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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-06-15 Daily Xml
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Bills

Appropriation Bill 2023

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Treasurer) (15:05): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act for the appropriation of money from the Consolidated Account for the financial year ending 30 June 2024 and for other purposes. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Treasurer) (15:05): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

It gives me great pleasure to present to the house the 2023-24 state budget, the second budget delivered by the Malinauskas government. This budget is framed at a time when the state's economy has never been stronger. The South Australian labour market is breaking records, in March recording the lowest ever unemployment rate and, indeed, only today the highest ever number of people in work and the highest participation rate since monthly records commenced in 1978.

Our export figures have broken all records and population growth is stronger with positive interstate migration. Our retail sector bucks the national trend, with April figures the strongest in the nation. Both the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Business SA attribute these results to the extraordinary success of two new major events, the AFL Gather Round and LIV Golf. According to Tourism Research Australia, domestic overnight visitor expenditure for South Australia in March was up 35 per cent on the same month in 2022.

Our state's economy is now ranked second in the CommSec State of the States report. Even more encouragingly, the major economic opportunities before our state continue to grow and materialise.

The AUKUS agreement has resolved that South Australia will be the home of a new nuclear submarine building industry. The rest of the country and indeed the world, is scrambling to catch up to our state's leadership on both renewables and hydrogen. The decarbonisation and electrification of industry globally means our state's copper mining and broader resources industry stands on the cusp of exponential growth, and over the last year our state has emerged as the major events capital of the nation.

Yet we are not without our challenges. Over the past 12 months, households and small business have been hammered by the dual blows of soaring inflation and the fastest increase in interest rates in a generation. These cost-of-living pressures are compounded by soaring housing costs, driven by rapidly increasing house values, higher mortgage costs and rents and a supply of new homes that is not keeping pace with our population's needs. More broadly, the national GP crisis is driving ever-increasing demands on our hospitals, already under pressure with the ongoing demands of COVID.

Our child protection system continues to strain under the demand of higher numbers of children coming into care.

Communities along the Murray have endured the river flooding to a level not seen for 50 years, inundating regional communities along its length, displacing people from their homes, businesses from their livelihoods, and farmers from their land.

I am pleased to report to the house that the 2023-24 state budget both builds on the progress and momentum of the last 12 months and addresses the challenges confronting our community. The budget provides substantial cost-of-living relief, allocates large increases in funding for health, housing and child protection, and invests in our economy. It does this while maintaining the government's commitment not to introduce any new taxes, or increase existing taxes, and continues our commitment to return the budget to surplus. Importantly, as the government's infrastructure program ramps up and debt increases, the impact on the state's finances is managed responsibly.

This government accepts its responsibility to support those most in need in our community as the cost of living soars. This budget allocates over $470 million in the single largest cost-of-living assistance package ever deployed in our state to assist hundreds of thousands of South Australian households and small business as they deal with increasing fuel, grocery, energy and housing costs.

We have targeted these measures to ensure we are supporting the community without adding to inflation: there is no point giving with one hand, only for the Reserve Bank to take with another. Instead, we have sought to directly reduce costs where we can, while improving existing supports.

We have partnered with the commonwealth government in a $254 million Energy Bill Relief Plan, with a rebate of up to $500 on 2023-24 electricity bills available to 420,000 eligible households, and up to $650 available to a further 86,000 eligible small businesses. The $127.2 million cost to the state budget is more than three times the amount of support provided in last budget's Cost of Living Concession increase.

The government has also indexed existing concessions at a further cost of $44 million over the forward estimates, including the Cost of Living Concession, the state's existing energy concession, the water and sewerage concession and the medical heating and cooling concession by 8.64 per cent in 2023-24 to ensure existing supports remain in line with inflation. Together, these two measures can actually reduce next year's electricity bills for many South Australians.

This budget provides an additional $57.2 million over four years to increase the payments it makes to non-government organisations providing disability, homelessness, housing and other support services, recognising that higher wages and inflation risk their capacity to maintain services to vulnerable South Australians.

This follows the additional $55 million provided for the same purpose in the December Mid-Year Budget Review. Together, these amounts see funding boosted to these organisations by over $110 million over five years.

The budget also provides free public transport and cheaper parking for thousands of workers in our metropolitan public hospitals, reducing transport costs for them to get to and from work, reducing these costs to workers by $56.4 million over five years to 2026-27.

The budget also provides $32.1 million over four years to increase payments by $50 per child per fortnight to carers of children under 16 years in state care, on top of indexation, to recognise the impact higher costs of living are having on their efforts to support children in their care and also to encourage other families to become foster and kinship carers.

The budget has again allocated $12 million in 2023-24 to continue the $100 subsidy towards the school materials and services charge for the 2024 school year benefiting around 120,000 government school children. $6.5 million over four years is provided to deliver approximately one million additional breakfasts and support the nutrition of students most in need through an increase in grant funding to Foodbank SA and Kickstart for Kids to expand their school breakfast programs.

Foodbank SA will also receive $2 million of a $4 million food relief package for charities to support those South Australians struggling with the cost of groceries, and $1 million will be allocated for additional financial counselling services. A further $4.2 million over four years increases the grant to The Smith Family to provide support for an additional 700 students per year in the Learning for Life program.

I am also pleased to say that this budget axes the asset sustainability levy introduced by the former Liberal government, providing $740,000 per year in total relief to approximately 3,500 residents across the outback.

These initiatives build on previous cost-of-living support provided by the government, including last year's doubling of the Cost of Living Concession, free public transport for our seniors, as well as reductions in the vast majority of CTP premiums that were made possible through the competitive CTP scheme legislated by the previous Labor government. While inflation is forecast to reduce in the coming year, the government is prepared to consider further cost-of-living relief measures in the future to continue supporting our community.

Our housing market is failing to meet the needs of South Australians looking for safe, secure and affordable housing. The housing boom over the last two years has seen house prices and rents soar, pushing some into homelessness and many others into insecure, unaffordable and temporary housing. Last year's budget started the work of addressing this, committing to 400 new homes in public housing.

This year's budget massively expands these efforts, investing $474.7 million in a comprehensive suite of measures to deliver more social housing and affordable homes, more support for people to buy their first home, greater protections for those who are renting, and more affordable rental opportunities.

In total, the funding in this budget supports the delivery of 3,600 new homes over five years and reduces the cost of housing for around a further 14,000 new homes, supporting a much-needed boost to the supply of housing across our state. Measures include:

expanding our commitment to public housing by providing $72 million over the forward estimates to increase the number of additional public houses from 400 to 564, but also stopping the sell-off of a further 580 public housing properties committed to by the previous Liberal government;

committing to develop 700 new affordable homes, in partnership between Renewal SA, community housing providers and the commonwealth government's Housing Australia, across a range of development sites throughout the state to meet the state's commitment under the National Housing Accord;

the single largest release of land in South Australia's history, providing 25,000 more blocks across Adelaide's northern and southern suburbs;

establishing the Office for Regional Housing in Renewal SA, to work with local governments to commence five new key worker housing developments across regional centres;

$1.7 million over four years is committed to extend the Aspire homelessness program for a further 12 months to 31 December 2024; and

residential tenancy reforms including increasing the weekly rent threshold for six-week bonds from $250 to $800 per week, banning rent bidding, protecting tenants' rights and information, and expanding eligibility for the private rental assistance program—just part of our rental protections.

The Malinauskas government is well aware that for young South Australians home ownership has never felt further from their grasp. But we still believe the dream of home ownership should be achievable for young South Australians, and that is why this budget provides $147.3 million over four years to abolish stamp duty for first-home buyers when they purchase or build a new home.

Effective from today, this will benefit approximately 3,800 first-home buyers a year. It will apply to new homes with a value of up to $650,000 and, in addition, they will remain eligible for the existing First Home Owner Grant of $15,000, which will also have its property value cap increased to $650,000. These measures mean an eligible first-home buyer can receive total relief of up to $44,580 on the purchase of a new property.

To further support first-home buyers, the budget provides $714,000 over three years to enable HomeStart to introduce a 2 per cent deposit First Home Buyer Construction Loan, improving on our election commitment to deliver a 3 per cent deposit option. We want young South Australians achieving their dreams of home ownership, and this budget gives them the support to finally make this happen.

Since the Mid-Year Budget Review, the government has allocated a further $470 million in the current 2022-23 financial year alone to boost resourcing across our health system. The budget continues providing additional funding for the health system to maintain higher levels of capacity, transition from the height of the pandemic response, and provide a suite of new measures to address ramping. In total the budget allocates $2.3 billion in extra funding to health from 2022-23 to 2026-27. Combined with our commitment in last year's budget, this means the government has now increased operating funding to health by $4.4 billion since coming to office.

In this current financial year alone, more than $1.2 billion in additional operating funding has been allocated by the Malinauskas Labor government compared to the funding levels committed by the former Liberal government. This budget includes $1.3 billion over five years to meet activity demand pressures in our hospitals and a further $567 million over four years to assist health as it transitions from the height of the pandemic response.

Over the next four years, nearly $200 million is provided for measures that seek to reduce ramping, these include:

$27.6 million over four years to increase medical staffing in major metropolitan hospitals on the weekends to increase the discharge of patients ready to leave hospital;

$17.6 million over five years tackling long-stay patients through individual patient supports, such as short-term services, equipment hire and minor home modifications;

$67.8 million over five years expanding the Adult Virtual Care Service; and

$2.1 million in 2023-24 establishing two new Emergency Department Avoidance Hubs in the western and northern suburbs.

Other investments we are making in health include:

$100.8 million over two years for the new Mount Barker hospital project;

$31.1 million over three years for the deployment of the Electronic Medical Record program across all regional Local Health Network hospitals; and

$20.1 million over two years to upgrade the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Women's and Children's Hospital to ensure it can continue delivering high-quality services while the new hospital is being built.

Reducing the number of children and young people in care requires a coordinated approach across government, the community and the child protection system. The budget provides $216.6 million over five years for child protection and early intervention measures, including $109.5 million for additional out-of-home care, and $107.1 million for initiatives to start reducing demand on the child protection system. Measures include:

$35.7 million over five years to increase targeted intensive family support services;

$32.1 million over four years to increase carer payments;

$13.4 million over five years to increase family group conferencing services;

$6.1 million over four years for family support services for at-risk first-time parents; and

$4 million over four years to increase kinship care assessments.

The government shares the alarm of the community at the spike in the number of deaths on our roads this year. The budget provides $98 million over five years for a comprehensive road safety package with measures including:

$40 million over three years to upgrade the intersection of Adelaide, Alexandrina, Wellington and Flaxley Roads in Mount Barker;

$31.2 million over five years for 15 new mobile speed detection cameras and 10 new mobile phone detection cameras, as well as the upgrade of 16 existing fixed speed cameras, with additional revenue generated to be reinvested in road safety initiatives;

$10 million over four years for regional road safety infrastructure upgrades, including audio tactile line marking, safety barriers, and rural junction activated warning systems at regional intersections;

$6.2 million over four years for additional Kangaroo Island road improvements and maintenance;

$6.2 million over four years for additional road safety campaigns; and

$3.8 million over five years to deliver the motorcycle RiderSafe reform, as part of the strengthened motorcycle licensing requirements.

Further, more than $350 million is budgeted over the forward estimates for regional road maintenance by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport as part of its annual road maintenance program and the government will spend $780 million over four years on road safety policing and support functions within SA Police and the Department for Infrastructure and Transport.

The budget contains a record $21 billion investing program over the next four years, a huge increase over previous budgets, with $5.3 billion allocated towards the Torrens to Darlington section of the north-south corridor, and $1.2 billion over four years towards the new Women's and Children's Hospital. Other major new infrastructure projects funded in this budget include:

$348.9 million over four years for a new purpose-built facility for Forensic Science SA and the SAPOL Forensic Services Branch;

$55 million over three years to expand the facilities as part of the Adelaide Aquatic Centre project; and

$23.5 million over three years for upgrade works at the South Australian Aquatic and Leisure Centre at Oaklands Park.

The budget allocates $20 million over four years to address critical works across the state's jetties by providing assistance to regional councils struggling to maintain these crucial community assets. There is also $7.4 million in 2023-24 for continued replenishment of sand at West Beach and other Adelaide coastal areas, while the government undertakes its review of coastal sand management. The government is continuing its strong record of investing in public transport, with:

$23.5 million over four years to ensure the continuation of bus services across regional South Australia;

$8.7 million over five years to introduce a Lightsview to City Go Zone bus service; and

$7 million over three years to complete 'tap and pay' with credit or debit card and equivalent digital devices on the train network.

With a strong labour market comes the challenge for employers to recruit and maintain staffing levels. South Australia Police has not been immune to this pressure, and the budget provides:

$81.8 million over four years for the recruitment of an additional 189 sworn police security officers, to release more sworn police officers into frontline policing roles; and

$12.2 million over three years to accelerate police recruitment to restore sworn officer staffing levels to their funded levels.

In our prisons, the budget supports:

$30 million over three years to upgrade prisoner accommodation and staff facilities in two high security units at Port Augusta Prison;

$11.2 million over four years for an Aboriginal community-led initiative to reduce rates of Aboriginal incarceration;

$6.3 million over four years for the Work Ready, Release Ready Plus rehabilitation program in our prisons; and

$4.6 million over four years to secure and fit out a new Port Augusta Community Corrections Centre.

The Malinauskas Labor government continues its ambitious agenda in our education system. The royal commission established to enquire into the delivery of three-year old preschool is due to deliver its final report in August, and the budget holds significant provisions centrally for the commencement of this initiative, pending the report's recommendations into timing, staffing, delivery models and accessibility.

The five trade schools committed in last year's budget are progressing, and we look forward to the respective university councils considering a merger. This year's state budget provides $100.2 million in school upgrades, including:

$64.7 million over four years for urgent capital works to address capacity pressures and condition and compliance works;

$25 million in 2023-24 to upgrade, repair and replace assets at over 50 metropolitan and regional school and preschool sites;

$10.5 million in 2024-25 to deliver new gymnasiums at Brahma Lodge Primary School, Hillcrest Primary School, Ingle Farm East Primary School and The Pines School;

$35 million over five years allocated for government and non-government schools to participate in the commonwealth-funded National Student Wellbeing Program; and

$15.8 million over four years allocated for regional school bus services to replace the existing bus fleet with four-wheel-drive buses on APY Lands, and to replace existing large buses in the regions.

The budget also allocates a further $4 million over four years for autism support initiatives, building on the work led by the minister assisting the Premier, the Hon. Emily Bourke MLC, to assist schoolchildren and their parents and caregivers to receive better support.

In order for our state to secure the full advantages of the economic opportunities before us, we need to continue investing in improving skills in our workforce. Initiatives funded in the budget include:

$28 million over four years for a targeted increase in training subsidies for not-for-profit and industry-based training providers aligned with areas of skill demand and economic priorities;

$10.2 million over four years to establish a Regional Skills Development Fund that will ensure TAFE SA can offer more courses in rural and regional South Australia;

$9 million over three years for TAFE SA, not-for-profit and industry-based training providers to improve their facilities and equipment; and

$4.2 million over four years to continue the Group Training Organisations Boost program to support mature-aged apprentices.

I am pleased to report that this budget also continues to invest in the economic opportunities before our state. We are progressing well with the implementation of the Hydrogen Jobs Plan announced in last year's budget, and this year's budget allocates a further $22 million to the Economic Recovery Fund announced last year.

The Northern Water Supply Project continues to develop as a critical opportunity for our state's mining, resources and energy industries, and the budget contains a provision for the government to partner with private sector proponents to undertake the necessary environmental studies, final engineering and costings, to facilitate a final investment decision in 2024. Further initiatives included in the budget include:

$33 million over four years to expand the existing space presence at Lot Fourteen and attract, grow and retain space companies in South Australia;

$27.8 million over four years to support the racing industry with a higher share of the state's betting operations tax revenues to help them maintain the nearly 4,000 jobs the industry supports;

$25.4 million over five years to continue supporting the ongoing operations of six South Australian-based National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy facilities;

$20 million over four years to expand the Research and Innovation Fund and continued funding of the startup hub at Lot Fourteen;

$13.5 million over four years to extend the South Australian Video Game Development Rebate scheme; and

$5.5 million over four years to establish a new Office for AUKUS to support the implementation of the AUKUS submarine construction program at Osborne.

The budget also introduces a $200 million Digital Investment Fund over five years to drive strategic and targeted investment in cybersecurity and digital initiatives across the public sector. The fund will allow the government to prioritise and release to the market a series of major cybersecurity and ICT platform replacements, providing a substantial opportunity for the state's cybersecurity and ICT sector to partner with government and generate further jobs and economic opportunity.

The last 12 months have shown what a targeted and ambitious strategy of investing in major events can deliver for our state. Put simply, since the last election our state has got its mojo back. In just over a year, we have regained the eyes of the nation—and the world—for our capacity to excel at hosting major events. The return of the Adelaide 500, the new Harvest Rock festival, record seasons of the Fringe, the Adelaide Festival and WOMAD were joined by two new stunning successes, the AFL Gather Round and LIV Golf.

In addition to the government's continued commitment to existing events, this budget commits a further $20.8 million over four years for the Major Events Fund to secure new events and grow existing major events in South Australia.

To build on the success of the return of the Adelaide 500, the budget allocates an additional $18 million over four years to install more shading for grandstand areas and to ensure the ongoing high quality of the event. Confirming the government's commitment to the arts, the budget provides $2 million over four years to increase the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund.

The River Murray flood event quickly became one of the most significant natural disasters in our state's history, with over 3,000 properties inundated by flood waters. Our initial assistance package of $51.6 million, announced in November, was designed to assist communities, businesses and councils prepare for the flood, and these funds were included in the Mid-Year Budget Review. Since that time, the government has committed a further $142.8 million for relief efforts. We remain committed to working with affected communities to recover and rebuild after this catastrophic event.

Elsewhere in the emergency services, the budget provides:

$26.7 million over four years to enhance the state's aerial firefighting capability;

$5.6 million in 2022-23 for extraordinary fire response costs;

$1.9 million over four years to increase mental health and wellbeing support to more than 15,000 volunteers and staff in the sector; and

$1.3 million over four years for the purchase of a reserve of flood barriers, such as DefenCell, to guard against future flood risks.

The budget continues the government's significant investment in primary industries and the regions, with new funding including:

$25 million over two years to undertake significant emergency fruit fly response activities following the detection of further outbreaks across the Riverland;

$7.7 million in the next financial year for the cost of remediating the Mintabie township;

$6.3 million over four years to support industry through the extension of the current snapper fishery closure in the Spencer Gulf, West Coast and Gulf St Vincent fishing zones;

$3.2 million over two years to support the implementation of individual electronic identification for sheep and goats; and

$3 million over four years to support the Outback Communities Authority in delivering improved public facilities and community services in outback townships. This is in addition to $3.7 million over five years to cease the asset sustainability levy introduced by the previous government.

On Sunday 26 March 2023, South Australia became the first state in Australia to enact a First Nations voice to parliament. The government is committed to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart at a state level, starting with the Voice.

Reinforcing our commitment, this budget provides $10.3 million over four years to establish and support the ongoing operations and to conduct the first two elections of the First Nations Voice to Parliament. This will be supported with other initiatives, including $11.2 million over four years to continue the multiagency response to support the safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal visitors, $5.6 million over four years to support the operations of Tauondi college and $4.7 million over four years to ensure the state's partnership commitments under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap are met, including to increase funding to the South Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation Network as the state's peak body.

I am pleased to advise that this year's budget papers include a Women's Statement. The Malinauskas Labor government is committed to tackling gender inequality and promoting safety, wellbeing and opportunity for women and girls in South Australia. The statement identifies existing strategies and initiatives undertaken by the government in this regard, and the statement will feature in budget papers from now on, recognising the importance of government efforts in this area.

In total, the 2023-24 budget provides $4.3 billion over the period 2023-24 to 2026-27, in addition to $713 million in 2022-23 for new expenditure initiatives and revenue measures. State taxation revenues, including payroll tax, conveyance duty and gambling taxes, have been revised up in 2022-23 and across the forward estimates, reflecting the strong labour market and the broader economic conditions, including a resilient property market. GST revenue grants have also been revised up in 2023-24 and 2024-25, reflecting expected pool growth and an increase in South Australia's share of the national pool.

With additional spending pressures for flood response and the health and child protection systems, combined with a reduction in expected GST revenues this financial year since the release of the Mid-Year Budget Review, the budget estimates a net operating balance deficit for this current financial year of $249 million. The budget returns to surplus from next year, with a net operating balance surplus forecast of $250 million, with growing surpluses forecast across the forward estimates, reaching $639 million by 2026-27.

As a result of the additional resources provided in the budget for key services and the continued investment in infrastructure, non-financial public sector net debt is projected to increase over the forward estimates to $37.6 billion as at 30 June 2027.

Importantly, the key budget metric of the net debt to revenue ratio remains well below the levels forecast by the previous government. At the end of the current financial year the ratio is expected to be 100.5 per cent, some 20 percentage points less than the ratio forecast by the previous government in its last budget.

At the end of the forward estimates, this budget forecasts the ratio will reach 121.6 per cent, still eight percentage points lower—two full financial years later—than was forecast by the previous government. Not only does the budget maintain Labor's commitment at the last election not to impose any new taxes or tax increases but the indexation rate for government fees and charges has been limited to 4.8 per cent in 2023-24, and the emergency services levy bill for a median-valued metropolitan residential property will increase by around 4.8 per cent in 2023-24, well below the prevailing rate of inflation.

The budget does not impose cuts to frontline services or a broad savings task. Instead, the budget includes only one savings measure: a further reduction of at least 50 full-time equivalent executive positions across agencies, in addition to the 50 executive full-time equivalent savings required last year, all of which have been delivered.

The budget forecasts a slowing of economic growth to 1 per cent in 2023-24 and 1¾ per cent in 2024-25, consistent with slower national growth projected in the federal budget. After the strong performance of the state's labour market in recent times, employment growth also moderates to 1 per cent in 2023-24 and ¾ per cent in 2024-25, again consistent with the commonwealth's estimates of slower growth and a rising unemployment rate nationally. Inflation is also due to moderate to 3¾ per cent in 2023-24 and 3¼ per cent in 2024-25, before returning to the Reserve Bank's target band in 2025-26.

Putting a state budget together is an enormous task. I would like to thank the many staff in the Department of Treasury and Finance for their tremendous efforts in recent months: Under Treasurer Rick Persse, Deputy Under Treasurer Tammie Pribanic, Executive Director of Budget Branch Tricia Blight, and the many, many others who have put in an extraordinary amount of time and effort.

I would also like to thank the staff in my office, led by my Chief of Staff, John Atkinson, for their diligence, assistance and advice over the past months. My thanks also go to my cabinet colleagues for their support, as well as to my caucus colleagues.

But the most important thanks of all go to my family, my wife, Antonia, and children, Ben, Isaac and Olivia. It is a difficult challenge to find some semblance of balance between work and being sufficiently present as a husband and a father, and I cannot tell the house how much I appreciate their unstinting love, support and, given the length of this speech, endless patience as well.

This budget delivers on the government's key priorities of health and housing, while providing substantial cost-of-living support. The budget returns to surplus from next year and introduces no new taxes. This places the budget in a strong position for the government to be able to respond to further unexpected events and capitalise on the economic opportunities to further diversify and strengthen our economy through government investment.

This government is determined to deliver on all of this while continuing our record of responsibly managing the state's finances. I commend the budget to the house. I seek leave to have the explanation of clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

Explanation of Clauses

1—Short title

This clause is formal.

2—Commencement

This clause provides for the Bill to operate retrospectively to 1 July 2023. Until the Bill is passed, expenditure is financed from appropriation authority provided by the Supply Act.

3—Interpretation

This clause provides relevant definitions.

4—Issue and application of money

This clause provides for the issue and application of the sums shown in Schedule 1 to the Bill. Subclause (2) makes it clear that the appropriation authority provided by the Supply Act is superseded by this Bill.

5—Application of money if functions or duties of agency are transferred

This clause is designed to ensure that where Parliament has appropriated funds to an agency to enable it to carry out particular functions or duties and those functions or duties become the responsibility of another agency, the funds may be used by the responsible agency in accordance with Parliament's original intentions without further appropriation.

6—Expenditure from Hospitals Fund

This clause provides authority for the Treasurer to issue and apply money from the Hospitals Fund for the provision of facilities in public hospitals.

7—Additional appropriation under other Acts

This clause makes it clear that appropriation authority provided by this Bill is additional to authority provided in other Acts of Parliament, except, of course, in the Supply Act.

8—Overdraft limit

This clause sets a limit of $150 million on the amount which the Government may borrow by way of overdraft.

Schedule 1—Amounts proposed to be expended from the Consolidated Account during the financial year ending 30 June 2024

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.A.W. Gardner.

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