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TREASURY CORPORATION (AMENDMENT) BILL 1991
NEW SOUTH WALES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This Explanatory Note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament)
This Bill is cognate with the Public Authorities (Financial Arrangements)
Amendment Bill 1991.
The object of this Bill is to amend the Treasury Corporation Act 1983 so as:
(a) to ensure that the Treasury Corporation can serve as an agent of the
Government in cases where the Government raises finance directly rather than
as guarantor, and
(b) to ensure that financial accommodation obtained by local government councils
from the Treasury Corporation is repaid even if its validity falls into question.
Clause 1 specifies the short title of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 provides far the commencement of the proposed Act.
Clause 3 is a formal provision that gives effect to
the Schedule of amendments.
Schedule 1 makes the amendments to the Treasury Corporation Act 1983 described
more comprehensively below.
SCHEDULE 1--AMENDMENTS
Government finance
In cases where finance is raised for public purposes, the Government may continue its
present practice of acting as guarantor. Alternatively, as a result of proposed changes to
intergovernmental arrangements, it might in future raise finance in its own name.
Item 1 amends the long title of the Principal Act to indicate that the Treasury
corporation's functions extend to acting on behalf of the Government when the latter
raises finance.
Items 3 and 4 amend section 5 (Functions of Corporation) and section 6 (Agency and
other arrangements) of the Principal Act to enlarge the agency and other powers of the
Treasury Corporation, allowing it:
* to act as the Government's agent when the Government raises finance in its own
name
* to assume the liability of the Government for such finance (in which case the
Government pays the Treasury Carporation, and the Treasury Corporation
undertakes to meet the obligations of the Government, but the creditor retains
ultimate recourse to the Government).
Deposit and management of money etc.
Item 5 amends section 8 of the principal Act:
* to ensure that not only public authorities but also other public bodies and the
Government can deposit money with the Treasury Corporation for investment (a
procedure contemplated already in section 5 (1) (e1) of the principal Act, which
empowers the Corporation to accept money from those bodies and the
Government)
* to enable the Government and any public authority to authorise the Treasury
Corporation to manage the liabilities and assets of the Government or authority.
Local government council finance from Treasury Corporation
Item 6 amends section 9A of the Principal Act to make it clear that in cases where
doubt is cast on the validity of any circumstance relating to a local government council's
obtaining financial accommodation from the Treasury corporation, the council is to
continue to meet its payments and repayments to the corporation. Item 6 also amends a
cross-reference m section 9A as a consequence of proposed amendments to the Public
Authorities (Financial Arrangements) Act 1987.