Governor-General Amendment Bill 2003
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2002-2003 THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM (Circulated by authority of the Prime Minister, the Hon John Howard MP)
The Bill proposes an amendment to the Governor-General Act 1974 to set the official salary for the next Governor-General, Major-General Michael Jeffery, AC, CVO, MC, prior to his swearing-in on 11 August 2003.
Section 3 of the Constitution provides that the salary of the Governor-General shall not be altered during his continuance in office. The Bill amends the Governor-General Act 1974 to change the sum payable for the salary of the Governor-General from $310,000 to $365,000. The proposed salary has been set so that it moderately exceeds the estimated average salary of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia over the notional three year term of the appointment of the Governor-General. This is consistent with the convention that has applied since 1974. The amendment will take effect on Royal Assent.
This Bill will result in increased expenditure of approximately $48,700 in 2003-04 and $55,000 in 2004-05 and subsequent financial years. However, the net financial impact of the new arrangements is unquantifiable as it is not possible to estimate the exact taxation liabilities or retirement allowances, which will depend on the individual financial circumstances of the Governor-General. The overall impact, however, is expected to be negligible.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
This clause provides for the Act to be cited as the Governor-General Amendment Act 2003.
This clause provides for the Act to commence on Royal Assent.
This clause provides that an Act specified in the Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the Schedule, and that any other item in the Schedule operates according to its terms.
Section 3 of the Governor-General Act 1974 provides that the annual sum payable for the salary of the Governor-General shall be $310,000.
Item 1 omits the annual sum of $310,000 and substitutes a new annual sum of $365,000.