Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2007-2008 provides additional funding to agencies for:

• expenses in relation to grants to the states under section 96 of the Constitution and for payments to the territories, and local government authorities; and
• non-operating purposes such as equity injections and loans.

The total additional appropriation being sought in Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2007-2008 is $898.5 million.

The principal factors contributing to the additional requirement since the 2007-2008 budget include $172 million in additional payments to the states, territories and local government authorities, including:

• $63.7 million to the Department of Health and Ageing to provide:
• an amount of $40.3 million for investing in hospitals and community health under the Better Outcomes for Hospitals and Community Health program. This program includes funds for specific commitments announced during the election, such as $15 million for the Launceston Integrated Cancer Care Centre; and
• $18 million for a contribution to Grafton Hospital;
• the Department of Defence will be provided $26.8 million for payment to the Queensland government for the relocation of Amberley State School as a result of the expansion of RAAF Amberley This appropriation is provided through the reclassification of an existing Defence appropriation;
• a bring forward of $20 million under the AusLink program to allow the early initiation of projects by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government; and
• an increase of $33.0 million for the Commonwealth State and Territories Disability Agreement, to allow the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs to make grants to the states for people with disabilities and their carers.

Bill No. 4 also proposes $723 million in additional appropriation for non-operating expenses, the more significant of which I now outline.

AusAID will be provided with $466.4 million for Australia’s contribution to the International Development Association, which is the concessional lending arm of the World Bank. The amount reflects additional funding announced at MYEFO of $211 million and a change in the accounting treatment for $255 million previously appropriated with funding for loans in Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2007-08. The original funding provided in Appropriation Act (No. 1) under the previous accounting treatment will be returned to the budget.

An additional $17.6 million will be provided to the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research for the Innovation Investment Fund. This amount represents the profit on the fund’s investment continuing the policy that profits generated should be returned to the fund to create a self-sustaining program of investments.

Finally an additional equity injection of $121.4 million is proposed for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to, among other things, reimburse the department for meeting workload increases flowing from an increase in case volume in 2006-07 and to provide capital funding for IT system development and upgrades for the border control system as well as additional capital funding for the Systems for People IT program.

We have also changed Appropriation Bill (No. 4) to clarify the relationship between annual appropriation acts and certain provisions in the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, which can change amounts appropriated by, and issued under, the annual appropriation acts.

Consistent with the amendments proposed for Appropriation Bill (No. 3), the changes proposed for this bill expand the explanatory detail provided in note 2 to section 6 of the bill and also expand the detail provided in the appropriation clause. These changes are not designed to alter the substantive law, but to make clear that the appropriation acts are subject to the relevant FMA Act provisions.

A number of other minor technical improvements have been made to the bills to ensure consistency with the drafting of other legislation.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate (on motion by Mr Hunt) adjourned.