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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 9 Hansard (23 November) . . Page.. 2598 ..

Standing Committee on Administration and Procedures (given effect 16 June 1994) as a convenient statement of the practice of the Assembly. The Report states:

"1. The concept of the financial initiative of the crown is said to be "a major constitutional principle" and a feature of the Westminster system. The principle of the financial initiative, which is dealt with at length in May, may be paraphrased as follows:

. the executive government is charged with the management of revenue and with payments for public service;

. it is a long established and strictly observed rule which expresses a principle of the highest constitutional importance that no public charge can be incurred except on the initiative of the executive government; and

. the executive government demands money, the House grants it, but the House does not impose taxes unless needed for public service as declared by ministers of the crown."

8. It is thus clearly the law that an appropriation can only be moved by a Minister. The question remains as to whether a member may move an amendment to an appropriation. This must also be answered in the negative, as an affirmative answer would render the "major constitutional principle" referred to above a mere technicality.

9. Section 65 on its face precludes an amendment to a proposal if this amendment "is to increase the amount of public money of the Territory to be appropriated". The question is whether this prohibits an amendment to a line appropriation. Mr Moore argues that, so long as the total amount of $1,343,690,900 in this years Bill is unchanged, line appropriations may be increased provided there is an equivalent offset- his intention being to reduce the Treasurers Advance by the corresponding amount.

10. Section 65(2) refers to an amendment to "a proposal". A proposal is defined as an enactment, vote or resolution.(s 65(1)) The process of the Assembly, derived from the practice of the House of Representatives, is that the Appropriation Bill is voted on line by line in the Schedule. Standing Order 180 provides:

"In considering an appropriation bill for the ordinary annual services of the Executive, any schedule expressing the services for which the appropriation is to be made shall be considered before the clauses, and, unless the Assembly otherwise orders, the schedule shall be considered by proposed expenditures in the order in which they are shown."

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