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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 13 Hansard (2 December) . . Page.. 4363 ..

Mr Berry: I am trying to delete it.

MRS CARNELL: Why? It does seem a strange thing to delete. What it requires is that if at the end of the financial year a departmental banking account has a debit balance the chief executive of the department shall devise and implement a scheme to recoup that amount of money. Mr Speaker, why would you not want a chief executive to put in place a mechanism to overcome a deficit in the budget? It would seem to me to be a very unusual thing to do.

We all know that, in accrual accounting, closing balances of accounts, whether they are positive or negative, are carried forward at the end of the financial year, rather than zeroed. That goes without saying. If positive, the resulting balance is to be available for expenditure without further appropriation. We know that as well. But surely if the balance is negative a debt reduction strategy should be prepared. I cannot quite understand why Mr Berry should think that that should not happen; that a manager should not have the responsibility if they come in with a negative balance - - -

Mr Berry: I just wonder where the money is coming from and who gets told about it.

MRS CARNELL: This is not about people being told about it. It is about the chief executive of the department having a responsibility to devise and implement a scheme to recoup the amount of the deficit. In other words, it is a legislative requirement for a chief executive to be responsible to overcome a deficit at the end of the year. Surely that is what we are paying them for.

Amendment negatived.

Clause agreed to.

Clause 10

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (9.30): Mr Speaker, the Government will be opposing this clause. It relates to the investment of public money. Recent changes to the way that the ACT Government does its banking and investments and the new guidelines have obviated the need for the clause. It becomes null and void.

MR BERRY (Leader of the Opposition) (9.31): Clause 10 reads:

Section 38 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from subsection (4) all the words after "account" (first occurring).

Subsection (4) reads:

The Treasurer may determine the amount of interest to be credited to departmental bank accounts and such amounts may be paid without further appropriation from the Territory bank account ...

That is where it would end if the Chief Minister's opposition to the clause were to have effect. If the clause were not negatived, subsection (4) would further read:

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