Terms of Reference
That a select committee, to be known as the Select Committee on State Government Financial Management be established to inquire into and report upon:
Commonwealth and state and territory fiscal relations and state and territory government financial management, including:
- Commonwealth funding to the states and territories – historic, current and projected;
- the cash and fiscal budgetary positions of state and territory governments – historic, current and projected;
- the level of debt of state/territory government businesses and utilities – historic, current and projected;
- the level of borrowing by state/territory governments – historic, current and projected;
- an examination of state/territory net government debt and its projected level – historic, current and projected;
- the reasons for any government debt including an analysis of the level and efficiency of revenue and spending;
- the level of investment in infrastructure and state-owned utilities by state and territory governments;
- the effect of dividends paid by state-owned utilities on their ability to invest;
- present and future ownership structures of current and former state-owned utilities and the impact of ownership on investment capacity; and
- the effect of investment by state-owned utilities on Australia's capacity constraints.
That the committee present its final report on or before 27
August 2008. [On 27 August 2008 the Senate agreed to extend the
committee's reporting date until 17 September 2008.]
Appointment of the Committee
- That the committee consist of 6 senators, as follows:
a. 2 to be nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate;
b. 3 to be nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate; and
c. 1 to be nominated by minority groups or independents.
- a. On the nominations of the Leader of the Government in the Senate, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and minority groups and independent senators, participating members may be appointed to the committee.
b. Participating members may participate in hearings of evidence and deliberations of the committee, and have all the rights of members of the committee, but may not vote on any questions before the committee.
c. A participating member shall be taken to be a member of the committee for the purpose of forming a quorum of the committee if a majority of members of the committee is not present.
- That the committee may proceed to the dispatch of business notwithstanding that all members have not been duly nominated and appointed and notwithstanding any vacancy.
- That the committee elect as chair one of the members nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.
- That the quorum of the committee be 3 members
- That the chair of the committee may, from time to time, appoint another member of the committee to be the deputy chair of the committee, and that the member so appointed act as chair of the committee at any time when there is no chair or the chair is not present, at a meeting of the committee.
- That, in the event of an equality of voting, the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, have a casting vote.
- That the committee have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of 3 or more of its members, and to refer to any such subcommittee any of the matters which the committee is empowered to consider, and that the quorum of a subcommittee be 2 members.
- That the committee and any subcommittee have power to send for and examine persons and documents, to move from place to place, to sit in public or in private, notwithstanding any prorogation of the Parliament or dissolution of the House of Representatives, and have leave to report from time to time its proceedings and the evidence taken and such interim recommendations as it may deem fit.
- That the committee be provided with all necessary staff, facilities and resources and be empowered to appoint persons with specialist knowledge for the purposes of the committee with the approval of the President.
- That the committee be empowered to print from day to day such papers and evidence as may be ordered by it, and a daily Hansard be published of such proceedings as take place in public.
For more information, contact:
Committee Secretary
Senate Select Committee on State Government Financial Management
Department of the Senate
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia