2016‑2017

The Parliament of the

Commonwealth of Australia

THE SENATE

Presented and read a first time

Productivity Commission Amendment (Addressing Inequality) Bill 2017

No.      , 2017

(Senator McAllister)

A Bill for an Act to amend the Productivity Commission Act 1998, and for related purposes

Contents

1............ Short title............................................................................................. 1

2............ Commencement................................................................................... 1

3............ Schedules............................................................................................ 2

Schedule 1—Amendments                                                                                                3

Productivity Commission Act 1998                                                                          3

A Bill for an Act to amend the Productivity Commission Act 1998, and for related purposes

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1  Short title

                   This Act is the Productivity Commission Amendment (Addressing Inequality) Act 2017.

2  Commencement

             (1)  Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Note:          This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.

             (2)  Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

3  Schedules

                   Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Amendments

Productivity Commission Act 1998

1  After paragraph 6(1)(f)

Insert:

                    (fa)  to undertake research on inequality and its effects on the Australian economy and community, and report to the Minister; and

2  At the end of subsection 8(1)

Add:

            ; and (k)  to mitigate the negative effects of inequality on the Australian economy and the Australian community.

3  At the end of Part 4

Add:

Division 3—Inequality reports

22A  Preparation and tabling of inequality reports

             (1)  The Commission must provide inequality reports to the Minister in time to allow the Minister to table copies of the reports in accordance with subsection (2).

             (2)  The Minister must cause a copy of an inequality report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the tabling of an intergenerational report under clause 20 of Schedule 1 to the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998.

22B  Contents of inequality reports

                   An inequality report is to assess:

                     (a)  economic inequality in Australia’s regions and cities; and

                     (b)  the effects of economic inequality on:

                              (i)  intergenerational mobility; and

                             (ii)  access to social, economic, educational and other opportunities for members of the Australian community; and

                            (iii)  social, economic, educational and other outcomes for members of the Australian community; and

                            (iv)  the performance of the Australian economy; and

                     (c)  the extent to which current Government policies affect economic inequality.