House of Assembly Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3) 51 3 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Answers to Questions Long Service Leave LONG SERVICE LEAVE Mr HAMILTON-SMITH House of Assembly Waite Leader of the Opposition LONG SERVICE LEAVE 101 Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Leader of the Opposition) (30 September 2008). With respect to the 2008-09 budget papers, why has $30 million been allocated for long service leave costs in 2008-09, when there have been no such provision in previous years? The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly Port Adelaide Deputy Premier Minister for Industry and Trade Minister for Federal/State Relations LONG SERVICE LEAVE The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Federal/State Relations): I have been provided the following information: As part of the establishment of Shared Services SA, agencies are transferring all related assets and liabilities (in particular employee leave liabilities) from their balance sheets to that of Shared Services SA. The cash associated with the liabilities is also being transferred from agencies to ensure that as Shared Services SA is established, it is provided with sufficient working capital to meet its liabilities when they fall due. The $30 million reflected in the 2008-09 Budget Papers was a point-in-time estimate of the accumulated long service leave liabilities that might transfer to Shared Services SA during 2008-09. It was established as a source of cash that agencies could access if they did not hold sufficient cash reserves of their own to meet the required transfers to Shared Services SA. Because this budget line reflects an internal transaction within government, there is no budget impact associated with the establishment or use of the provision. Conversely, there is no benefit to the budget if the provision is not used.