<< Return to previous page |
House of Representatives Standing Committee on Appropriations and Administration
Preliminary Pages
Membership of the Committee
The Speaker (ex officio, Chair),
Mr Harry Jenkins MP
Mr J Fitzgibbon MP
Ms J Hall MP
Mr E T Jones MP
Mr C Kelly MP
Ms N Marino MP
Mr B Scott MP
Mr K Thomson MP
Ms M Vamvakinou MP
Secretariat
Secretary Ms Robyn
McClelland
Research Ms Kay
Saunders
The Committee
The Standing Committee on Appropriation and Administration,
appointed under standing order 222A, considers estimates of the funding required for the
operation of the Department of the House of Representatives for each year and provides
to the Speaker for presentation to the House and transmission to the Minister
for Finance and Deregulation, estimates of amounts for inclusion in the
appropriation bills for the Department.
The committee also considers proposals for changes to the
administration of the Department of the House of Representatives or variations
to services provided by the Department, other matters of finance or services as
may be referred to it by the Speaker or the House, the administration and
funding of security measures affecting the House, and proposals for works in
the parliamentary precincts that are subject to parliamentary approval. The committee
reports on these matters to the Speaker or the House, as appropriate.
When conferring with the Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations
and Staffing, the committee may consider estimates of the funding required for
the operation of the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) each year, and
provide to the Speaker for presentation to the House and transmission to the
Minister for Finance and Deregulation, estimates of amounts for inclusion in
appropriation bills for the DPS.
The committee makes an annual report to the House on its
operations (standing order 222(a)(vi)).
The Report
Introduction
Standing order 222A(a) (ii) requires that the committee provide
to the Speaker for presentation to the House the amounts for inclusion in the appropriation
bills for the Department of the House of Representatives.
Proposed
Appropriation for 2011-12
1. Departmental
Annual Appropriation
The amount to be included for
the Department of the House of Representatives in Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2011-2012 is calculated in accordance with current
Commonwealth funding policy. Under this policy, the prior year’s appropriation
amount is adjusted by application of an efficiency dividend and a parameter
adjustment and any applicable Budget measures.
The committee endorsed the department’s proposals to seek
additional operational funding in the form of New Policy Proposals for the
following:
- funding
to support additional sitting hours of the House and Main Committee; and
- support
for the new Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network.
The committee is pleased to note that, as a result, there
are two expense measures for the department in the 2011-12 Budget year.
The Government has agreed that $1.008m be provided over two
years from 2011-12 to support additional sitting hours of the House and Main
Committee. This measure will terminate on 30 June 2013.
The Government has also agreed that $2.091m be provided over
four years from 2011-12 to support the establishment of the new Joint Committee
on the National Broadband Network.
|
Appropriation 2010-11
(as per Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2010-2011) |
($’000) |
($’000) |
|
|
22,387 |
|
Efficiency Dividend increase |
-113 |
|
|
Parameter adjustment |
-39 |
-152 |
|
Expense Measures |
|
|
|
Additional sitting hours of the House and Main Committee |
+502 |
|
|
Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network -
establishment |
+516 |
+1,018 |
|
Appropriation 2011-2012
(as per Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2011-2012) |
|
23,253 |
2.
2. Departmental
Capital Appropriation
The annual appropriation includes an amount for capital
expenditure of $1.405m, as disclosed in the department’s 2011-2012 Portfolio
Budget Statements (PBS).
3. Accumulated
Prior Year Appropriation and Operating Results[1]
The department also has access
to resources accumulated from prior years.
|
|
2010-11
($’000) |
2011-12
($’000) |
|
Prior year departmental appropriation |
10,481 |
10,450 |
|
Estimate of total Comprehensive Income attributable to the
Department |
510 |
Nil |
4.
Special
Appropriations (Members’ remuneration and entitlements)
Special appropriations for
2011-2012 comprise the following amounts:
|
Department of Finance and Deregulation |
($’000) |
|
Parliamentary Entitlements Act 1990 |
450 |
|
Parliamentary Superannuation Act 2004 |
1,965 |
|
Australian Public Service Commission |
($’000) |
|
Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 |
6,955 |
|
Remuneration and Allowances Act 1990 |
23,138 |
The department accesses these special appropriations by way of
a third party drawing right. The amounts are disclosed in the respective agency
Resource Statement in the PBS.
In summary:
The total appropriation to be
approved by the Parliament for the Department of the House of Representatives
in the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2011‑2012
will be $23.253m (compared to $22.387m in 2010-11).
The department will also draw down
on special appropriations of $32.508m (compared to an
estimate of $31.063m in 2010-11).
The
committee reports to the House of Representatives accordingly.
Mr Harry Jenkins MP
Chairman
May 2011