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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
2002-2003
The Parliament of
the
Commonwealth of
Australia
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
Presented and read a first
time
Abolition
of the Gold Travel Pass for Former Politicians (Reflecting Community Standards)
Bill 2003
No. ,
2003
(Mr Organ)
A Bill
for an Act to provide for comprehensive reduction of travel entitlements for
former Members of the Parliament, and for related purposes
Contents
A Bill for an Act to provide for comprehensive reduction
of travel entitlements for former Members of the Parliament, and for related
purposes
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
This Act may be cited as the Abolition of the Gold Travel Pass for
Former Politicians (Reflecting Community Standards) Act 2003.
(1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table
commences, or is taken to have commenced, on the day or at the time specified in
column 2 of the table.
Commencement information |
||
---|---|---|
Column 1 |
Column 2 |
Column 3 |
Provision(s) |
Commencement |
Date/Details |
1. Part 1 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this
table |
The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent |
|
2. Parts 2 to 5 and Schedule 1 |
1 January 2004, provided the Parliament has appropriated funds for the
purposes of this Act. |
|
Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act
as originally passed by the Parliament and assented to. It will not be expanded
to deal with provisions inserted in this Act after assent.
(2) Column 3 of the table is for additional information that is not part
of this Act. This information may be included in any published version of this
Act.
(3) If the Parliament has not appropriated funds for the purposes of this
Act by 30 December 2003, the provisions covered by item 2 of the
table, do not commence.
The following is a simplified outline of this Act:
• This Act repeals the entitlement of former Members of the
Parliament to severance travel and to hold a Life Gold Pass.
• Part 2 deletes provisions in the Remuneration Tribunal
Determination providing for payment of severance travel and relating to Life
Gold Passes.
• Part 3 establishes limited travel entitlements for former
Prime Ministers.
• Part 4 provides for payment of travel and other entitlements
for a limited period to a person who retires from Parliament and to the widow or
widower of a person who dies while a Member of the Parliament.
• Part 5 sets out general conditions and arrangements for the
payment of travel entitlements under this Act and transitional
arrangements.
• Schedule 1 repeals the Members of Parliament (Life Gold
Pass) Act 2002.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
Australia does not include an external Territory.
commercial purpose means a purpose relating to the derivation
of financial gain or reward, whether as a board member, an office-holder, an
employee, a self-employed person or otherwise.
domestic travel means travel that is:
(a) wholly within Australia; and
(b) not for a commercial or personal purpose; and
(c) on a scheduled transport service or on a combination of scheduled
transport services.
former member means a person who has retired from the
Parliament.
member means a member of either House of the
Parliament.
personal purpose means a purpose solely or principally
relating to the gratification of a need or desire of the person concerned and
includes recreation, entertainment and visiting a relative or personal
friend.
retirement from the Parliament has the meaning given by
section 5.
scheduled transport service means:
(a) a scheduled air service; or
(b) a scheduled rail service; or
(c) a scheduled bus service; or
(d) a scheduled tram service; or
(e) a scheduled ferry service; or
(f) a scheduled vehicular service.
spouse, in relation to a member, includes a person who is
living with the member on a genuine domestic basis, whether or not legally
married to the member and whether or not of the same gender as the
member.
trip includes a return trip or a trip with one or more
stop-overs.
widow, in relation to a member, means the person who was the
spouse of the deceased member at the time of his or her death.
widower, in relation to a deceased member, has the same
meaning as widow.
year means:
(a) the financial year beginning on 1 July 2004; or
(b) a later financial year.
(1) For the purposes of this Act, a person retires from the
Parliament when the person ceases to be a member.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person is taken not to have
ceased to be a member while he or she continues to be entitled to the
Parliamentary allowance that was payable to him or her as a member.
(3) This Act applies to retirement from the Parliament, whether the
retirement occurs before, at or after the commencement of this
section.
The cost of travel under this Act is to be paid out of funds appropriated
by the Parliament for the purposes of this Act.
Each Act 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.
Determination 1998/26 (as amended) is modified by omitting Clauses 7.1
to 7.8 (Life Gold Pass) and Clauses 8.1 to 8.6 (Severance
Travel).
(1) A former Prime Minister who has retired from the Parliament is
entitled to domestic travel at the expense of the Commonwealth up to a total of
$2,000 per year.
(2) The Remuneration Tribunal, from time to time, may determine another
amount for the purposes of subsection (1), provided that any increase
relates directly to increases in transport costs.
(3) Entitlements under subsection (1) are in addition to any
entitlements under Part 4 of this Act.
(4) The regulations may prescribe:
(a) the process to be used for claiming and paying for trips;
and
(b) any requirements for presentation of documentation; and
(c) methods for calculating pro rata adjustments of entitlements when a
former Prime Minister retires during a year; and
(d) such other arrangements as are necessary.
(1) If a person has entitlements under this Part in relation to a
particular year, an unused entitlement may be carried forward from that year to
a later year.
(2) A person’s entitlement to travel under this Part cannot be used
or anticipated before the year or period in which the entitlement
accrues.
(1) A person who retires from the Parliament is only entitled to one
return domestic trip to Parliament House for the purpose of collecting personal
effects.
(2) The following conditions apply to a trip taken under
subsection (1):
(a) the trip must be at economy class airfare or an equivalent or lesser
cost; and
(b) the trip must use the most direct route possible; and
(c) the trip may take place on one or more forms of transport, whether
scheduled or not, and from any location in Australia; and
(d) the trip must be completed within four weeks from the day on which the
retirement occurred.
(3) The Remuneration Tribunal may make determinations regarding an
entitlement under subsection (1), provided such determinations are in
accord with the conditions set out in subsection (2).
(1) The widow or widower of a person who dies while a member is only
entitled to one return domestic trip to Parliament House for the purpose of
collecting the personal effects of the member.
(2) The following conditions apply to a trip taken under
subsection (1):
(a) the trip must be at economy class airfare or an equivalent or lesser
cost; and
(b) the trip must use the most direct route possible; and
(c) the trip may take place on one or more forms of transport, whether
scheduled or not, and from any location in Australia; and
(d) the trip must be completed within eight weeks from the day on which
the retirement occurred; and
(e) the widow or widower of the member may nominate another person to
undertake the trip on his or her behalf.
(3) The Remuneration Tribunal may make determinations regarding an
entitlement under subsection (1), provided such determinations are in
accord with the conditions set out in subsection (2).
A person’s entitlement under this Act to domestic travel is limited
to travel at the expense of the Commonwealth on the scheduled transport service
or services concerned.
Travel under Part 3 of this Act may be at any class.
Except as provided in paragraph 12(2)(e), a person’s entitlement to
travel under this Act cannot be transferred to, or used by, another
person.
(1) If:
(a) a person has accrued frequent flyer points as a result of travel at
the expense of the Commonwealth; and
(b) as a result of a choice by the person, any or all of those points are
used to enable the person to travel on a domestic trip; and
(c) if the points had not been used, the traveller would have been
entitled to the trip under this Act;
the traveller is taken to have used an entitlement under this Act in
relation to the trip.
(2) This section applies to frequent flyer points accrued after the
commencement of this section.
(3) Any frequent flyer points accrued by a member and his or her nominee
as a result of travel at the expense of the Commonwealth before retirement from
the Parliament cannot be used by or on behalf of the member or nominee after the
member has retired from the Parliament and the points so accrued become the
property of the Commonwealth at the time of the member’s
retirement.
Parliamentary Entitlements Act
(1) Nothing in this Act affects the operation of the Parliamentary
Entitlements Act 1990.
Inconsistency with Remuneration Tribunal Determination
(2) A determination of the Remuneration Tribunal has no effect to the
extent to which it is inconsistent with this Act.
Pre-commencement trips
(3) This Act does not affect an entitlement under a determination of the
Remuneration Tribunal in relation to a trip, including a return trip, that began
before the commencement of this section (even if the trip is completed after the
commencement of this section).
(1) If:
(a) a person travels at the expense of the Commonwealth; and
(b) the travel is purportedly authorised under:
(i) this Act; or
(ii) a determination of the Remuneration Tribunal made in relation to this
Act; and
(c) the person was not eligible to travel at the expense of the
Commonwealth;
the person is liable to pay to the Commonwealth an amount equal to the
amount of the expenses incurred by the Commonwealth.
(2) The amount may be recovered, as a debt due to the Commonwealth by the
person, by action in a court of competent jurisdiction.
The regulations may prescribe such transitional arrangements as are
necessary to apply during the period between the commencement of this section
and 1 July 2004.
The Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters:
(a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or
(b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving
effect to this Act.
1 The whole of the Act
Repeal the Act.