Bills Digest 106 1996-97
Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 2) 1996-97
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as introduced
and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest does not have
any official legal status. Other sources should be consulted to determine
the subsequent official status of the Bill.
CONTENTS
Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 2) 1996-97
Date Introduced: 5 February 1997
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Finance
Commencement: Royal Assent
To authorise the Minister for Finance to issue $363 000 from the Consolidated
Revenue Fund (CRF), in addition to funds appropriated by the Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments) Act 1996-97, for the operation of the
Parliamentary Departments during 1996- 97.
(a) Glossary of Terms
Appropriation - is the setting apart, assigning or applying to
a particular use or to a particular person a sum of money. In the budget
context an appropriation usually refers to an authorisation by Parliament
to draw on funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).
Budget Outlays - refer to the net cost to the taxpayer of providing
government services. Appropriations/payments out of the CRF are adjusted
to take account (for example) of many government receipts. Hence a hypothetical
government program 'XYZ' may have a total appropriation of $600 million
but this may only represent budget outlays of $500 million if the 'XYZ'
receives income of $100 million from other (non budget) sources.
Running costs - are the full current and minor capital costs
incurred by a department or agency in providing government services for
which the department or agency is responsible. For many departments, staff
salaries will represent the largest proportion of such costs.
Borrowings - Borrowings allow agencies to bring forward some
future years appropriation to be spent in an earlier year. This is intended
to provide agencies with the flexibility to respond to changing spending
priorities; and a mechanism to meet unforeseen costs.
Borrowings are arranged either through annual appropriation or additional
estimates bills, such as is the case with this Bill, with a consequent
reduction in a future appropriation, or through the Provision for Running
Costs Borrowing (PRCB) where the borrowing does not coincide with an appropriation
Bill.
Agencies are allowed to borrow up to 10% of the total running costs
budget from any one year.
Running Costs Borrowings (PRCB) - The PRCB is a reserve that
agencies can draw on to borrow running costs funds from future appropriation
where it is not viable to wait until the passage of the next Appropriation
Bill. Agencies can borrow from the PRCB if: there is a legitimate reason
to borrow running costs; the agency has a running costs appropriation;
the borrowings are repaid in full from some future appropriation; and
sufficient funds are available.
(b) Overview
Since 1982, the appropriations for the Parliamentary Departments have
been effected by a separate Bill. This followed the Fraser Government's
consideration of the Report of the Senate Select Committee (the Select
Committee) on Parliamentary Appropriations and Staffing tabled on 18 August
1981.
Under current arrangements, the executive government maintains control
over the contents of the Bill as introduced. In theory however, as the
Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill is not for the ordinary
annual services of the government, it may be amended by the Senate.
The Public Service Act 1922 provides that the administration
of the Parliament is undertaken by five Parliamentary Departments - the
Department of the Senate, the Department of the House of Representatives,
the Joint House Department, the Department of the Parliamentary Reporting
Staff (DPRS) and the Department of the Parliamentary Library.
The Department of the House of Representatives and the Department of
the Senate are responsible for the provision of procedural, information
and administrative services to Members and Senators respectively. The
Joint House Department performs building management and maintenance functions
associated with Parliament House. DPRS provides reporting, information
technology, telecommunications and broadcasting services to the Parliament
through Hansard, the Parliamentary Information Systems Office (PISO) and
the Sound and Vision Office (SAVO). The Department of the Parliamentary
Library is responsible for the provision of library, reference and research
services to the Parliament.
Parliamentary Departments 1996-97 Funding
Funding across the Parliamentary Departments was to be reduced in 1996-97
by the 2% across the board cut to government agencies, the 1% annual efficiency
dividend and a one-off cut of $10 million to the Parliament.
Excluding provisions for borrowings and various advances to the Speaker
and the President, the sum appropriated for the Parliamentary Departments
under the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act 1996-97 falls
from $142.7 million in 1995-96 to $135.3 million for 1996-97. Allowing
for inflation, in real terms this is a cut of approximately 7.5%.
The major additional appropriations sought by this Bill relates to running
costs borrowings for the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is
stated in the Second Reading Speech to this Bill that:
The increases sought relate primarily to an increase in the 'Provision
for Running Costs Borrowings' for each of the Departments of the Senate
and the House of Representatives from $50 000 to $200 000 to enhance
their access to the borrowing arrangements under the running cost rules.
The Minister Finance will be authorised to issue $363 000 from the CRF
for the purposes specified in the Schedule of the Bill during 1996-97
(clause 3).
Clause 4 of the Bill allows the Minister to appropriate additional
funds from the CRF for increases in salaries and similar payments during
the year ending 30 June 1997. Amounts issued must be reported to the Parliament.
Ian Ireland
20 February 1997
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This Digest does not have any official legal status. Other sources should
be consulted to determine whether the Bill has been enacted and, if so,
whether the subsequent Act reflects further amendments.
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ISSN 1323-9031
Commonwealth of Australia 1996
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Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library, 1997.
This page was prepared by the Parliamentary Library, Commonwealth of
Australia
Last updated: 24 March 1997
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