House of Representatives

Second Reading Speech

Mr McCormack (Minister for Small Business)

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Public Governance and Resources Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2017 amends 13 pieces of Commonwealth legislation to harmonise relevant provisions with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013(the PGPA Act) and the Commonwealth's broader resource management framework.

The bill ensures improved consistency between other acts and the PGPA Act that aims to put in place the legislative underpinnings of an integrated system that promotes high standards of governance, performance and accountability.

Under this simplified financial framework, officials within Commonwealth entities will have the flexibility and incentives to adopt appropriate systems and processes that help them to achieve diverse policy and statutory objectives efficiently and effectively. They will also be held to high standards of accountability through a more explicit framework for monitoring and evaluating performance.

This bill makes amendments to:

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consistently prescribe listed entities for the purposes of the PGPA Act within entities' enabling legislation;

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repeal provisions covering issues now provided for by the PGPA Act, such as disclosure of interests and annual reporting requirements; and

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update references in legislation from the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997and the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 to the PGPA Act.

The bill also contains minor amendments to legislation consequential to the sale of Medibank Private Limited in 2014.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.