Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 13 Hansard (2 December) . . Page.. 4364 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

... subject to the total amount paid not exceeding the interest received in the Territory bank account.

Those words which Mrs Carnell seeks to strike out seem to make a bit of sense to me. I will read the subsection again:

The Treasurer may determine the amount of interest to be credited to departmental bank accounts and such amounts may be paid without further appropriation from the Territory bank account -

that makes sense -

subject to the total amount paid not exceeding the interest received in the Territory bank account.

The departmental bank account does not receive more than the Territory receives. It strikes me, on the face of it, that that is an eminently sensible provision. I, for the life of me, have not heard an argument which would justify it being amended in the way which the Chief Minister suggests.

It may be the intention of somebody in the Office of Financial Management to get larger interest for their money and give departments less, or they might want to give departments more interest than the Territory receives. It just puzzles me why you would want to change that. It is eminently sensible for the department not to be able to get more interest than the Territory receives in its bank account. I just cannot see why you would want to strike those words out. If you have any explanation for it, I would like to hear it.

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (9.33): Section 34A prevents the passing of more interest to a departmental bank account than accrues to the Territory bank account. Because the Territory bank account has managed to keep a low balance, this account earns very little interest. At the same time, however, departmental bank accounts may have notionally high account balances. Not proceeding with clause 10 removes the restriction of section 34A. I am advised that, with the banking and investment guidelines that we put in place for departments, there is not a need for the clause anymore.

Clause negatived.

Clause 11

MR BERRY (Leader of the Opposition) (9.35): I move:

Page 4, line 19, proposed subsection 53A(3), add the following paragraph:

"(d) the Chief Executive shall cause the particulars set out in the statement in relation to each amount of unclaimed monies to be published in a daily newspaper published in the Territory and in the Gazette."

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .