The Environment Protection Board

The Environment Protection Board comprises three members – a president and two members appointed by the Governor-in-Council on the recommendation of the minister.
The board is responsible for providing advice to the minister and the chairman of EPA Victoria on administration, corporate planning, strategic direction and policies, and on national and international trends in environment protection.
It was established under section 8 of the Environment Protection Act 1970 and oversights the administration and policies of EPA Victoria but has no regulatory role.
Members are independent, non-executive directors, appointed on a part-time basis for up to three years and are eligible for reappointment.
During the reporting period, the board members were Mr Bob Welsh (president), Mr Mike Hill and Ms Barbara McLure. The term of office for all board members ended 13 May 2009.

Five board meetings were held between 1 July 2008 and 13 May 2009.
Mr Welsh and Ms McLure attended five meetings and Mr Hill four. They were remunerated in accordance with the Victorian Government’s guidelines for the appointment and remuneration of part-time, non-executive directors of statutory bodies and advisory committees. The president received $11,000 and the members $8800 each.

Environment Protection Board president
Mr Bob Welsh has served as Environment Protection Board president since May 2006.
He is the chief executive of VicSuper Pty Ltd, the inaugural chairperson of Sustainability Victoria and the founding chairperson of the Investor Group on Climate Change, Australia/New Zealand.

Environment Protection Board members
Mr Mike Hill was also appointed to the board in May 2006.
He has been involved in local government for more than 20 years, especially in the areas of sustainability, resource recovery, community development, consultation and engagement.
He was a councillor with the former City of Brunswick for eight years, including a term as mayor in 1988 and was the first mayor of Moreland City Council in 1996, where he served for three years as a councillor.

Ms Barbara McLure was first appointed to the board in May 2000 and was subsequently reappointed for a further two three-year terms. Ms McLure is the regional development manager at Victoria University and has run her own consulting business since 2005.
She is a former executive director of the Western Melbourne Regional Economic Development Organisation, a position she held for seven years.

See more about the EPA Audit Committee and the Executive committee.