New South Wales Consolidated Acts

GOVERNMENT SECTOR AUDIT ACT 1983 - SCHEDULE 1A

SCHEDULE 1A – Oversight of electricity industry restructuring

(Section 63G)

1 Review of Government's overall program for restructuring

(1) The Auditor-General is to review and report to Parliament on the Government's overall program for the authorised restructuring.

(2) The review is to be a review of the following--

(a) the appropriateness of the Government's strategy for the transfer of assets to the private sector for maximising financial value for taxpayers, taking into account the following--

(i) the proposed method of effecting transactions,

(ii) the proposed timing of transactions, including the impact of external factors,

(iii) any contingent liabilities that will accrue to the State,

(iv) the impact of the proposed national emissions trading scheme (including current hedging and coal contracts of State electricity corporations),

(v) the sale price of the assets that is reasonably expected having regard to professional advice and the Government's preliminary estimates,

(vi) the impact of increased debt over the past 5 years in relation to the assets,

(vii) any relevant Commonwealth legislation regarding competition or foreign ownership,

(viii) any other factors that may impact on the potential sale price of the assets,

(b) the financial impact of the proposed community safety net proposed for the authorised restructuring, in particular the protections for workers, pensioners and low-income earners, including an assessment of the consistency of those benefits with previous transactions involving the transfer of assets to the private sector.

(3) The review of the appropriateness of the Government's strategy for the transfer of assets to the private sector is to be conducted on the basis of a statement of that strategy as provided to the Auditor-General by the Treasurer for the purposes of the review.

2 Report to Parliament

(1) The Auditor-General is to report to each House of Parliament on the results of the review conducted by the Auditor-General under this Schedule as soon as practicable after the review is completed.

(2) If a House of Parliament is not sitting when the Auditor-General seeks to present the report, the Auditor-General is to present the report to the Clerk of the House concerned.

3 Supplementary powers

(1) The Treasurer is to ensure that the Auditor-General has access to such information and resources as may be necessary to enable the Auditor-General to exercise the functions conferred by this Schedule.

(2) For the purposes of this Schedule, the Auditor-General may--

(a) exercise investigatory powers conferred on the Auditor-General under this Act, and

(b) engage any person or body with financial expertise to examine arrangements made or proposed for the purposes of the authorised restructuring and to advise the Auditor-General on those arrangements.

(3) The functions conferred by this Schedule are in addition to, and do not derogate from, any other function of the Auditor-General.