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Parliamentary
Service Amendment (Parliamentary Budget Officer) Bill 2013
Introduced into the House of
Representatives on 14 March 2013
Portfolio: Treasury
Summary of committee view
1.1
The committee
seeks clarification as to why the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) requires
access to information capable of identifying taxpayers when conducting costings
on political policy proposals, before making an assessment on the compatibility
of these measures with the right to privacy.
Overview
1.2
This bill seeks
to amend the Parliamentary Service Act 1999 to give the Parliamentary
Budget Officer (PBO) additional functions to prepare reports on the costings
and total combined impact of publicly announced policies made during an
election campaign by Parliamentary parties. The bill sets out a framework for
the provision of information to the Officer.
1.3
The bill also
seeks to amend the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to allow the Australian Tax
Office (ATO) to provide taxpayer information to the Parliamentary Budget Officer
on a confidential basis to assist the Officer to perform or exercise his or her
functions or powers. Currently the ATO is precluded from making a record of, or
disclosing, information which could identify taxpaying entities. Under these
amendments information could be disclosed to the Officer that would identify
taxpaying entities.
Compatibility with human
rights
1.4
The bill is
accompanied by a self-contained statement of compatibility that notes that the
provisions authorising the ATO to disclose personal information that it has
collected, engages the right to privacy under article 17 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
1.5
The committee
also notes that the bill, in providing that the PBO publicly[1]
release a report on the costings and total combined impact of publicly
announced policies made during an election campaign by Parliamentary parties,
appears to promote the right of citizens to participate in political and public life as guaranteed
by article 25 of the ICCPR.
Right
to privacy
1.6
Article 17 of
the ICCPR provides that no one 'shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful
interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence'. The statement
of compatibility notes that the bill may limit the right to privacy but
justifies this on the following basis:
Allowing the
ATO to disclose personal information to the Officer will enhance the integrity
of the PBO’s revenue costings and analyses, which in turn, will help promote
and inform fiscal policy debate in Australia.
Furthermore,
given that the Officer would only receive information for the purpose of
performing or exercising his or her functions or powers under the PS Act, and
is prohibited from on‑disclosing this information, disclosing such
information to the Officer would not constitute unlawful or arbitrary
interference.[2]
1.7
Personal
taxation information can contain significant personal information, including
the person's name, occupation, earnings, deductions sought etc. Providing such
information to another person limits the right not to be subjected to arbitrary
or unlawful interference with one's privacy as provided by article 17 of the
ICCPR. The committee accepts that promoting and informing the fiscal policy
debate in Australia is a legitimate objective. However, neither the statement
of compatibility nor the explanatory memorandum explain why providing such
personal information in an identifiable way to the Parliamentary Budget Officer
is necessary.
1.8
The
committee intends to write to the Treasurer to ask for clarification as to why
the PBO requires access to information capable of identifying taxpayers when
conducting costings on political policy proposals, before making an assessment
on the compatibility of these measures with the right to privacy.
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