with these statutory disclosure requirements.

Appendices Appendix One: Disclosure Index

Financial Reporting Directions

FRD Item Page

Charter and purpose FRD 22B Manner of establishment and the relevant Ministers 14, 16

FRD 22B Objectives, functions, powers and duties 6-7, 17

FRD 22B Nature and range of services provided 16

Management and structure FRD 22B Organisational structure - senior officers and functional areas 20-21

- board members 14-15

Financial and other information FRD 10 Disclosure index 66 FRD 12A Disclosure of major contracts 24 FRD 22B Operational and budgetary objectives and performance against objectives 9 FRD 22B Employment and conduct principles - workforce data (current and previous yr) 22 - merit and equity 23 FRD 22B Occupational health and safety policy 23 FRD 22B Summary of the financial results for the year (including summary of past 4 years) 9 FRD 22B Significant changes in financial position during the year 9 FRD 22B Major changes or factors affecting performance 12 FRD 22B Subsequent events 66 FRD 22B Application and operation of Freedom of Information Act 1982 18 FRD 22B Compliance with building and maintenance provisions of Building Act 1993 41 FRD 22B Statement on National Competition Policy 18 FRD 22B Application and operation of the Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001 19 FRD 22B Details of consultancies over $100 000 24 FRD 22B Details of consultancies under $100 000 24 FRD 22B Statement of availability of other information 18 FRD 25 Victorian Industry Participation Policy disclosures 18

Legislation

Item Page Freedom of Information Act 1982 (see s7(4)(a) of the Act) (also a requirement under FRD 22B) 18 Building Act 1983 (see s220(3) of the Act) (also a requirement under FRD 22B) Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001 (see s104 of the Act) (also a requirement under FRD 22B) Victorian Industry Participation Policy Act 2003 (see s9 of the Act) (also a requirement under FRD 25)

41 19 18

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Appendices Appendix One: Disclosure Index

© State of Victoria, Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board 2008 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provision of the Copyright Act 1968.

Other (Non-FRD 10 Disclosure Index) SD Item Page SD 4.5.5 Risk Management Attestation 26

SD 4.2(j) Accountable Officer’s Declaration 4

Financial Reporting Directions

Financial statements required under Part 7 of the FMA SD4.2(a) Statement of Changes in Equity 54

SD4.2(b) Operating Statement 52

SD4.2(b) Balance Sheet 53

SD4.2(b) Cash Flow Statement 55

Other requirements under Standing Directions 4.2 SD4.2(c) Compliance with Australian accounting standards and other authoritative pronouncements 56

SD42.(c) Compliance with Ministerial Directions 56

SD4.2(d) Rounding of Amounts 58

SD4.2(c) Accountable officers declaration 66

SD4.2(f) Compliance with Model Financial Report 56

FRD 9A Departmental disclosure of administered assets and liabilities NIL

FRD 11 Disclosure of ex-gratia payments NIL

FRD13 Disclosure of parliamentary appropriations NIL

FRD21A Responsible person and executive officer disclosures 63

Other disclosures as required by FRD’s in notes to the financial statements

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