Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mayo for his support. Further amendments will remove any ambiguity about the appropriation for income management payments and align the reimbursement processes for unauthorised transactions under the BasicsCard with the Electronic Funds Transfer Code of Conduct.

The last measure in the bill is to amend the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 to ensure a reliable income stream for the Indigenous Land Corporation, which is established under that act. The corporation’s purpose is to help Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders to acquire and manage Indigenous held land so as to provide economic, environmental, social and cultural benefits. The main source of funding for the Indigenous Land Corporation in a financial year is a payment made from the land account established under the act that is equal to the realised real return on the investments of the land account in the previous financial year. The value of these payments to the corporation from the land account has fluctuated in recent times because of the changes in the value of the realised real return. Long-term strategic planning has been made more difficult for the corporation by these fluctuations.

The government is committed to securing a more reliable level of funding for the Indigenous Land Corporation. Accordingly, this bill has a guaranteed annual payment of $45 million from 1 July 2010, and the payment will be indexed for later years according to the consumer price index. Where the actual capital value of the land account exceeds the real capital value of the account, the bill will also allow additional payments to be made to the corporation of an amount equal to the excess above the real capital value. The real capital value of the land account will be maintained. This bill also provides for an independent review of the effectiveness of the funding arrangements after three years. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.

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