Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

in reply—I thank all members for their contribution to the debate. The Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 primarily amends the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 to further simplify the financial management framework. This bill will help reduce red tape in the government’s internal administration of the 104 agencies that are now governed by the FMA Act, including 19 departments of state and a range of statutory and executive agencies. The bill also sets out consequential amendments and corrects minor errors in other laws. The bill’s key reforms are to sections 12 and 44 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997. Each reform relates to aspects of Commonwealth contracts to clarify respectively the ability of non-Commonwealth entities to deal with public money and the source and nature of the power of chief executives to enter into contracts on behalf of the Commonwealth. In this regard, the amendment to section 44 also states:

Explicit chief executive’s decision making on the use of resources for their agency is not to be inconsistent with the policies of the Commonwealth.

In addition to amending the FMA Act, the bill will make a minor consequential amendment to the Public Service Act 1999 and the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme Act 2008. It will also correct typographical errors in the Reserve Bank Act 1959 and amend the Albury-Wodonga Development Act 1973 to make the Albury-Wodonga Development Corporation subject to the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997.

The bill has been scrutinised in Bills Digest No. 2, dated 19 August 2008, which notes that the amendments will have:

… obvious benefits for efficient and transparent administration because administrators should have a clearer understanding of their functions and duties.

One question asked in the digest relates to the proposed transfer of funding for the Water Smart Australia program involving the debiting of a special account which is a form of appropriation authority. The digest suggests that this debit should be matched somewhere by credit elsewhere. The response to this point is that the relevant amount was in fact made available directly to the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts through the last budget.

In short, the bill reflects that the FMA Act and the CAC Act comprise a robust financial framework for the Commonwealth. The present proposals will ensure that the financial framework continues to meet the needs of the parliament and the government. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

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