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.

It is with pleasure that I introduce Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2008-2009, which, together with Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2008-2009, is one of the principal pieces of legislation underpinning the government’s first budget.

Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2008-2009 proposes appropriation for agencies to meet:

• expenses in relation to grants to the states under section 96 of the Constitution and for payments to the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and local government authorities;
• requirements for departmental equity injections, loans and previous years’ outputs; and
• requirements to create or acquire administered assets and to discharge administered liabilities.

Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2008-2009 seeks approval for appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund totalling almost $12.7 billion.

We have taken the opportunity in this budget to prepare an explanatory memorandum for each of the budget appropriation bills. For past appropriation bills, the budget papers and portfolio budget statements have explained the appropriations broadly. However, the clauses in each bill and the changes to the provisions have not been explained in detail. The memoranda explain the clauses in the bills in detail and, in particular, the changes made for 2008-09 compared to previous appropriation bills. This is the first occasion on which a government has prepared explanatory memoranda to explain the appropriation bills. It also supports the government’s policy to increase the disclosure of information on government financial management.

The drafting of the legislation text contained in the budget appropriation bills has been simplified to streamline certain provisions and remove redundant references. The changes are canvassed in the explanatory memoranda.

Budget Paper No. 4 provides information on appropriations that are expected to be required in the budget year. As part of the government’s Operation Sunlight program to increase the transparency of the budget, Budget Paper No. 4 also contains two new tables. The first outlines estimates of expenses for each special appropriation act by agency and the second is a register of all active special accounts operated by each agency.

Details of the proposed appropriations are set out in schedule 2 to the bill, the main features of which were outlined in the budget speech delivered by my colleague the Treasurer earlier this evening.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate (on motion by Mr Hockey) adjourned.