❓ The Premier addresses the impact of the federal budget on WA, criticising the GST's effects and the federal government's financial management, while also defending the state's financial position and warning against burden-shifting.
AnsweredQoN 46Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FEDERAL BUDGET, IMPACT ON WESTERN AUSTRALIA
I refer to the federal budget handed down yesterday. Can the Premier explain what impact the federal budget will have on Western Australia? Dr GALLOP
I refer to the federal budget handed down yesterday. Can the Premier explain what impact the federal budget will have on Western Australia? Dr GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
The first point about the federal Government is that it acknowledged what the Labor Party has been saying for the past couple of years; that is, the goods and services tax would have a negative impact on the economic growth and social welfare of Australia. The truth is that since the GST was implemented in Australia, investment and growth have fallen to a point at which, in the December quarter, negative figures were recorded. We have seen small business clobbered and low income earners disadvantaged by the GST without adequate compensation. That is acknowledged by the federal budget brought down last night by the coalition Government in Canberra. The Government acknowledged it by putting in place various measures for self-funded retirees and pensioners. The federal budget revealed what we had been saying all along and what people, like the Leader of the Opposition, were denying; that is, that the GST has a deleterious effect on economic growth and social welfare. There are three very important aspects of this budget for Western Australia. First, it contains no relief for the small business sector, which has, as I said earlier, been clobbered by the GST. Mr Barnett: You put a five per cent tax on it last night. Dr GALLOP: Will the Leader of the Opposition ring up his federal prime ministerial colleague and ask him to ask the federal Liberal Party to send back to the people of Australia the $800 000 which was given to the party by HIH Insurance and which has forever been lost because of the crisis? That insurance company sent the Liberal Party $800 000 - $800 000! The fact that small business has had such a tough time has led this Government in its first 100 days to lower the Totalisator Agency Board turnover tax, and very soon we will reduce the stamp duty on workers compensation premiums, to try to give the small business sector some assistance. The second point about the budget is that the State is being asked to pay for some of the Howard Government’s election sweeteners. The Commonwealth Government is up to its old tricks of offering extra money and expecting the States to provide additional funding. Our budget is already under serious pressure - Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
Dr GALLOP replied: The first point about the federal Government is that it acknowledged what the Labor Party has been saying for the past couple of years; that is, the goods and services tax would have a negative impact on the economic growth and social welfare of Australia. The truth is that since the GST was implemented in Australia, investment and growth have fallen to a point at which, in the December quarter, negative figures were recorded. We have seen small business clobbered and low income earners disadvantaged by the GST without adequate compensation. That is acknowledged by the federal budget brought down last night by the coalition Government in Canberra. The Government acknowledged it by putting in place various measures for self-funded retirees and pensioners. The federal budget revealed what we had been saying all along and what people, like the Leader of the Opposition, were denying; that is, that the GST has a deleterious effect on economic growth and social welfare. There are three very important aspects of this budget for Western Australia. First, it contains no relief for the small business sector, which has, as I said earlier, been clobbered by the GST. Mr Barnett: You put a five per cent tax on it last night. Dr GALLOP: Will the Leader of the Opposition ring up his federal prime ministerial colleague and ask him to ask the federal Liberal Party to send back to the people of Australia the $800 000 which was given to the party by HIH Insurance and which has forever been lost because of the crisis? That insurance company sent the Liberal Party $800 000 - $800 000! The fact that small business has had such a tough time has led this Government in its first 100 days to lower the Totalisator Agency Board turnover tax, and very soon we will reduce the stamp duty on workers compensation premiums, to try to give the small business sector some assistance. The second point about the budget is that the State is being asked to pay for some of the Howard Government’s election sweeteners. The Commonwealth Government is up to its old tricks of offering extra money and expecting the States to provide additional funding. Our budget is already under serious pressure - Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
The first point about the federal Government is that it acknowledged what the Labor Party has been saying for the past couple of years; that is, the goods and services tax would have a negative impact on the economic growth and social welfare of Australia. The truth is that since the GST was implemented in Australia, investment and growth have fallen to a point at which, in the December quarter, negative figures were recorded. We have seen small business clobbered and low income earners disadvantaged by the GST without adequate compensation. That is acknowledged by the federal budget brought down last night by the coalition Government in Canberra. The Government acknowledged it by putting in place various measures for self-funded retirees and pensioners. The federal budget revealed what we had been saying all along and what people, like the Leader of the Opposition, were denying; that is, that the GST has a deleterious effect on economic growth and social welfare. There are three very important aspects of this budget for Western Australia. First, it contains no relief for the small business sector, which has, as I said earlier, been clobbered by the GST. Mr Barnett: You put a five per cent tax on it last night. Dr GALLOP: Will the Leader of the Opposition ring up his federal prime ministerial colleague and ask him to ask the federal Liberal Party to send back to the people of Australia the $800 000 which was given to the party by HIH Insurance and which has forever been lost because of the crisis? That insurance company sent the Liberal Party $800 000 - $800 000! The fact that small business has had such a tough time has led this Government in its first 100 days to lower the Totalisator Agency Board turnover tax, and very soon we will reduce the stamp duty on workers compensation premiums, to try to give the small business sector some assistance. The second point about the budget is that the State is being asked to pay for some of the Howard Government’s election sweeteners. The Commonwealth Government is up to its old tricks of offering extra money and expecting the States to provide additional funding. Our budget is already under serious pressure - Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
There are three very important aspects of this budget for Western Australia. First, it contains no relief for the small business sector, which has, as I said earlier, been clobbered by the GST. Mr Barnett: You put a five per cent tax on it last night. Dr GALLOP: Will the Leader of the Opposition ring up his federal prime ministerial colleague and ask him to ask the federal Liberal Party to send back to the people of Australia the $800 000 which was given to the party by HIH Insurance and which has forever been lost because of the crisis? That insurance company sent the Liberal Party $800 000 - $800 000! The fact that small business has had such a tough time has led this Government in its first 100 days to lower the Totalisator Agency Board turnover tax, and very soon we will reduce the stamp duty on workers compensation premiums, to try to give the small business sector some assistance. The second point about the budget is that the State is being asked to pay for some of the Howard Government’s election sweeteners. The Commonwealth Government is up to its old tricks of offering extra money and expecting the States to provide additional funding. Our budget is already under serious pressure - Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
Mr Barnett: You put a five per cent tax on it last night. Dr GALLOP: Will the Leader of the Opposition ring up his federal prime ministerial colleague and ask him to ask the federal Liberal Party to send back to the people of Australia the $800 000 which was given to the party by HIH Insurance and which has forever been lost because of the crisis? That insurance company sent the Liberal Party $800 000 - $800 000! The fact that small business has had such a tough time has led this Government in its first 100 days to lower the Totalisator Agency Board turnover tax, and very soon we will reduce the stamp duty on workers compensation premiums, to try to give the small business sector some assistance. The second point about the budget is that the State is being asked to pay for some of the Howard Government’s election sweeteners. The Commonwealth Government is up to its old tricks of offering extra money and expecting the States to provide additional funding. Our budget is already under serious pressure - Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
Dr GALLOP: Will the Leader of the Opposition ring up his federal prime ministerial colleague and ask him to ask the federal Liberal Party to send back to the people of Australia the $800 000 which was given to the party by HIH Insurance and which has forever been lost because of the crisis? That insurance company sent the Liberal Party $800 000 - $800 000! The fact that small business has had such a tough time has led this Government in its first 100 days to lower the Totalisator Agency Board turnover tax, and very soon we will reduce the stamp duty on workers compensation premiums, to try to give the small business sector some assistance. The second point about the budget is that the State is being asked to pay for some of the Howard Government’s election sweeteners. The Commonwealth Government is up to its old tricks of offering extra money and expecting the States to provide additional funding. Our budget is already under serious pressure - Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
The second point about the budget is that the State is being asked to pay for some of the Howard Government’s election sweeteners. The Commonwealth Government is up to its old tricks of offering extra money and expecting the States to provide additional funding. Our budget is already under serious pressure - Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
Dr GALLOP replied: The first point about the federal Government is that it acknowledged what the Labor Party has been saying for the past couple of years; that is, the goods and services tax would have a negative impact on the economic growth and social welfare of Australia. The truth is that since the GST was implemented in Australia, investment and growth have fallen to a point at which, in the December quarter, negative figures were recorded. We have seen small business clobbered and low income earners disadvantaged by the GST without adequate compensation. That is acknowledged by the federal budget brought down last night by the coalition Government in Canberra. The Government acknowledged it by putting in place various measures for self-funded retirees and pensioners. The federal budget revealed what we had been saying all along and what people, like the Leader of the Opposition, were denying; that is, that the GST has a deleterious effect on economic growth and social welfare. There are three very important aspects of this budget for Western Australia. First, it contains no relief for the small business sector, which has, as I said earlier, been clobbered by the GST. Mr Barnett: You put a five per cent tax on it last night. Dr GALLOP: Will the Leader of the Opposition ring up his federal prime ministerial colleague and ask him to ask the federal Liberal Party to send back to the people of Australia the $800 000 which was given to the party by HIH Insurance and which has forever been lost because of the crisis? That insurance company sent the Liberal Party $800 000 - $800 000! The fact that small business has had such a tough time has led this Government in its first 100 days to lower the Totalisator Agency Board turnover tax, and very soon we will reduce the stamp duty on workers compensation premiums, to try to give the small business sector some assistance. The second point about the budget is that the State is being asked to pay for some of the Howard Government’s election sweeteners. The Commonwealth Government is up to its old tricks of offering extra money and expecting the States to provide additional funding. Our budget is already under serious pressure - Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
The first point about the federal Government is that it acknowledged what the Labor Party has been saying for the past couple of years; that is, the goods and services tax would have a negative impact on the economic growth and social welfare of Australia. The truth is that since the GST was implemented in Australia, investment and growth have fallen to a point at which, in the December quarter, negative figures were recorded. We have seen small business clobbered and low income earners disadvantaged by the GST without adequate compensation. That is acknowledged by the federal budget brought down last night by the coalition Government in Canberra. The Government acknowledged it by putting in place various measures for self-funded retirees and pensioners. The federal budget revealed what we had been saying all along and what people, like the Leader of the Opposition, were denying; that is, that the GST has a deleterious effect on economic growth and social welfare. There are three very important aspects of this budget for Western Australia. First, it contains no relief for the small business sector, which has, as I said earlier, been clobbered by the GST. Mr Barnett: You put a five per cent tax on it last night. Dr GALLOP: Will the Leader of the Opposition ring up his federal prime ministerial colleague and ask him to ask the federal Liberal Party to send back to the people of Australia the $800 000 which was given to the party by HIH Insurance and which has forever been lost because of the crisis? That insurance company sent the Liberal Party $800 000 - $800 000! The fact that small business has had such a tough time has led this Government in its first 100 days to lower the Totalisator Agency Board turnover tax, and very soon we will reduce the stamp duty on workers compensation premiums, to try to give the small business sector some assistance. The second point about the budget is that the State is being asked to pay for some of the Howard Government’s election sweeteners. The Commonwealth Government is up to its old tricks of offering extra money and expecting the States to provide additional funding. Our budget is already under serious pressure - Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
There are three very important aspects of this budget for Western Australia. First, it contains no relief for the small business sector, which has, as I said earlier, been clobbered by the GST. Mr Barnett: You put a five per cent tax on it last night. Dr GALLOP: Will the Leader of the Opposition ring up his federal prime ministerial colleague and ask him to ask the federal Liberal Party to send back to the people of Australia the $800 000 which was given to the party by HIH Insurance and which has forever been lost because of the crisis? That insurance company sent the Liberal Party $800 000 - $800 000! The fact that small business has had such a tough time has led this Government in its first 100 days to lower the Totalisator Agency Board turnover tax, and very soon we will reduce the stamp duty on workers compensation premiums, to try to give the small business sector some assistance. The second point about the budget is that the State is being asked to pay for some of the Howard Government’s election sweeteners. The Commonwealth Government is up to its old tricks of offering extra money and expecting the States to provide additional funding. Our budget is already under serious pressure - Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
Mr Barnett: You put a five per cent tax on it last night. Dr GALLOP: Will the Leader of the Opposition ring up his federal prime ministerial colleague and ask him to ask the federal Liberal Party to send back to the people of Australia the $800 000 which was given to the party by HIH Insurance and which has forever been lost because of the crisis? That insurance company sent the Liberal Party $800 000 - $800 000! The fact that small business has had such a tough time has led this Government in its first 100 days to lower the Totalisator Agency Board turnover tax, and very soon we will reduce the stamp duty on workers compensation premiums, to try to give the small business sector some assistance. The second point about the budget is that the State is being asked to pay for some of the Howard Government’s election sweeteners. The Commonwealth Government is up to its old tricks of offering extra money and expecting the States to provide additional funding. Our budget is already under serious pressure - Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
Dr GALLOP: Will the Leader of the Opposition ring up his federal prime ministerial colleague and ask him to ask the federal Liberal Party to send back to the people of Australia the $800 000 which was given to the party by HIH Insurance and which has forever been lost because of the crisis? That insurance company sent the Liberal Party $800 000 - $800 000! The fact that small business has had such a tough time has led this Government in its first 100 days to lower the Totalisator Agency Board turnover tax, and very soon we will reduce the stamp duty on workers compensation premiums, to try to give the small business sector some assistance. The second point about the budget is that the State is being asked to pay for some of the Howard Government’s election sweeteners. The Commonwealth Government is up to its old tricks of offering extra money and expecting the States to provide additional funding. Our budget is already under serious pressure - Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
The second point about the budget is that the State is being asked to pay for some of the Howard Government’s election sweeteners. The Commonwealth Government is up to its old tricks of offering extra money and expecting the States to provide additional funding. Our budget is already under serious pressure - Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
Dr GALLOP: It is courtesy of those opposite. I ran into the Parliament the other day and unfortunately I tripped over the member for Vasse’s dictionary. It opened up at the word “grumpy”. The definition read, “Member for Cottesloe and Leader of the Opposition”. The Leader of the Opposition should not be so grumpy because at the moment a lot of money is coming into Western Australia courtesy of him. A book has been started on how long he will be in his current position. All that hot money is coming into Western Australia. The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
The third important aspect of this budget and the real problem for the State is this: the federal Government has run down its cash surplus, to quote The Australian Financial Review , to “a remarkable degree”. The operating balance is in deficit. If future Commonwealth Governments, be they coalition or Labor, do what past Commonwealth Governments have done, when the burden of this irresponsibility impacts, they will try to pass it across to the State Governments. My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
My friend Kim Beazley will be in the Lodge pretty soon. I have a message to Kim from the taxpayers of Western Australia: any attempt by any federal Government, even if it is a Labor Government, to repair the Howard Government budget legacy by passing the responsibility onto the States will not be tolerated. I send that message through to my federal Labor colleagues. This Government will not tolerate any attempt by them to pass the failings of the Howard Government onto the health, education and police sectors in Western Australia. The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
The SPEAKER: The interjection rate during the last answer was such that I, let alone Hansard, could not hear what was going on for some of the time. I allowed it to continue because the Premier appeared to enjoy the interjections. However, I will call members to order if the noise gets to that level again.
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