Page 1501 - Week 05 - Thursday, 12 May 1994
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As recommended by the committee, attachment A provides a summary of the overall impact of variations made reconciled to original budget estimates. This is an interim summary which takes account of the instruments being tabled today. It does not represent the anticipated outcome of the 1993-94 budget, as potential savings and rollovers are not included. The variations proposed result in a reduction in original budget estimates as the provision made for wage and salary increases has not been fully utilised at the time of preparing the instruments and minimal use has been made of the Treasurer's Advance.
Transfers of funds between programs and within items of a program are allowed for under section 49(1) of the Audit Act. Program transfers of $2.1m have been made within the context of this section. These transfers reflect changes to funding priorities within program budgets. Any increases are offset by corresponding decreases, leaving a zero net effect on total appropriations. The instrument at attachment B to this statement itemises the variations and provides explanations. Increases to appropriations for increased Commonwealth payments are permitted under section 49A of the Audit Act. This section allows for increases to program appropriations to match funding increases for specific purposes received from the Commonwealth. These increases are budget neutral. Program appropriations are increased only by the amount of additional revenue being received from the Commonwealth. Increases to program appropriations totalling $1.3m have been made, specifically for funding of non-government schools, $1.1m, and for the Commonwealth entry level training program, $0.1m. These variations are outlined in the instrument at attachment C to this statement.
Supplementation for wage and salary increases is permitted under section 7 of the Appropriation Act 1993-94. Funds totalling $5.7m have been allocated to programs for wage and salary increases in 1993-94 compared to the original budget provision of $7m. This amount includes funding for general wage and salary increases resulting from increases under the structural efficiency principle and for variations made by the Industrial Relations Commission for enrolled nurses, including back pay. The major component of the allocations, however, is for performance pay. Attachment D to this statement itemises the allocations and provides explanations.
The Government presents these instruments in support of greater accountability to the Assembly through the provision of information on budget issues in a more timely, meaningful and relevant form. The information being presented today is in accordance with the Government response to the Public Accounts Committee report on "Monitoring of Budget Supplementation". The instruments are being tabled for the information of members, with supporting documentation that provides summaries of changes to appropriations by program as well as by category. The supporting documentation also provides reasons for each of the variations. This has been cross-referenced with the amounts in each instrument to enable a complete understanding of the purposes of the supplementation.
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