Senator McKIERNAN(5.22 p.m.) —On behalf of the President, I table a revised explanatory memorandum relating to the bills and move:

That these bills be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard .

Leave granted.

The speeches read as follows—

PARLIAMENTARY SERVICE BILL 1997

The bill I have just presented is a historic development for the parliament. It provides, for the first time, for the establishment and administration of a separate Parliamentary Service to support the operations of the houses of the Australian Parliament. The staff at present providing the parliament with its support services operate under administrative and staffing structures established by the Public Service Act 1922; however, it has been decided that the parliamentary administration should have its own legislation which recognises and mandates that the primary obligation of Parliamentary Service staff is to serve the parliament as a whole.

The Parliamentary Service Bill follows as much as possible the philosophy, content and structure of the Public Service Bill 1997, which changes significantly the structure of public service employment, with certain modifications necessary to ensure the independence of the parliament from executive government. It establishes an employment framework which mirrors that proposed for the Australian Public Service generally and provides specifically for the reciprocal mobility of staff between the two services without loss of accrued entitlements. Arrangements will also be put in place to ensure mobility for staff currently engaged under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act.

There are significant differences between the Parliamentary and Public Service Bills which recognise that staff in parliamentary departments serve the houses of the parliament. That distinction is reflected in the first object of the bill which is to establish an apolitical Parliamentary Service that is efficient and effective in serving the parliament. The Parliamentary Service Bill contains a statement of Parliamentary Service values and a Code of Conduct, provides for the appointment of a Parliamentary Service Commissioner, makes specific reference to the offices of Clerk of the Senate and of the House of Representatives, and provides for appointments to those offices. Tenure as clerk of either house will be for one 10-year period. The bill also stipulates conditions for earlier termination of those appointments. Occupants of the office may retire earlier once they attain the age of 55 years. Secretaries, other than clerks, are to be appointed by the Speaker and the President for five-year terms with termination arrangements similar to those applying to secretaries of executive departments. There are transitional arrangements to ensure the continuation in office of current heads of parliamentary departments.

The bill also creates the new office of Parliamentary Service Commissioner with a role similar to that of the Public Service Commissioner. The Parliamentary Service Commissioner will have the task of advising the Presiding Officers with respect to the management practices and policies of the Parliamentary Service and, if requested by the relevant Presiding Officer, of investigating and reporting on specific issues.

In broad terms, the Presiding Officers will have the same employment powers as ministers under the Public Service Bill with advice from the Parliamentary Service Commissioner. Consistent with the need to preserve the independence of the clerks as impartial advisers, the Clerks of the House of Representatives and the Senate are not to be subject to direction from the Presiding Officers in relation to the nature of their advice provided with respect to either house, to members or to committees. Secretaries of parliamentary departments, including the clerks, cannot be directed in relation to the exercise of their powers in respect of specific individuals. The Presiding Officers will have the power to give secretaries of parliamentary departments, including the clerks, general directions relating to the management and leadership of the Parliamentary Service.

While the bill provides specifically that the Parliamentary Service Commissioner is to be appointed separately and independently by the Presiding Officers, it is expected that normally the same person would fill both of these offices. This would assist in ensuring overall compatibility and consistency between the two services. However, the bill specifically provides that the commissioner cannot be subject to direction by executive government in relation to the Parliamentary Service.

Secretaries of parliamentary departments, including the two clerks, are to have the same employment powers as those proposed for departmental secretaries in the Australian Public Service.

As mentioned earlier, the bill incorporates a legally enforceable Code of Conduct and a statement of Parliamentary Service values. These values reflect the fact that staff serve the houses but in other respects mirror those of the Public Service Bill, with a parallel reference to the requirement that employment decisions in the Parliamentary Service be based on merit.

In summary, this bill gives legislative effect to the decision that the parliamentary administration should not continue to be covered by the standard Australian Public Service Act. It establishes a statutory framework and administrative arrangements broadly consistent with those for the Public Service while incorporating the changes necessary to accommodate the unique circumstances of serving the houses. It provides the houses with a set of arrangements which will allow them to continue to attract and provide a career for those staff who will be equipped to deliver the high level of service the houses currently enjoy.

The government accepted recommendations made by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts in its advisory report on the Public Service Bill 1997, and the Bill was amended accordingly by the House of Representatives. Parallel amendments were made in the relevant instances to the Parliamentary Service Bill in order to preserve the parallel nature of employment conditions and to ensure the unfettered operation of mobility between the two services. I present the revised explanatory memorandum and commend the bill to the Senate.

PARLIAMENTARY SERVICE (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) BILL 1997

The Parliamentary Service (Consequential Amendments) Bill 1997 deals with the consequential legislative amendments arising from the provisions of the Parliamentary Service Bill 1997. The Parliamentary Service (Consequential Amendments) Bill refers specifically to the following acts:

Archives Act 1983;

Audit Act 1901;

Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976;

Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973; and

the Public Employment (Consequential and Transitional) Amendment Act 1997.

The consequential amendments insert references in the relevant acts to the parliamentary departments established under the provisions of part 6 of the Parliamentary Service Bill 1997, or to the clerks and secretaries of those parliamentary departments, so as to continue the application of those acts to the parliamentary departments.

This bill will come into effect at the same time as the Parliamentary Service Act 1997 commences. The proposed amendments have no financial impact. Transitional arrangements pursuant to the enactment of the Parliamentary Service Bill are covered in part 8 of that bill and deal with employment matters relating to the staff of the Parliamentary Service in a manner equivalent to the transitional provisions of the Public Employment (Consequential and Transitional) Amendment Bill.

I commend the bill to the Senate and note that the explanatory memorandum is incorporated in that to the Parliamentary Service Bill 1997.

Ordered that further consideration of the second reading of these bills be adjourned until the first sitting day in 1998, in accordance with standing order 111.