Bills

Statutes Amendment (Parliament - Executive Officer and Clerks) Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. D.R. CREGAN (Kavel—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Special Minister of State) (15:58): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Parliament (Joint Services) Act 1985 and the Remuneration Act 1990. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. D.R. CREGAN (Kavel—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Special Minister of State) (15:58): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I rise to introduce the Statutes Amendment (Parliament—Executive Officer and Clerks) Bill 2024. The bill amends the Parliament (Joint Services) Act 1985 (the Joint Services Act) and the Remuneration Act 1990 (the Remuneration Act) in order to significantly reform the management structure of the Joint Parliamentary Service, and to ensure independent oversight of the remuneration of the Clerks and Deputy Clerks of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly.

The bill establishes a new executive officer position for the Joint Parliamentary Service to modernise and centralise the executive and organisational operation of the Parliament of South Australia and to coordinate the service functions of the parliament. The executive officer will be responsible to the Joint Parliamentary Service Committee, consisting of the President of the Legislative Council, the Speaker of the House of Assembly and two members each from the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly, for the efficient management of the Joint Parliamentary Service.

The bill makes various amendments to the Parliament (Joint Services) Act to give effect to the executive officer's role. These changes include conferring responsibility for providing secretarial services to the committee on the executive officer, designating the executive officer as the chief officer of the Joint Services Division of the Joint Parliamentary Service, and making the executive officer a member of the advisory committee to the committee. The chief officers of the divisions of the Joint Parliamentary Service will be responsible to the executive officer for the efficient management of their respective divisions.

These changes will ensure that the executive officer is the central person with the responsibility of a range of functions currently divided between various other officers, including the Clerks of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly and the chief officers of the divisions of the Joint Parliamentary Service. The executive officer is to be appointed by the committee on terms and conditions determined by the committee, including the executive officer's remuneration.

In addition to this important restructure, the bill confers jurisdiction on the Remuneration Tribunal to determine the remuneration of the Clerks and Deputy Clerks of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly. The Remuneration Tribunal is already seized of jurisdiction to consider and determine the remuneration of various officers, including judges and members of parliament. It is appropriate for the Remuneration Tribunal to also consider and determine the remuneration of Clerks and Deputy Clerks of the houses of parliament.

This reform is intended to ensure that there is an independent consideration and oversight of the appropriate remuneration levels and increased transparency in the process. This will in turn increase public confidence in the remuneration decisions made in respect of the Clerks and the Deputy Clerks of the houses of parliament.

I commend the bill to members and indicate that it is the government's intention to enter into discussions with the crossbench in the upper house to achieve passage of this legislation, as might be amended where necessary, to enjoy an outcome by compromise and negotiation. I seek leave to insert the explanation of clauses in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

This clause is formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Parliament (Joint Services) Act 1985

2—Amendment of section 4—Interpretation

This clause inserts a definition of Executive Officer and makes a related amendment to the definition of officer.

3—Substitution of section 6

This clause deletes section 6 which provides for the Clerk of the Legislative Council or the Clerk of the House of Assembly to act as secretary to the Committee. The functions and powers of the secretary to the Committee under the Act are proposed to be undertaken by the Executive Officer, which is an office established under proposed Part 2 Division 1A as follows:

Division 1A—Executive Officer for the joint parliamentary service

6—Executive Officer for the joint parliamentary service

The proposed section establishes the office of Executive Officer for the joint parliamentary service, and sets out the terms and conditions of the appointment of the Executive Officer.

6A—Duties of Executive Officer

Proposed subsection (1) provides that the Executive Officer is responsible to the Committee for the efficient management of the joint parliamentary service. Proposed subsection (2) provides that the Executive Officer must, at the request of the Committee, and may, on the Executive Officer's own initiative, make a report to the Committee on any aspect of the management or operation of the joint parliamentary service.

4—Amendment of section 7—Divisions of the parliamentary service

This clause makes a consequential amendment to provide that the chief officer in relation to the Joint Services Division is to be the Executive Officer instead of the secretary to the Committee (as is currently the case).

5—Amendment of section 8—Duties of chief officers

The amendments in subclause (1) provide that the chief officers are responsible to the Executive Officer (rather than the Committee as is currently the case) for the efficient management of their respective division of the joint parliamentary service. Subclause (2) deletes subsections (2) and (3) which confer functions on the chief officers which are now to be undertaken by the Executive Officer of the joint parliamentary service.

6—Amendment of section 9—Delegation

The amendments in subclause (1) provide for the Committee to delegate any of its functions or powers to the Executive Officer. The amendments in subclause (2) provide for a more general power of subdelegation than is currently provided for in the section.

7—Amendment of section 26—Certain officers to constitute advisory committee

This clause removes the membership of the Leader of Hansard, the Parliamentary Librarian and the Catering Manager from the advisory committee established under this section and replaces them with the Executive Officer of the joint parliamentary service.

8—Amendment of section 27—Officers may be regarded as members of the Public Service in certain situations

This clause adds the Executive Officer of the joint parliamentary service to the existing definition of officer in subsection (2) to enable them to be regarded as a member of the Public Service in situations outlined in the section in the same manner as other officers of the Parliament.

Part 3—Amendment of Remuneration Act 1990

9—Amendment of section 13—Determination of remuneration of judges, magistrates and certain others

This clause provides that the remuneration of the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of both the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly are to be determined by the Remuneration Tribunal.

Schedule 1—Transitional provisions

1—Transitional provisions

This clause provides for transitional arrangements in relation to the current remuneration of the Clerks and Deputy Clerks of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly as a result of the amendments in Part 3. It further provides for transitional arrangements under certain provisions of the Parliament (Joint Services) Act 1985 in circumstances where an Executive Officer has not yet been appointed in accordance with the amendments in Part 2.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Cowdrey.