❓ Premier Cook defends WA's GST share under the Albanese government, highlighting its importance for state investments and criticising Peter Dutton's past opposition to the deal.
AnsweredQoN 54Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GST DISTRIBUTION
54. Mr H.T. JONES to the Premier:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
responsible management of Western Australia's finances. Can the Premier outline to the house what the federal Labor
government's guarantee to protect WA's fair share of the GST
means for Western Australia; and can the Premier advise the house of
whether he is aware of any credible threats to Western Australia's
share of the GST?
54. Mr H.T. JONES to the Premier:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
responsible management of Western Australia's finances. Can the Premier outline to the house what the federal Labor
government's guarantee to protect WA's fair share of the GST
means for Western Australia; and can the Premier advise the house of
whether he is aware of any credible threats to Western Australia's
share of the GST?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the
question, and it is a beaut! It provides me with the opportunity to say that we
have just seen the Albanese government come
to Western Australia en masse, as a cabinet, for the third time in just two
years— its time in office. Anthony Albanese is a great friend of Western
Australia and the people of Western Australia. In the two years he has been in
government the Prime Minister has been to Western Australia more times than the previous three Prime Ministers combined.
That is a sign of his commitment to Western Australia, Western Australian jobs and the Western Australian economy. It
was great to see his entire cabinet in town, providing great opportunities for people in the community, and industry
leaders, to engage with the cabinet, with the Prime Minister's
government , to make sure that it can continue to support Western Australia—which,
the Prime Minister observed, is the engine room of the nation's
economy.
Not only did the Prime Minister
commit to continuing to support Western Australia being the engine room of the nation's economy, he also committed, once
again—should it have needed to be recommitted—to Western Australia's fair share of the GST arrangements. The GST deal is locked in under the Anthony
Albanese Labor government. I hear the sighs coming from the member for Vasse!
The Liberal Party was the chief protagonist in the concocted lie that there is
somehow a threat to Western Australia's fair share of the GST, but
locked in it is, under the Albanese government.
The
Prime Minister knows that although we comprise 11 per cent of the nation's
population, we secure only 7.5 per cent of the GST pool. This guarantee
has given WA the certainty necessary to make investments in great schools and
great hospitals, and to assist us in continuing to provide cost-of-living
relief. Just today there was investment into a
$130 million project to provide social and affordable housing for inner city
residents at the Pier Street site. Without the GST reforms in 2023–24,
which were secured by a WA Labor government, WA would now receive less than 10 per
cent of our population share—only $900 million from an estimated $86 billion
national GST pool. With just 70� in the dollar this year, WA will still
contribute $2.8 billion to support the other states in 2023–24. The PM has been unequivocal in his support for the
current GST arrangement. In his words, WA drives the national economy.
But there are threats to our fair
share of the GST, and one of them is none other than Peter Dutton. The most
notorious GST sceptic is the federal Leader of the Liberal Party. That is the
biggest threat.
Several members interjected.
Mr R.H. COOK : Member, it is
not that long!
The
most notorious sceptic of the GST is, of course, Peter Dutton. But, luckily for
the member for Vasse, she does not have to take my word for it; she just
has to listen to senior Liberal Party members. Former Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull said something in his book, released in 2020, about when the then
federal cabinet was discussing the GST deal. He said —
� there remained enormous anxiety
around the cabinet table when discussing the GST deal, especially from Peter
Dutton.
Julie Bishop, a great friend of Western
Australia, a senior Western Australian Liberal in a former federal Liberal government said in The West Australian in
March 2019 that Peter Dutton ''fought against WA getting a better GST deal''.
She also said —
''Peter Dutton is on record as
arguing against WA getting a better GST deal.''
But it gets worse. Former Prime
Minister Scott Morrison said at a press conference in 2018 that if Dutton was
PM, he would ''scuttle'' the WA GST package.
Another great friend of Western Australia
is the former WA Liberal cabinet minister Ken Wyatt, who said in 2018 that Peter Dutton's plan for our state's
GST would be ''walking back from and walking away from Western Australians''.
When the staggering hypocrisy from the Liberal Party was
exposed on the floor of Parliament just the other day and it was pointed out
that Dutton's GST plan was to walk back the WA GST deal, federal
Liberal representative Rick Wilson, the
member for O'Connor, said Peter Dutton's position does not
matter. It does. Peter Dutton's words do not even weigh as much as the hot air that comes from his
mouth. The biggest threat to the WA GST deal is a Liberal Party
government, and Peter Dutton is the head of the Liberal Party. We know what
will happen if Western Australians trust the Liberal Party ever again: it will
walk back the GST deal and Western Australians will be the poorer for it. Peter
Dutton and the Liberal Party are the biggest threat to the WA GST deal.
question, and it is a beaut! It provides me with the opportunity to say that we
have just seen the Albanese government come
to Western Australia en masse, as a cabinet, for the third time in just two
years— its time in office. Anthony Albanese is a great friend of Western
Australia and the people of Western Australia. In the two years he has been in
government the Prime Minister has been to Western Australia more times than the previous three Prime Ministers combined.
That is a sign of his commitment to Western Australia, Western Australian jobs and the Western Australian economy. It
was great to see his entire cabinet in town, providing great opportunities for people in the community, and industry
leaders, to engage with the cabinet, with the Prime Minister's
government , to make sure that it can continue to support Western Australia—which,
the Prime Minister observed, is the engine room of the nation's
economy.
Not only did the Prime Minister
commit to continuing to support Western Australia being the engine room of the nation's economy, he also committed, once
again—should it have needed to be recommitted—to Western Australia's fair share of the GST arrangements. The GST deal is locked in under the Anthony
Albanese Labor government. I hear the sighs coming from the member for Vasse!
The Liberal Party was the chief protagonist in the concocted lie that there is
somehow a threat to Western Australia's fair share of the GST, but
locked in it is, under the Albanese government.
The
Prime Minister knows that although we comprise 11 per cent of the nation's
population, we secure only 7.5 per cent of the GST pool. This guarantee
has given WA the certainty necessary to make investments in great schools and
great hospitals, and to assist us in continuing to provide cost-of-living
relief. Just today there was investment into a
$130 million project to provide social and affordable housing for inner city
residents at the Pier Street site. Without the GST reforms in 2023–24,
which were secured by a WA Labor government, WA would now receive less than 10 per
cent of our population share—only $900 million from an estimated $86 billion
national GST pool. With just 70� in the dollar this year, WA will still
contribute $2.8 billion to support the other states in 2023–24. The PM has been unequivocal in his support for the
current GST arrangement. In his words, WA drives the national economy.
But there are threats to our fair
share of the GST, and one of them is none other than Peter Dutton. The most
notorious GST sceptic is the federal Leader of the Liberal Party. That is the
biggest threat.
Several members interjected.
Mr R.H. COOK : Member, it is
not that long!
The
most notorious sceptic of the GST is, of course, Peter Dutton. But, luckily for
the member for Vasse, she does not have to take my word for it; she just
has to listen to senior Liberal Party members. Former Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull said something in his book, released in 2020, about when the then
federal cabinet was discussing the GST deal. He said —
� there remained enormous anxiety
around the cabinet table when discussing the GST deal, especially from Peter
Dutton.
Julie Bishop, a great friend of Western
Australia, a senior Western Australian Liberal in a former federal Liberal government said in The West Australian in
March 2019 that Peter Dutton ''fought against WA getting a better GST deal''.
She also said —
''Peter Dutton is on record as
arguing against WA getting a better GST deal.''
But it gets worse. Former Prime
Minister Scott Morrison said at a press conference in 2018 that if Dutton was
PM, he would ''scuttle'' the WA GST package.
Another great friend of Western Australia
is the former WA Liberal cabinet minister Ken Wyatt, who said in 2018 that Peter Dutton's plan for our state's
GST would be ''walking back from and walking away from Western Australians''.
When the staggering hypocrisy from the Liberal Party was
exposed on the floor of Parliament just the other day and it was pointed out
that Dutton's GST plan was to walk back the WA GST deal, federal
Liberal representative Rick Wilson, the
member for O'Connor, said Peter Dutton's position does not
matter. It does. Peter Dutton's words do not even weigh as much as the hot air that comes from his
mouth. The biggest threat to the WA GST deal is a Liberal Party
government, and Peter Dutton is the head of the Liberal Party. We know what
will happen if Western Australians trust the Liberal Party ever again: it will
walk back the GST deal and Western Australians will be the poorer for it. Peter
Dutton and the Liberal Party are the biggest threat to the WA GST deal.
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