Gary Gray (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service and Integrity) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to bring the debate on Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2010-2011 and Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2010-2011 to a close, and I thank those members who have made a contribution. These additional estimates bills seek appropriation authority from parliament for the additional expenditure of money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund in order to meet requirements that have arisen since the last budget. The total additional appropriation being sought through additional estimates bills Nos 3 and 4 this year is a little over $2.3 billion.

I would like to take this opportunity to clarify some measures proposed in these bills. The opposition has claimed that the $152.8 million in capital funding for immigration detention facilities is a new measure. This is not the case. These funds were previously announced, namely $97.8 million in the 2010-11 Economic Statement and $54.9 million in the 2010-11 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

While the government has made a decision to retain the Federal Magistrate’s Court, other plans to restructure the federal courts will proceed as announced in the 2009-10 budget. An amount of $22.1 million will be provided to the Federal Magistrate’s Court in appropriation bill No. 1 and be offset by reductions in funding for the Federal Court and Family Court.

The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy will be provided with $12.7 million for the digital switchover Viewer Access Satellite Television service and the digital switchover communications campaign. The $11.8 million referred to in the second reading speech was one component of this re-appropriation.

In concluding this debate, there are a couple of points I would like to focus on in respect of these bills. The first is the delivery of our election commitments and I would like to raise a few of these. The first is $14.6 million to double the capacity of the Connecting People with Jobs Relocation Assistance Pilot program, which includes assisting eligible unemployed Australians to relocate to Queensland to take up employment in flood affected areas.

As flood affected areas begin the recovery, there will be a demand for labour that may not always be readily met locally. Reflecting this reality the government has expanded the Connecting People with Jobs relocation initiative and broadened the eligibility to allow for more job seekers to make use of this pilot. That pilot began on 1 January 2011. Assistance through the Connecting People with Jobs initiative could include but is not limited to a wage subsidy of $2,500 for employers, removal costs, mentoring, post-placement support, health support services, accommodation and community engagement costs, such as purchasing school uniforms.

The government is providing $22.4 million to assist Tasmanian forestry contractors and employees respond to the challenges facing the Tasmanian native forest industry. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry will receive $14.6 million, in Appropriation Bill (No. 3) to provide exit assistance in the form of grants to eligible contracting businesses, as well as assistance to help ensure that employees receive their full entitlements. The balance of the funding is being met from other sources. The government has delivered on its promise to make offers to successful applicants by Christmas. This was important to provide certainty for families. Individuals will now be able to make decisions about their futures with dignity.

The new Department of Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government will be provided with $5.9 million to strengthen local engagement and improve whole-of-government policy coordination for regional Australia. This funding is in addition to the resources that have already been transferred from other departments. As a recently established department it is growing by the day and is a dedicated agency with responsibility for regional policy and overseeing the rollout of initiatives across other departments.

As these measures make clear, the government are getting on with the task of delivering on our commitments. In addition, I would also like to point out the $120.7 million in assistance being provided to the people of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and those in my home state of Western Australia who were affected by the recent floods. This payment was activated to assist employees, small business persons and farmers who have suffered a loss of income as a direct result of the flooding and severe weather that began in late November 2010 and that continued in February 2011 in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and my home state of Western Australia.

In conclusion, these bills support the government’s budget initiatives, including a number of election commitments, and deserve widespread support. I commend the bills to the House.

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