House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Answers to Questions Mid-Year Budget Review MID-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW In reply to Mr MARSHALL House of Assembly Norwood Leader of the Opposition MID-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW In reply to Mr MARSHALL (Norwood—Leader of the Opposition) (6 February 2013). The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly Cheltenham Premier Minister for State Development Minister for the Public Sector Minister for the Arts MID-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts): I have been advised of the following: An operating slippage provision is included in the Budget to reflect the tendency, on a whole-of-government basis, for underspending against programs and initiatives. A considerable proportion of the underspend occurs on Commonwealth programs. The Mid-Year Budget Review included a provision for operating slippage of $287 million in 2012-13. This is higher than the operating slippage provision of $150 million established in the 2011-12 MYBR due to increasing operating carryovers as a percentage of government expenditure. At Budget time the $150 million provision was split over two years being $75 million in 2011-12 and $75 million in 2012-13. The level of operating slippage is set based on the average level of expenditure carryovers experienced in recent years. Including a slippage provision in the budget is appropriate to more accurately reflect expected end of year expenditure levels. The budget papers transparently reflect the slippage provisions included in the budget (most recently refer to page 21 of the 2012-13 MYBR).