David Bradbury (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer ) Share this | Hansard source

I present a supplementary explanatory memorandum and a replacement explanatory memorandum to the bill. I ask leave of the House to move government amendments (1) to (14) as circulated together.

Leave granted.

I move government amendments (1) to (14) as circulated together:

(1) Clause 2, page 2 (table item 2), omit "110", substitute "112".

(2) Clause 5, page 4 (line 17), after "of", insert "governance, performance and".

(3) Clause 6, page 8 (line 8), omit "and delegations", substitute ", delegations and independent review".

(4) Clause 6, page 8 (after line 17), at the end of the clause, add:

(5) Clause 14, page 17 (line 23), before "to officials", insert "or Parliamentary Service Act".

(6) Clause 16, page 18 (line 32), after "Service Act 1999", insert "or Parliamentary Service Act 1999".

(7) Clause 19, page 20 (after line 10), after subclause (4), insert:

Relationship with other laws and powers

  (4A) If a Commonwealth entity has enabling legislation, then subsection (1) applies only to the extent that compliance with that subsection is not inconsistent with compliance with that legislation.

  (4B) This section is subject to any Commonwealth law that prohibits disclosure of particular information.

(8) Subdivision C, clause 32, page 24 (line 27) to page 25 (line 12), omit the Subdivision, substitute:

Subdivision C—Officials to whom the Public Service Act or Parliamentary Service Act applies

32 Officials to whom the Public Service Act or Parliamentary Service Act applies

  To avoid doubt, the finance law is an Australian law for the purposes of subsection 13(4) of the Public Service Act 1999 and subsection 13(4) of the Parliamentary Service Act 1999.

  Note 1: If the Public Service Act 1999 or Parliamentary Service Act 1999 applies to an official of a Commonwealth entity, the official will be required under subsection 13(4) of that Act to comply with applicable Australian laws (which include the finance law). This means that if the official contravenes the finance law, sanctions (such as termination of employment) may be imposed on the official under section 15 of that Act.

  Note 2: For dealing with a contravention of the finance law by an official of a Commonwealth entity to whom the Public Service Act 1999 or Parliamentary Service Act 1999 does not apply, see section 16 of this Act (which requires the accountable authority of the entity to implement measures directed at ensuring officials of the entity comply with the finance law).

(9) Clause 41, page 32 (lines 16 to 19), omit subclause (3), substitute:

(3) The Finance Minister and the responsible Minister are entitled to full and free access to the accounts and records kept under this section. However, those Ministers' access is subject to any Commonwealth law that prohibits disclosure of particular information.

(10) Clause 53, page 42 (line 21), at the end of subclause (4), add ", except in relation to the central bank account referred to in subsection (3)".

(11) Heading to Chapter 4, page 79 (line 1), omit "and delegations", substitute ", delegations and independent review".

(12) Clause 101, page 80 (lines 9 to 14), omit subclause (2), substitute:

(2) The rules may:

  (a) prescribe matters in relation to a particular Commonwealth entity or Commonwealth company, or a class of Commonwealth entities or Commonwealth companies; or

  (b) make different provision in relation to different Commonwealth entities or Commonwealth companies, or classes of Commonwealth entities or Commonwealth companies.

(13) Clause 102, page 80 (line 29), omit paragraph (g), substitute:

  (g) performance.

(14) Page 89 (after line 22), at the end of Chapter 4, add:

Part 4 -3—Independent review

Division 1—Guide to this Part

111 Guide to this Part

This Part requires the Finance Minister, in consultation with the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, to conduct an independent review of the operation of this Act and the rules.

Division 2—Independent review

112 Independent review

  (1) The Finance Minister must, in consultation with the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, cause an independent review to be conducted of the operation of this Act and the rules.

  (2) The review must be conducted as soon as practicable after the end of 3 years after this section commences.

  (3) The persons who conduct the review must give the Finance Minister a written report of the review.

  (4) The Finance Minister must cause copies of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within 15 sittings days of that House after the report is given to the Finance Minister.

I wish to speak in support of the amendments proposed to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Bill 2013, which was tabled by me in the House on 16 May and referred to the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit on that day for review. I would like to express my appreciation to the JCPAA for their efforts in reviewing the bill in such a brief period and providing a report to the House which was tabled by the committee chair, the member for Lyne, on 4 June, to allow for debate on this bill to proceed. I also wish to acknowledge the contributions of those people and organisations that took the time to appear before the committee on 24 May and/or provide submissions for the committee to consider.

A number of amendments are being proposed to the bill and to the explanatory memorandum as a result of the committee's report and as a result of feedback from those appearing before the committee and through submissions. I wish to note the following four amendments. The first key amendment concerns issues raised during the JCPAA inquiry about the operational independence of entities as provided by parliament. As noted in the second reading speech, there is no intention for this bill to impinge on this independence. As a result, clause 19 is being amended to include a provision at clause 19(6) to remove any doubt that, where an entity has enabling legislation, any requirement to provide information under this clause can only occur to the extent that it is not inconsistent with other legislation. The focus of this clause is on having access to information on the resources of an entity and how they are managed. It does not extend to matters such as the activities of the courts or of the parliament itself. The amendment makes this more explicit. The clause also includes a provision at clause 19(7) to ensure that access to and disclosure of information is subject to privacy provisions contained within other Commonwealth law.

The second key amendment relates to a suggestion made by the Department of the House of Representatives. Clause 32 currently recognises that a significant proportion of the public sector is employed under the Public Service Act 1999 and, as such, any breach of the duties under this bill would represent grounds for addressing conduct concerns under the Public Service Act Code of Conduct. As a result of concerns raised by the Clerk of the Department of the House of Representatives, clause 32 has been extended to include staff employed under the Parliamentary Service Act 1999 to ensure consistency with the approach taken for Public Service Act employees. A corresponding note has also been included under clause 16, 'Duty to establish and maintain systems relating to risk and control', consistent with referencing of arrangements for Public Service Act employees.

The third key amendment seeks to clarify Commonwealth banking arrangements. In this regard, clause 53 is being amended as a result of concerns raised by the Reserve Bank Governor that the clause may unintentionally restrict the operations of the RBA in relation to the operation of the central bank account of the Commonwealth. The RBA's responsibilities are extensively covered already under the Reserve Bank Act 1959 and, as a result of clause 53(4), have been amended to exclude the central bank account from coverage by rules issued by the finance minister.

The fourth key amendment directly addresses recommendation 8 of the JCPAA report. The committee proposed the introduction of a requirement for the finance minister to ensure that an independent review of the bill and related rules is conducted three years after the commencement of its operation. The government supports this recommendation, and a new provision is proposed at clause 112 of the bill that will require that such a review be conducted in consultation with the JCPAA. The review report must be tabled in both houses of parliament.

These amendments are accompanied by a supplementary explanatory memorandum explaining the changes being made. In addition, the JCPAA recommended in its report that all relevant documents be prepared in plain English, with the explanatory memorandum being mentioned specifically by the committee chair during the hearing on 24 May. This request has been taken to heart, and a replacement explanatory memorandum has been prepared seeking to more effectively explain the concepts involved in the legislation as well as taking the opportunity to explain in clear words the government's commitments to following through on the implementation of the bill and its supporting arrangements.

The combined effects of these changes will reflect the government's determination to make its policy intent clear in terms of the bill itself and provide through the explanatory memorandum assurance of an ongoing commitment to consult with Commonwealth entities.

Question agreed to.

Bill, as amended, agreed to.

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