2004-05 BUDGET PAPER No. 3

FEDERAL

FINANCIAL RELATIONS

2004-05

CIRCULATED BY

THE HONOURABLE PETER COSTELLO MP

TREASURER OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA AND

SENATOR THE HONOURABLE NICK MINCHIN

MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

FOR THE INFORMATION OF HONOURABLE MEMBERS

ON THE OCCASION OF THE BUDGET 2004-05

11 MAY 2004

ISBN 1 74149 134 7

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Foreword

Budget Paper No. 3 is one of a series of Budget Papers that provides information to supplement the Budget Speech. A full list of the series is printed on the inside cover of this paper.

This Budget Paper presents information on the Australian Government’s financial relations with State, Territory and local governments. This includes information on revenue provision and payments, as well as an overview of fiscal developments in the States and Territories.

Notes

This paper uses the following style conventions.

The Australian Capital Territory Government and the Northern Territory Government are referred to as ‘the Territories’. References to the ‘States’ or ‘each State’ include the State governments and Territory governments.

The state and local government sector is denoted as the ‘state/local sector’. References to the ‘state/local sector’ include the Territory governments unless otherwise stated.

Budget year refers to 2004-05, while the forward years refer to 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Figures in tables, and generally in the text, have been rounded. Discrepancies in tables between totals and sums of components reflect rounding unless otherwise noted. Percentage changes in tables are based on the underlying unrounded amounts.

One billion is equal to one thousand million.

Estimates of $100,000 and over are generally rounded to the nearest tenth of a million.

Estimates midway between rounding points are rounded up.

Tables use the following notations:

    na    not applicable
  0      zero
  -       nil
    *      unquantifiable
    ..     not zero, but rounded to zero
    $m millions of dollars

The following abbreviations are used, where appropriate:

NSW	New South Wales
VIC	Victoria
QLD	Queensland
WA	Western Australia
SA	South Australia
TAS	Tasmania
ACT	Australian Capital Territory
NT	Northern Territory

In this paper the term Commonwealth refers to the Commonwealth of Australia. The term is used when referring to the legal entity of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The term Australian Government is used when referring to the Government and the decisions and activities made by the Government on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia.