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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 6 Hansard (25 May) . . Page.. 1868 ..


MR QUINLAN (8.49): Mr Speaker, we will support these amendments. We came to the same conclusion when we read this part of the bill. In fact, we are not sure that we should have permitted any fees at all. Given that the actuarial calculations may not have included them in the first place, it might be a minor dilution. But we are assured that at least some of the management charges are factored into the actuarial calculations, and we are happy to support these amendments. This is one item that future Assemblies will have to watch to make sure that there is not any siphoning from the fund against the spirit of the act.

Amendments agreed to.

Clauses 11 and 12, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 13 agreed to.

Proposed new clause 13A.

MR HUMPHRIES (Treasurer, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Community Safety) (8.50): I move:

Page 4, line 35:

"13A Additional provisions for superannuation

(1) Despite section 6 of the Financial Management Act, the Treasurer may, if the Treasurer considers it appropriate to do so, authorise payment of a stated amount of public money of the Territory that is not required for non-superannuation purposes into a superannuation banking account.

(2) An authorisation under subsection (1) is a disallowable instrument.

(3) An authorisation under subsection (1) takes effect-

(a) on the day after the last day when it could have been disallowed under section 6 of the Subordinate Laws Act 1989; or

(b) on a later day stated in the authorisation;

unless the authorisation is disallowed under section 6 of that Act.

(4) In this section:

non-superannuation purposes means purposes other than meeting, or providing for, present or future unfunded liabilities of the Territory, Territory authorities or Territory owned corporations for superannuation benefits for persons mentioned in paragraph 9 (a) or (b).".

I present an explanatory memorandum for this and the next amendment, Mr Speaker.

This amendment allows the government to provide extra funding to the superannuation account in the event of surplus funds becoming available outside the context of the budget. Obviously, the best example of that is the proposed joint venture between ACTEW and AGL. That would produce, potentially, a large amount of money for an equalisation payment. Without an appropriation at the present time, it is not possible to pay that money into the superannuation account, but clearly it should be possible to do that.

This is a standing provision that requires the Treasurer to table a disallowable instrument for payments to the superannuation fund above the appropriated amount and allows full


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