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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Friday, 14 May 2004) . . Page.. 2113 ..

This Bill provides for the future. It would ensure that proper legislative controls would be in place to protect the community as well as providing clarity and certainty for the industry.

Mr Speaker, I commend the Gaming Machine Bill 2004 to the Assembly.

Attachment 5

Document incorporated by the Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Business and Tourism and Minister for Sport, Racing and Gaming

Mr Speaker, today I am tabling the Financial Management Amendment Bill 2004 (No. 2). This Bill provides for amendments to the Treasurer’s Advance provisions within the Financial Management Act 1996.

Mr Speaker, this Government acknowledges the complexities that have arisen with the interpretation and application of the Treasurer’s Advance provisions of the Act. This Government is committed to improving the Territory’s financial management practices and clearly demonstrates this commitment with the tabling of this Bill.

This Bill amends the Act to:

provide for urgent and unforeseen expenditure;

clarify the term ‘expenditure’; and

improve the timeliness for reporting Treasurer’s Advance authorisations.

Mr Speaker, this Bill strengthens the Treasurer’s Advance provisions within the Act and addresses the previous Auditor-General’s concern regarding the legality of the use of Treasurer’s Advance. This Bill also incorporates most of the recommendations made by the PAC in its report on the Financial Management Amendment Bill 2003 (No. 3).

I have already tabled the Government’s response to the PAC report earlier today. As I noted then, the PAC made four recommendations. The Government agrees with the majority of these recommendations. In speaking to the amendments I am tabling here today, I will also address the relevant recommendations of the PAC Report, as the issues are inter-related.

This Bill represents proposed Government amendments to the Act in relation to the Treasurer’s Advance provisions and responds to Recommendation 1 of the PAC report.

Since the implementation of the Act there has been differing expectations regarding when the Treasurer’s Advance provisions can be used. This Bill proposes to clarify the instances in which the Treasurer can have access to Treasurer’s Advance funding.

Mr Speaker, this Bill proposes to amend the Act to allow the Treasurer's Advance to be used where the Treasurer considers the need for the expenditure to be urgent and allow Treasurer's Advance to be used where the expenditure is not provided for due to error or understatement or due to it being unforeseen at the time of the original appropriation bill.

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