Telstra 2009 Annual Report Download - page 60

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Telstra Corporation Limited and controlled entities
Corporate Governance Statement
Political and Other Donations
Telstra does not make political donations. However, in line
with other major publicly listed companies, we do pay fees to
attend events organised by political parties where those
events allow for discussion on major policy issues with key
opinion leaders and policy makers.
We make donations and contribute funds to community and
other organisations as part of our approach to corporate
responsibility. Further discussion of your Company's corporate
responsibility is provided above in the section entitled
"Corporate Responsibility".
Compliance with the ASX Principles and Recommendations
The table below is provided to facilitate your understanding of
Telstra's compliance with the ASX Principles &
Recommendations.
Recommendation Please refer to the following sections of the Corporate
Governance Statement
Recommendation 1.1:
Companies should establish the functions reserved to the board and
those delegated to senior executives and disclose those functions.
3See “Role and Responsibilities of the Board”.
See also the Board Charter including Appendix 1 which is
available in full from our website.
Recommendation 1.2:
Companies should disclose the process for evaluating the performance
of senior executives.
3See the Remuneration Report which forms part of the
Directors’ Report.
Recommendation 2.1:
A majority of the board should be independent directors. 3See “Director Independence”.
Recommendation 2.2:
The chair should be an independent director. 3See “Role of the Chairman".
Recommendation 2.3:
The roles of chair and chief executive officer should not be exercised by
the same individual.
3See “Role of the Chairman".
Recommendation 2.4:
The board should establish a nomination committee. 3See “Nomination Committee”.
See also the Nomination Committee Charter which is
available in full from our website.
Recommendation 2.5:
Companies should disclose the process for evaluating the performance
of the board, its committees and individual directors.
3See “Performance Evaluation”.
Recommendation 3.1:
Companies should establish a code of conduct and disclose the code or a
summary of the code as to:
• The practices necessary to maintain confidence in the company’s
integrity;
• The practices necessary to take into account their legal obligations
and the reasonable expectations of their stakeholders; and
• The responsibility and accountability of individuals for reporting
and investigating reports of unethical practices.
3See “Telstra Values, Telstra Business Principles, Code of
Conduct and Other Company Policies”.
See also the Telstra Business Principles and Code of
Conduct which are available in full from our website.
Recommendation 3.2:
Companies should establish a policy concerning trading in company
securities by directors, senior executives and employees, and disclose
the policy or a summary of that policy.
3See “Share Trading”.
See also the Telstra Share Trading Policy which is
available in full from our website.
Recommendation 4.1:
The board should establish an audit committee. 3See “Audit Committee”.
Recommendation 4.2:
The audit committee should be structured so that it:
• Consists only of non-executive directors;
• Consists of a majority of independent directors;
• Is chaired by an independent chair, who is not chair of the board;
and
• Has at least three members.
3See “Audit Committee”.