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ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2003-04August 2004 © Commonwealth of Australia 2004 |
View the report as a single document - (PDF 127KB)
The Standing Committee on Appropriations and Staffing, appointed under standing order 19, determines the amounts for inclusion for the Department of the Senate in the parliamentary appropriation bills and reports to the Senate on its determinations prior to the Senates consideration of those bills.
The committee examines matters affecting the staffing and administration of the Department of the Senate, including proposals to vary the staffing structure, and other matters referred to it by the Senate. The committee also examines proposed changes in the structure and responsibilities of the parliamentary departments, and considers the administration and funding of security measures affecting the Senate and advises the President and the Senate as appropriate.
The committee makes an annual report to the Senate on the operations of the Senates appropriations and staffing and related matters.
The committee is chaired by the President and includes the Senate Leaders of the Government and the Opposition as ex officio members.
The President of the Senate, Senator the Hon. Paul Calvert (Chairman)
The Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator the Hon.
Robert Hill
The Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Senator the Hon.
John Faulkner
Senator Lyn Allison
Senator the Hon. Nick Bolkus
Senator the Hon. Ron Boswell
Senator Jeannie Ferris
Senator the Hon. Bill Heffernan
Senator Robert Ray
Richard Pye (to
1 August 2003)
Peter Hallahan
(from 4 August 2003)
SG.25, Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Tel: 02 6277 3015
Fax: 02 6277 5784
E-mail:
approps@aph.gov.au
Internet:
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/app_ctte/index.htm
The committees membership at 30 June 2004 is shown above. The membership has not changed since the committee presented its last annual report in September 2003.
The committee presented two reports to the Senate in 2003-04:
Annual report for 2002-03 (18 September 2003)
40th report Senate Department Budget 2004-05 (20 May 2004).
The Senate department received a small additional appropriation of $24,000 for the 2003-04 financial year to partially offset recent price increases in Comcover general insurance premiums. This represented a partial supplementation of the substantial extra premium, which has increased from $38,000 in 2001-02 to $129,284 in 2003-04. In common with all Commonwealth agencies, Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements were not prepared for 2003-04 for this supplementation, on the proviso that the amount was disclosed in the 2004-05 Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS). The amount was duly added to the 2004-05 PBS. No other additional appropriation was sought.
Funding for security, and the establishment of the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS), complicated the committee's task of determining the appropriations for the Department of the Senate in this financial year. The Budget of 2004-05 initially included a significant reduction of $1.2 million in the department's budget, proposed by the Minister for Finance to off-set increased security expenditure at Parliament House. The amount provided for the 2004-05 financial year was $30.827 million, compared to $31.610 million the previous year. This cut was to be followed by further cuts of $1.3 million in each of the subsequent two financial years.
These cuts were included in the departments budget despite the Senate, in agreeing on 18 August 2003 to the establishment of DPS, resolving that any shortfall in savings in DPS from the amalgamation should be funded. Also, as the President had stated at the February 2004 estimates hearings, the savings would be realised in DPS, not in the Senate department. This issue and the funding, provision of and oversight of security were the subjects of the Committees 40th report.
That report was presented in May 2004 and made a series of recommendations to correct this situation. The committee recommended to the Senate a scheme for the rearrangement of funding, adopted by the President on the recommendation of the Senate department, whereby the budget cuts would be transferred to DPS and the Senate department's budget would not be affected. This arrangement involved the transfer of funds for security formerly held by the Senate department and paid to DPS under a purchaser-provider system. The committee recommended that additional steps be taken to ensure that this would not reduce the ability of the Senate and senators to oversee the security system. The committee suggested that its terms of reference be amended to provide it with the explicit capacity to scrutinise security funding and administration, and that the interdepartmental Security Management Board be put on a statutory basis.
On 16 June 2004, on the motion of the Minister for Finance and Administration, the Senate endorsed the committees recommendations. Subsequently, on 21 June 2004, a bill for an act to amend the Parliamentary Services Act, the Parliamentary Service Amendment Bill 2004, was introduced into the Senate. This bill is currently awaiting consideration.
In relation to staffing, the committee makes recommendations to the President and may report to the Senate on any matter. Accordingly, the committee is informed of significant matters relating to the administration of the Department of the Senate.
The committee reports that the staffing of the department was reduced from 224 in 2003-04 to 172 for 2004-05, reflecting the transfer of 52 full time equivalent security staff to DPS in 2003-04.
August 2004
