The instrument to which this explanatory statement relates

Determination to Amend Reduction of Appropriations Upon Request (No. 1 of 2009-2010)

Date instrument was made

4 May 2010

The legislative authority under which the instrument is made

Subsection 9(1) of Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2007‑2008 and subsection 10(2) of Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2008-2009 enable the Minister for Finance and Deregulation (Finance Minister) to make a Determination reducing a departmental item.

A determination made under these subsections must be in accordance with a written request made to the Finance Minister by the responsible Minister for the entity.

Subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 enables the Finance Minister to revoke a determination reducing a departmental item.

Purpose and effect of the instrument

This Determination revokes a determination made in the Instrument Determination to Reduce Appropriations Upon Request (No. 5 of 2009-2010).

The effect of this Determination is to revoke the reduction made to the departmental item for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) in Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2009-2010.

Schedule 1 of this Determination provides that the departmental item for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) in Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2008-2009 be reduced by $313,447.

Schedule 2 of this Determination provides that the departmental item for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) in Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2007-2008 be reduced by $2,093,376.

Background

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister wrote to the Finance Minister seeking his agreement to reduce the departmental item in Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2009-2010 for PM&C by $2,406,823. A Determination was signed on 8 February 2010 reducing appropriation that had been provided for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Taskforce and for the Community Cabinets measure, which was no longer required.

The Parliamentary Secretary has written to the Finance Minister again advising that as the funding in question was appropriated to PM&C in 2007-08 and 2008-09, their request to reduce departmental appropriation should have been in respect of the years in which the amounts were appropriated to PM&C, not in respect of their 2009-10 appropriation.

The Parliamentary Secretary sought the Finance Minister’s agreement to revoke the original reduction determination to restore PM&Cs 2009-10 departmental appropriation in that year and to reduce PM&C’s departmental appropriations for 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Notes on the Instrument

Schedules 1 and 2 to the Determination contain tables listing the affected agency in column 1, the appropriation Act and appropriation item in column 2, the legislative authority in column 3, which through the request by the responsible Minister in column 4, is reduced by the amount in column 5.

In accordance with the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, PM&C was consulted in the preparation of this Determination.