Page 1930 - Week 07 - Thursday, 13 August 2020
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the Standing Committee on Administration and Procedure inquire into and report on the application of section 65 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988, specifically:
the ability for non-executive members to amend bills, move motions and introduce private members bills that have a monetary impact on the ACT;
the Assembly’s application of standing order 201A and adherence to the principle of “the initiative of the Crown” and how it relates to the Self-Government Act;
and who is responsible or has jurisdiction to rule on what bills or amendments are compatible with the Self-Government Act.
As members would be aware, issues related to the financial initiative of the Crown—or the financial initiative of the executive, as it is often called—received considerable attention early in the life of the Assembly, particularly in relation to appropriation bills. The committee reflected on this history but in addition also considered non-executive members’ rights to initiate or amend revenue proposals.
In September 2019, the committee considered a discussion paper prepared by the Clerk outlining:
the history of the financial initiative;
the evolution of section 65 of the Self-Government Act and standing orders 200, 201, and 201A;
the interaction between the principle of financial initiative and revenue and taxation;
the Speaker’s jurisdiction in ruling on matters related to financial initiative and section 65 of the Self-Government Act; and
options for consideration.
The committee authorised that the discussion paper be published to the ACT Solicitor-General, the ACT Parliamentary Counsel, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and the Clerk of the Australian Senate. The committee later received submissions from both clerks. To facilitate party room discussion, on 19 March 2020 the committee agreed to authorise publication of the discussion paper and the two submissions made by the clerks to party whips.
On 30 March 2020, the committee authorised open publication of the Clerk’s discussion paper and the two clerks’ submissions. The committee is aware that in December 2018 the Clerk sought advice from the Solicitor-General on certain legal questions associated with the application of section 65 of the Self-Government Act. I understand that this advice was received by the Clerk in December 2019. The committee is yet to discuss this advice as it was provided to the Clerk, as the Clerk is seeking advice to be able to provide the advice to the committee and to publish it.
While the committee has started to develop some preliminary views about a number of the matters that arise under its terms of reference, it is not in a position to offer a
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