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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
New South Wales
Charter of Budget Honesty
Amendment (Independent Election
Costings) Bill 2010
Explanatory note
This explanatory note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament.
Overview of Bill
The object of this Bill is to amend the Charter of Budget Honesty (Election Promises
Costing) Act 2006 as follows:
(a) to require the Auditor-General to prepare costings of election policies and the
budget impact statements that are released 5 days before a State election,
instead of the Secretary of the Treasury, who currently prepares the costings
and statements,
(b) to enable the Premier or the Leader of the Opposition to request a costing of
an election policy by the Auditor-General at any time after the latest State
election before a State election, not only in the period 60 days before a State
election,
(c) to enable the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition to discuss, in
confidence, the budgetary impact of an election policy with a member of the
Auditor-General's staff.
Outline of provisions
Clause 1 sets out the name (also called the short title) of the proposed Act.
b2009-163-36.d10
Charter of Budget Honesty Amendment (Independent Election Costings) Bill 2010
Explanatory note
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on the date of assent
to the proposed Act.
Schedule 1 Amendments to the Charter of Budget
Honesty (Election Promises Costing) Act
2006 No 89 relating to Auditor-General's
role
Schedule 1 gives effect to the object of the Bill set out in paragraph (a) of the
Overview above.
Schedule 2 Other amendments to the Charter of
Budget Honesty (Election Promises
Costing) Act 2006 No 89
Schedule 2 [5] gives effect to the object of the Bill set out in paragraph (c) of the
Overview above.
Schedule 2 [4] gives effect to the object of the Bill set out in paragraph (b) of the
Overview above. Schedule 2 [1][3] are related amendments.
Explanatory note page 2
Introduced by Mr M B Baird, MP First print
New South Wales
Charter of Budget Honesty
Amendment (Independent Election
Costings) Bill 2010
Contents
Page
1 Name of Act 2
2 Commencement 2
Schedule 1 Amendments to the Charter of Budget Honesty
(Election Promises Costing) Act 2006 No 89 relating to
Auditor-General's role 3
Schedule 2 Other amendments to the Charter of Budget Honesty
(Election Promises Costing) Act 2006 No 89 5
b2009-163-36.d10
New South Wales
Charter of Budget Honesty
Amendment (Independent Election
Costings) Bill 2010
No , 2010
A Bill for
An Act to amend the Charter of Budget Honesty (Election Promises Costing) Act
2006 to require independent costings of election promises by the Auditor-General for
the period following the 2010/11 Budget; and for other purposes.
Charter of Budget Honesty Amendment (Independent Election Costings) Bill
Clause 1 2010
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts: 1
1 Name of Act 2
This Act is the Charter of Budget Honesty Amendment (Independent 3
Election Costings) Act 2010. 4
2 Commencement 5
This Act commences on the date of assent to this Act. 6
Page 2
Charter of Budget Honesty Amendment (Independent Election Costings) Bill
2010
Amendments to the Charter of Budget Honesty (Election Promises Costing) Schedule 1
Act 2006 No 89 relating to Auditor-General's role
Schedule 1 Amendments to the Charter of Budget 1
Honesty (Election Promises Costing) Act 2
2006 No 89 relating to Auditor-General's 3
role 4
[1] Long title 5
Omit "Treasury". Insert instead "Auditor-General". 6
[2] Sections 3, 5 (1) and (2), 8 (1), 9, 10, 11, 12 (1) and (3)(5), 13, 14 (1) (a), 7
(2) and (3) (a), 15 and 16 8
Omit "Secretary of the Treasury" wherever occurring. 9
Insert instead "Auditor-General". 10
[3] Section 3 (1) 11
Omit the definition of Treasury costing. Insert instead in alphabetical order: 12
Auditor-General costing means a costing, under Part 3 by the 13
Auditor-General, of an election policy or proposed election 14
policy. 15
[4] Parts 2 and 3, headings 16
Omit "Treasury" wherever occurring. Insert instead "Auditor-General". 17
[5] Sections 8 (2) and 11 (1) 18
Omit "Treasury costing" wherever occurring. 19
Insert instead "Auditor-General costing". 20
[6] Sections 8, note, 9 (2)(4), 10 (2) and 11 21
Omit "Secretary" wherever occurring. Insert instead "Auditor-General". 22
[7] Sections 8, note, 10, 14 (1) (a) and (3) (a) and (c) and 16 23
Omit "a Treasury costing" wherever occurring. 24
Insert instead "an Auditor-General costing". 25
[8] Sections 8, note and 12 (1), (2) and (4) 26
Omit "Treasury costed" wherever occurring. 27
Insert instead "Auditor-General costed". 28
Page 3
Charter of Budget Honesty Amendment (Independent Election Costings) Bill
2010
Schedule 1 Amendments to the Charter of Budget Honesty (Election Promises Costing)
Act 2006 No 89 relating to Auditor-General's role
[9] Sections 11 (2) and 15 1
Omit "Treasury costings" wherever occurring. 2
Insert instead "Auditor-General costings". 3
[10] Section 14 Confidentiality of information or documents relating to 4
Auditor-General costing of election promises 5
Omit "Treasury" from section 14 (1) (b). Insert instead "Auditor-General". 6
[11] Section 14 (2) 7
Omit "member of staff of the Treasury" wherever occurring. 8
Insert instead "member of the Auditor-General's staff". 9
[12] Section 14A 10
Insert after section 14: 11
14A Audit of expenditure costed by the Auditor-General 12
If the Auditor-General is required under the Public Finance and 13
Audit Act 1983 or any other Act to carry out an audit of 14
expenditure that is the subject of a costing of an election policy 15
under this Act, the Auditor-General may arrange for the audit to 16
be carried out by an auditor in the Audit Office, or an auditor 17
engaged by the Auditor-General, who was not involved in the 18
preparation of the costing of the election policy. 19
Page 4
Charter of Budget Honesty Amendment (Independent Election Costings) Bill
2010
Other amendments to the Charter of Budget Honesty (Election Promises Schedule 2
Costing) Act 2006 No 89
Schedule 2 Other amendments to the Charter of 1
Budget Honesty (Election Promises 2
Costing) Act 2006 No 89 3
[1] Section 3 Definitions 4
Omit "a publicly announced or proposed policy" from the definition of costing 5
request in section 3 (1). 6
Insert instead "an election policy or proposed election policy". 7
[2] Section 3 (1) 8
Insert in alphabetical order: 9
election policy means a policy that is publicly announced in the 10
period prior to a State election as part of the election campaign of 11
the Government or the Opposition for that election and that is 12
intended to be implemented after the election, but does not 13
include a policy (or part of a policy) that is fully funded in the 14
latest State budget or any previous State budget. 15
[3] Section 5 Request for Auditor-General costing by Premier or Leader of 16
the Opposition 17
Omit "publicly announced or proposed policies" wherever occurring in 18
section 5 (1) and (2). 19
Insert instead "election policies or proposed election policies". 20
[4] Section 6 Period during which costings may be requested 21
Omit "during the period of 60 days before a State election". 22
Insert instead "during the period before a State election commencing on the 23
day on which the latest State budget before the election is presented to 24
Parliament". 25
Page 5
Charter of Budget Honesty Amendment (Independent Election Costings) Bill
2010
Schedule 2 Other amendments to the Charter of Budget Honesty (Election Promises
Costing) Act 2006 No 89
[5] Section 12A 1
Insert after section 12: 2
12A Auditor-General to discuss budgetary impact of election policies 3
with Premier and Leader of the Opposition 4
If requested to do so by the Premier or the Leader of the 5
Opposition, the Auditor-General is to make available to the 6
Premier or the Leader of the Opposition a member of the 7
Auditor-General's staff for the purposes of discussing, in 8
confidence, the budgetary impact of an election policy. 9
Page 6
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