Appropriation (2019/20 Supplementary Estimates) Bill

  • enacted

Appropriation (2019/20 Supplementary Estimates) Bill

Government Bill

252—1

Explanatory note

General policy statement

Appropriation is the statutory mechanism by which Parliament authorises the Government to incur expenses and capital expenditure. Other than permanent appropriations provided for in other legislation, appropriations are provided by Appropriation (Estimates) and Appropriation (Supplementary Estimates) Bills.

This Bill seeks parliamentary authorisation of the individual appropriations, and changes to individual appropriations, contained in The Supplementary Estimates of Appropriations for the Government of New Zealand for the Year Ending 30 June 2020 (B.7) (the Supplementary Estimates) presented to the House of Representatives on 14 May 2020.

In this Bill, the individual appropriations and changes are set out in summarised form in Schedules 1 and 2. The provisions of the Bill ensure that the scope of each appropriation as set out in the Supplementary Estimates forms part of the legal appropriation. The Public Finance Act 1989 requires separate appropriations for—

  • each category of output expenses; and

  • each category of benefits or related expenses; and

  • each category of borrowing expenses; and

  • each category of other expenses; and

  • each category of capital expenditure; and

  • the expenses and capital expenditure to be incurred by each intelligence and security department; and

  • each multi-category appropriation.

Section 6 of the Public Finance Act 1989 provides ongoing authority for public money to be spent for the purpose of meeting expenses or capital expenditure incurred in accordance with an appropriation, the payment of goods and services tax in respect of those expenses or that capital expenditure, the repayment of debt, and the settlement of liabilities.

This Bill also seeks parliamentary authorisation for the capital injections, and changes to capital injections, contained in the Supplementary Estimates. Section 12A of the Public Finance Act 1989 provides that the Crown must not make a capital injection to a department (other than an intelligence and security department) or an Office of Parliament unless the capital injection is authorised under an Appropriation Act. By requiring capital injections to be authorised, Parliament retains control over the level of net assets that departments and Offices of Parliament may hold.

Departmental disclosure statement

A departmental disclosure statement is not required for this Bill.

Clause by clause analysis

Clause 1 is the Title clause.

Clause 2 is the commencement clause. The Bill comes into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent.

Clause 3 provides that the Bill (except clause 7 and Schedule 2) applies to the 2019/20 financial year.

Clause 4 is an overview clause.

Clause 5 is an interpretation provision.

Clauses 6 and 7 are the principal appropriation clauses of the Bill.

Clause 6 authorises, for the 2019/20 financial year, the new appropriations, and the variations to appropriations, set out in Schedule 1. The variations to appropriations increase or decrease existing appropriations authorised by the Appropriation (2019/20 Estimates) Act 2019.

Clause 7 and Schedule 2 relate to multi-year appropriations. Section 10 of the Public Finance Act 1989 provides that an Appropriation Act may authorise expenses or capital expenditure to be incurred for more than 1 financial year as long as the authority (which lapses at the end of the period specified in the Appropriation Act) does not apply for more than 5 financial years. New multi-year appropriations, and variations to multi-year appropriations, are authorised by clause 7 and set out in Schedule 2. The variations to multi-year appropriations increase or decrease existing multi-year appropriations authorised by any Appropriation Act passed in relation to a financial year to which the appropriations apply.

Clause 7(2) to (6) extends the period of 5 multi-year appropriations.

Clause 7(11) to (15) revokes the authority for 5 multi-year appropriations.

Section 9 of the Public Finance Act 1989 concerns the scope of appropriations. Clauses 6 and 7, when read together with the definition of “scope shown in the Supplementary Estimates” in clause 5(1), each describe where the scope of each appropriation varied or authorised under those clauses is set out, making the scope of each appropriation (as set out in the Supplementary Estimates) part of the legal appropriation.

Clause 8 authorises, for the 2019/20 financial year, the new capital injections, and the variations to capital injections, set out in Schedule 3. The variations to capital injections increase or decrease existing capital injections authorised by the Appropriation (2019/20 Estimates) Act 2019.