Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2023-2024 seeks approval for appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of approximately $28 billion, incorporating decisions from the 2023-24 budget. I now outline the most significant items provided for in this bill. The Department of Defence will receive nearly $12 billion, which will support the implementation of the government's response to the Defence Strategic Review, including major investments in military capabilities, as well as enabling ICT capabilities and infrastructure. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water will receive close to $9 billion, primarily for Rewiring the Nation to continue expanding and modernising Australia's electricity grids at lowest cost, unlocking new renewables and storage capacity and driving down power prices.

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts will receive approximately $4 billion, including funding for government business enterprises to continue to deliver projects, including the ARTC for the Inland Rail program, WSA Co for the Western Sydney international airport and NBN Co for the election commitment to boost fibre and fast-track the NBN repair job.

Appropriation Bill (No. 2) also contains an Advance to the Finance Minister provision of $600 million to provide the government with the capacity to allocate additional appropriations for urgent and unforeseen expenditure. Since March 2020, the AFM provisions in annual appropriations acts have been set at an extraordinary level, primarily due to the unique and evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2023-24 bills return the AFM provisions to conventional levels, as the Australian governments have agreed to a strategic framework to support the transition of measures and policies to a sustainable COVID-19 steady state. These measures should reduce the potential call on AFM provisions in the future, and a specific AFM provision for COVID-19 or other national emergency response is no longer required.

This bill also sets the debit limits for payments under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 that apply in 2023-24. They are as follows: $5 billion for general purpose financial assistance and $35 billion for national partnership payments.

Full details of the proposed expenditure are set out in the schedules to the bill, the explanatory memorandum and the portfolio budget statements tabled in the parliament today. I commend the bill to this chamber.

Debate adjourned.