Senator IAN CAMPBELL (Western Australia—Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (3.36 p.m.)—I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, I shall move:

Governor-General Amendment Bill 2003

HIH Royal Commission (Transfer of Records) Bill 2003.

I also table statements of reasons justifying the need for these bills to be considered during these sittings and seek leave to have the statements incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statements read as follows—

Governor-General Amendment Bill 2003

Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of the Bill is to set the salary of the next Governor-General.

Reasons for Urgency

The Prime Minister has announced that Major-General Michael Jeffery, AC, CVO, MC, will be sworn as Governor-General on 11 August 2003.

The salary of the Governor-General is laid down in the Governor-General Act 1974 and, by operation of the Constitution, cannot be varied during the term in office. To enable the salary to be set in time, the Governor-General Amendment Bill 2003 must pass both Houses before the conclusion of the 2003 Winter sittings.

In line with convention, the Governor-General's salary will be set to exceed moderately the estimated average salary of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia over the notional term of the appointment (in the case of General Jeffery, three years).

(Circulated by authority of the Prime Minister)

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HIH Royal Commission (Transfer of Records) Bill 2003

Purpose of the Bill

The bill allows the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to pursue efficiently and expeditiously the referrals made to it by the government following the HIH Royal Commission.

Reasons for Urgency

The HIH Royal Commissioner, Justice Neville Owen, reported to government on 4 April 2003.

The Commissioner identified 56 possible breaches of the Corporations Law and the Crimes Act (NSW) and recommended that they be referred to ASIC for further investigation and possible prosecution. The government on releasing the Royal Commissioner's Report immediately referred all the possible breaches to the relevant authorities.

The records of the Royal Commission are now held pursuant to subsection 22(2) of the Archives Act 1983.

Legislative amendments are necessary to ensure that relevant records are delivered into ASIC's possession to allow it to commence the process of further investigation, possible prosecution and referral of information to other relevant agencies.

(Circulated by authority of the Treasurer)