David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, upon notice, on 26 November 2012:

With reference to the statements made by Ms Stacie Hall during the 2012-13 Budget Supplementary estimates hearing of the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee (Committee Hansard, 16 October 2012, proof p. 107) relating to General Business Enterprise dividend policy, and the answer provided to question no. 69, taken on notice during the 2012-13 Budget estimates hearing of the committee, in which the department failed to provide dividend targets for each financial year:

(1) Can the agreed dividend values for the 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-11 financial years be provided.

(2) Can the dividend value targets and actual dividend values for the 2011-12 financial year be provided.

(3) Can the agreed dividend value targets for the 2012-13 be provided.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The answer to the honourable senator's question is as follows:

The ASC Board recommends dividend payments having regard to its optimal capital structure. The Government takes into account the Board's recommendation in considering whether to accept dividend payments and Government does not release the Board's advice to the public. The actual cash dividends paid by ASC can be found in the table below.

Annual ordinary dividend targets are generally a percentage of profit after tax, consistent with the Commonwealth Government Business Enterprise Governance and Oversight Guidelines 2011, and will vary in absolute terms depending on actual versus forecast results. Dividend targets for 2012-13 have not yet been agreed.