Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I move opposition amendment (2) on sheet 5497:

(2)    Schedule 1, item 3, page 3 (line 9) to page 4 (line 28), omit the item, substitute:

3  After section 25

Insert:

25AA Termination of appointment as Governor or Deputy Governor

Termination at request of Parliament

        (1)    The Governor-General may terminate the appointment of the Governor or the Deputy Governor if each House of the Parliament, in the same session of the Parliament, presents an address to the Governor-General praying for the termination of the appointment on the ground of misbehaviour.

Suspension by Treasurer

        (2)    The Treasurer may suspend the Governor or the Deputy Governor from office on the ground of misbehaviour.

        (3)    The Treasurer must cause to be laid before each House of the Parliament, within 7 sitting days of that House after the suspension, a statement identifying the office holder suspended.

        (4)    A House of the Parliament may, within 15 sitting days of that House after the day on which the statement is laid before it, declare by resolution that the appointment of the office holder identified in the statement should be terminated.

        (5)    If a resolution is passed by each House of the Parliament in accordance with subsection (4) in the same session of the Parliament, the Governor-General may terminate the appointment to which the resolution relates.

        (6)    If a resolution is not passed by each House of the Parliament in accordance with subsection (4) in the same session of the Parliament, the suspension of the office holder identified in the statement terminates on the day after the last day that such a resolution could have been passed.

Suspension does not affect entitlements

        (7)    The suspension of the Governor or the Deputy Governor from office under this section does not affect any entitlement of the Governor or the Deputy Governor to be paid remuneration and allowances.

Ground for termination

        (8)    The appointment of the Governor or the Deputy Governor may not be terminated on the ground of misbehaviour except as provided by this section.

This amendment has the effect of leaving section 25 of the Reserve Bank Act 1959 extant. That is, it will remain mandatory for the Treasurer to terminate the appointment of the governor or deputy governor on the essentially objective grounds of permanent incapacity, paid employment outside the Reserve Bank and bankruptcy.

In second reading comments, a lot of senators talked quite extensively about easily ascertainable objective grounds that should be immediate and quick. However, the amendment inserts a new section 25AA to the Reserve Bank Act 1959 which provides for parliamentary approval for the termination of the Governor or Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank on the ground of misbehaviour. As I said in my earlier comments, these clauses have been essentially modelled on those applying to judges and other well-known statutory officers, so they align with other statutory officers. Thankfully, in Australia we have been very well served by our governors of the Reserve Bank, so this is recognition that the grounds of misbehaviour—should they ever arise—require different treatment, in our view. It is sensible and timely to separate out the objective grounds from the ground of misbehaviour that, I think, is in a different category. I commend the amendment.