Senate debates

Tuesday, 2 April 2019

Bills

Supply Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020, Supply Bill (No. 2) 2019-2020, Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020; Second Reading

8:41 pm

Photo of Bridget McKenzieBridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Regional Services) Share this | | Hansard source

I move:

That these bills be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speeches read as follows—

SUPPLY BILL (NO. 1) 2019-2020

Supply Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020, together with Supply Bill (No. 2) 2019-2020 and Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020, seeks appropriations to facilitate the continuation of normal government business.

Supply Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020 provides for appropriations for proposed expenditure on the ordinary annual services of the government for the first five months of 2019-20.

The Bill seeks approval for appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of just under $40.8 billion.

The appropriations proposed in this Bill are based on five-twelfths of the estimated 2019-20 annual appropriations. The 2019-20 estimates are broadly the 2018-19 base, adjusted for economic and program specific parameters, and the effect of decisions announced as part of the Mid-Year Economic and

Fiscal Outlook or included in the 2018-19 Additional Estimates Appropriation Bills.

Although Supply Bills can sometimes include front-loading for agencies that have uneven spending needs over the year, this is not the case in 2019. The five twelfths apportionment has therefore been applied strictly to all agencies.

The Supply Bills also take into account terminating programs.

The remainder of the estimated 2019-20 annual appropriations are contained in the Budget Appropriations Bills, which will be introduced separately. To support Parliamentary scrutiny, the effect of both the Supply Bills and Budget Appropriation Bills is incorporated in the 2019-20 Portfolio Budget Statements, as was the case for the 2016-17 Supply Bills.

The Bill must be passed in this session to ensure funding is available to all entities from 1 July 2019, thereby ensuring the continuity of program and service delivery.

I wish to emphasise that this Bill seeks provision only to fund government expenditure on an interim basis until Budget Appropriation Bills have passed. Consistent with convention, the Supply Bills do not include funding for Budget measures.

This arrangement allows for Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020, or a similar bill, to be passed by the next Parliament, if necessary.

Details of the proposed expenditure are set out in the schedule to the Bill and the Portfolio Budget Statements tabled in relation to the Budget Appropriation Bills.

SUPPLY BILL (NO. 2) 2019-2020

Supply Bill (No. 2) 2019-2020, along with Supply Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020 and Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020, seeks appropriations to facilitate the continuation of normal government business.

Supply Bill (No. 2) 2019-2020 provides for appropriations that are not for the ordinary annual services of government, such as for capital works, for services and payments to states, territories and local governments, for the first five months of 2019-20.

This Bill seeks approval for appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of just over $4.8 billion.

The appropriations proposed in this Bill are based on five-twelfths of the estimated 2019-20 annual appropriations. The 2019-20 estimates are broadly the 2018-19 base, adjusted for economic and program specific parameters, and the effect of decisions announced as part of the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook or included in the 2018-19 Additional Estimates Appropriation Bills.

The Supply Bills also take into account terminating programs.

The Bill also establishes the debit limits for 2019-20 for general purpose financial assistance payments and national partnership payments. The debit limits in the Bill reflect five-twelfths of the estimated 2019-20 debit limit, with the remaining seven-twelfths to be included in the Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2019-2020.

The Bill must be passed in this session to ensure funding is available to all entities from 1 July 2019, thereby ensuring the continuity of program and service delivery.

As with Supply Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020, this bill seeks provision only to fund government expenditure on an interim basis until Budget Appropriation Bills have passed.

This arrangement allows for Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2019-2020, or a similar bill, to be passed by the next Parliament, if necessary.

Details of the proposed expenditure are set out in the schedules to the Bill and the Portfolio Budget Statements tabled in Parliament with Budget Appropriation Bills.

SUPPLY (PARLIAMENTARY DEPARTMENTS) BILL (NO. 1) 2019-2020

Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020 provides appropriations for 2019-20 for the operations of:

          This Bill seeks approval for appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of just over $101 million for Parliamentary expenditure for the first part of 2019-20, broadly until the end of November.

          The appropriations proposed in this Bill are based on five-twelfths of the estimated 2019-20 annual appropriations. The 2019-20 estimates are broadly the 2018-19 base, adjusted for economic and program specific parameters, and the effect of decisions announced as part of the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook or included in the 2018-19 Additional Estimates Appropriation Bills.

          Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020 must be passed in this session to ensure funding is available to Parliamentary Departments from 1 July 2019, thereby ensuring the continuity of Parliament's operations.

          As with the other Supply Bills, I wish to emphasise that this bill seeks provision only to appropriate money to fund government expenditure on an interim basis until Budget Appropriation Bills have passed. And consistent with convention, Supply Bills do not include Budget Measure funding.

          This arrangement allows for Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020, or a similar bill, to be passed in 2019-20 by the next parliament if necessary.

          Details of the proposed expenditure are set out in the Schedule to the Bill and the Portfolio Budget Statements tabled in Parliament with the Budget Appropriation Bills.

          Ordered that further consideration of the second reading of these bills be adjourned to the first sitting day of the next period of sittings, in accordance with standing order 111.