Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move amendments (2) and (4), standing in my name, together:

(2) Clause 2, page 2 (at the end of the table), add:

(4) Page 12 (after line 34), at the end of the Bill, add:

Schedule 3 — Improved grants reporting

Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Act 1997

1 Before Part 3

Insert:

Part 2B — Reportable grants approved under instruments

46 Simplified outline of this Part

This Part provides for some reporting requirements for certain grants.

46A Definitions

In this Part:

corporate Commonwealth entity has the meaning given by the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

grant has the meaning given by section 46B.

reportable grant means a grant which is approved:

(a) based on an application which:

(i) an official has recommended should be rejected; or

(ii) does not meet any of the relevant selection criteria; or

(b) by a Minister, who is a member of the House of Representatives, for a grantee in their electorate.

46B Meaning of grant

(1) A grant is an arrangement for the provision of financial assistance by or on behalf of the Commonwealth, or by or on behalf of a corporate Commonwealth entity:

(a) under which relevant money or other CRF money is to be paid to a grantee other than the Commonwealth; and

(b) which is intended to help address one or more of the Australian Government's policy outcomes while assisting the grantee achieve its objectives.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), a grant may take a variety of forms including payments made:

(a) as a result of competitive or non-competitive selection processes; or

(b) where particular criteria are satisfied; or

(c) on a one-off or ad hoc basis.

Note: Types of grants include, for example, research grants, grants providing for the delivery of services, grants that help fund infrastructure, and grants that help build capacity.

(3) Despite subsection (1), none of the following arrangements are grants:

(a) the acquisition of goods and services by a Commonwealth entity for its own use, or on behalf of another entity;

(b) an act of grace payment approved under section 65 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013;

(c) a payment of compensation made under:

(i) an arrangement relating to defective administration; or

(ii) an arrangement relating to employment conditions; or

(iii) an arrangement established by a law;

(d) a payment to a person of a benefit or an entitlement established by a law;

(e) a tax concession or offset;

(f) an investment or loan;

(g) a payment:

(i) to a State under section 96 of the Constitution; or

(ii) to a State or Territory for the purposes of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009;

unless the Commonwealth has a determinative input into the final recipients of the payments;

(h) a payment made for the purposes of the Local Government (Financial Assistance) Act 1995;

(i) a payment made for the purposes of the Australian Education Act 2013;

(j) a payment made for the purposes of the Higher Education Support Act 2003;

(k) a payment of assistance for the purposes of Australia's international development assistance programme, which is treated by the Commonwealth as official development assistance;

(l) a payment of a charitable donation by a non-corporate entity from monies received from individuals for that purpose;

(m) a membership payment for the purposes of complying with Australia's obligations under international treaties;

(n) a payment, or notional payment, from one Commonwealth entity to another;

(o) a notional payment by a Commonwealth entity to itself.

Note: Additional guidance on the range of arrangements referred to in this subsection is available on the Department's website (http:///www.finance.gov.au).

46C Reportable grants approved under instruments

(1) This section applies if a Minister:

(a) approves a grant in accordance with an instrument made under section 105C of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013; and

(b) the grant is a reportable grant.

(2) If the Minister approves a reportable grant, the Minister must provide a written report to the Finance Minister within 30 days of approving the reportable grant.

(3) The report must include a statement of reasons that explains the basis on which the Minister approved the reportable grant.

(4) If the Minister is a member of the House of Representatives and the Minister approves a reportable grantfor a grantee in their electorate, the Minister must include this information in the statement of reasons in subsection (3).

(5) Subsection (4) does not apply if the reportable grant is awarded Australia-wide, state-wide or across a region on the basis of a formula, and the reportable grant falls in the relevant Minister's electorate.

(6) The Finance Minister must table a copy of the report in each House of Parliament within 5 sitting days of that House after receiving the report.

My remaining amendments would create a joint parliamentary committee on grants administration and investment mandates. This committee will oversee grants administration, including compliance with guidelines. Grants over $100 million would be referred to the committee for additional oversight.

These are sensible amendments, and I thank the Centre for Public Integrity for working with me on them. They're gold standard amendments. They have support from some of the most experienced and respected legal minds in this country—indeed, the same legal minds that the now government called upon frequently when in opposition, when they were railing in this place against the alleged pork-barrelling of the former government.

I think it's an extraordinary situation, to be truthful, that anyone in this place would have a problem with any of these amendments, which, quite frankly, irrespective of whether you're in government or opposition—or, indeed, whether you sit in the golden spot on the crossbench—only seek to make us all do better. I call on all members of this place from all political parties to back me in these reforms and not turn a blind eye to my efforts to end pork-barrelling just because it's something that everyone does. That's something our teenagers say to us: 'Everyone else is doing it; let's do it too.' We should be so much better than that. I say: back my amendments, end pork-barrelling and go with me on this.

My next amendments, amendments (2) and (4), replicate the current Minister for Finance's own private member's bill introduced in the Senate in 2021. For those members sitting here right now listening to this, I implore you to go and have a look at that bill. This is your own finance minister's bill. It was called the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment (Improved Grants Reporting) Bill 2021. Those amendments put by Senator Gallagher at the time would force ministers who award grants in their own electorate or against departmental recommendations to report the decision to the finance minister within just 30 days of the approval, and then the finance minister has to table that report in the parliament within five sitting days. That was in the finance minister's very own bill. As I said before, the government might say that ministers currently do this once a year. But it really isn't good enough, and I would argue that the Minister for Finance thinks it isn't good enough either. It really stifles transparency in government grant-making.

I'm saying to the government: if you can't accept my 'end pork-barrelling' amendments as they stand, then support your own finance minister in what she was seeking to do. When the senator introduced her 'improved grants reporting' bill, she said that her bill:

… will dramatically reduce the time ministers are able to hide their dodgy decisions from the Australian community, and there is no reasonable argument for any senator in this place—

and, I would say, any member in this House—

particularly those on the government benches, to oppose this bill.

We know all too well about dodgy decisions. The member for Curtin just mentioned a particularly egregious and well-publicised one. I have spoken about them at length, the Australian National Audit Office has reported on them at length and, indeed, members of the current government have been very noisy in the past about these things.

I know that Senator Gallagher, like me, supports integrity in public expenditure. I thank her and other members of the government for meeting with me to discuss these amendments. I think that if the government fails to support amendments that simply replicate a bill previously introduced by their own finance minister then, really, I don't know what to say! So I call on them to dial up on their own integrity and to support these amendments.

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