Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That, in accordance with the recommendation made in the 50th Report of the Appropriations and Staffing Committee, the Senate resolves:

(1)

To reaffirm its constitutional right to amend proposed laws appropriating revenue or moneys for expenditure on all matters not involving the ordinary annual services of the Government.

(2)

That appropriations for expenditure on:

(a)

the construction of public works and buildings;

(b)

the acquisition of sites and buildings;

(c)

items of plant and equipment which are clearly definable as capital expenditure (but not including the acquisition of computers or the fitting out of buildings);

(d)

grants to the states under section 96 of the Constitution;

(e)

new policies not previously authorised by special legislation;

(f)

items regarded as equity injections and loans; and

(g)

existing asset replacement (which is to be regarded as depreciation),                       are not appropriations for the ordinary annual services of the Government and that proposed laws for the appropriation of revenue or moneys for expenditure on the said matters shall be presented to the Senate in a separate appropriation bill subject to amendment by the Senate.

(3)

That, in respect of payments to international organisations:

(a)

the initial payment in effect represents a new policy decision and therefore should be in Appropriation Bill (No. 2); and

(b)

subsequent payments represent a continuing government activity of supporting the international organisation and therefore represent an ordinary annual service and should be in Appropriation Bill (No. 1).

(4)

That all appropriation items for continuing activities for which appropriations have been made in the past be regarded as part of ordinary annual services.

This is a motion that I signed in my capacity as Manager of Government Business in the Senate. I note that the motion reflects the recommendations made in the 50th report of the Appropriations and Staffing Committee, of which I am not a member. I also note that the government’s position on these matters has been outlined previously in correspondence from the current and previous finance ministers to the President of the Senate.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to express the Australian Greens’ strong support for this motion. It is about quite a complicated issue, but it is aimed to make sure that the constitutional role of the Senate in the passage of legislation dealing with the expenditure of the money supplied by the Australian people is not subverted by special projects, one-off projects in particular, being put into the annual services budget of the government. A number of committees have met about this over the years, and there has been a general recognition that a motion of this sort would clear the matter up. I am very pleased the government has brought it forward. I also pay a word of tribute to former Clerk Harry Evans, who promoted such a motion for a good number of years. He would be very pleased to know that it is before the Senate and would want to see it passed as well. It is about a quite complicated matter, but it is one that is very firmly in the public interest and will help us all to understand budgetary matters much better in the future and to question government much more clearly about matters that are in budgets in times ahead, and that has to be good for democracy.

Question agreed to.