Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks very much, Minister. I have one question about the appropriations bills. I understand this is a cognate debate, so I can ask about those. On the $40 billion discretionary fund, I understand that amendments in the bills before us pertain to when that money can be spent and that now it's permissible to spend it in subsequent financial years, not just the current one. We don't have a problem with that. I'm just seeking some clarity. There's a mention in the explanatory memo about how the large amount reflects the associated uncertainty about what may be required as part of the government's response. What are the parameters that will guide that discretionary spending? Are there any written anywhere? How close a link to COVID is the expenditure required to have, and where is the oversight of the discretion in the exercise of dispensing that fund?