EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Minister for Transport and Regional Services
Australian Land Transport Development Act 1988
DETERMINATION UNDER SECTION 10
This statement is supplied for the determination under subsection 10(2) of the Australian Land Transport Development Act 1988 (the ALTD Act) made by the Minister for Transport and Regional Services for the financial year 2004-05.
The 2004-05 financial year is the last year for which a charge rate determination is required. Section 10 of the ALTD Act was repealed by the AusLink (National Land Transport—Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2005 (the AusLink Transitional Act), but this Act contained provisions to allow for this last determination, as if that section continued to have effect.
The ALTD Act established the Australian Land Transport Development Account (ALTD Account) into which a specified portion of excise and customs duty on motor spirit and diesel has been credited. The specified portion was termed the ‘charge rate’.
Funds from the Account were able to be paid to the States and Territories for the construction and maintenance of National Highways, for the construction of Roads of National Importance, rail and Black Spots projects. The Account was also able to be used to fund land transport and road safety research by approved research organisations.
Since 1992-93 successive governments have determined, in the Budge,t the amount of funding to be provided in a given financial year for the purposes of the ALTD Act rather than relying on the charge rate mechanism. The charge rate has been determined after the end of the financial year in accordance with the Government’s policy of providing sufficient credits to the Account to equal the funding provided by Government.
The AusLink Investment Programme and Black Spot Programme were administered under the ALTD Act in 2004-05, but are now being administered, along with other AusLink Programmes, under the AusLink (National Land Transport) Act 2005.
Section 10 of the ALTD Act provided that the Minister could determine the ‘charge rate’ that was used to determine the proportion of excise and customs duty that was credited to the Account.
Subsection 10(2) of the ALTD Act provided that the Minister could, after consultation with the Treasurer, determine a rate in cents per litre. Subsection 10(5) provided that a determination came into force on the first day of the financial year to which it related.
The charge rate of 3.8544039055 cents per litre to apply for 2004-05 has been calculated to ensure that credits to the ALTD Account equal the payments made from the Account during 2004-05.
The effect of the charge rate determination is to ensure that the balance of the Account was zero as at 30 June 2005. The amount of $1,341.489 million was paid from the Account during the year. This compares with $976.185 million in 2003-04 and reflects the large scale increase in Australian Government funding for land transport infrastructure under the AusLink, which commenced in 2004-05.
The determination does not adversely affect any person’s rights nor does it impose liabilities on any person.