Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

This is a great opportunity to talk about the GST in Western Australia. Members will be pleased to know that there is support in this chamber, from all members from Western Australia, for doing something about the GST. But the approach is very different. One of the things I'd like to do today is to have a look at the different approaches of the Liberal Party and the Labor Party in relation to the GST. The Liberal Party is committed to a floor in the GST, and the Prime Minister has made that very clear. We're also committed to the Productivity Commission review. This is a very important approach. When we have a look at the different approaches of the parties, we can see that the Labor Party has a smoke-and-mirrors approach and the Liberal Party has a real approach to achieving change.

When we looked at the Labor Party's submission to the Productivity Commission review, what did it say? Shamefully, it said:

The WAFPLP seek an outcome to this situation, but one that doesn’t negatively impact other States and Territories.

They absolutely gave away the opportunity that they had to stand up for Western Australia and to deliver real change for WA. That's not the approach that we're taking. When the Treasurer announced the Productivity Commission approach, he did so saying that the approach was taken because of the commitment of the WA Liberal members and senators to making sure that we fix this problem in a way that sticks.

In relation to what has been achieved already, $1.2 billion of top-ups have been made in the last two years alone. A $2.3 billion infrastructure package negotiated with the state government, including $1.6 billion worth of federal funds, has been committed to Western Australia for important infrastructure. Then there's the $1.2 billion for the Perth Freight Link that sits there ready for the state government to receive from the federal government for the important project of getting cars and trucks from the Kwinana Freeway to the Fremantle port.

We hear a lot from the member for Cowan in relation to the GST. It's very interesting when you compare what she said in the chamber today to what she says to her constituents. In a letter that the member for Cowan sent to her constituents, she said: 'WA Labor has been working for years for a better GST deal for WA. The process of getting WA a better GST share is going to be long and complex. Since Labor is not in government federally, we cannot commit to a process for doing so since we do not yet know everything that needs to be changed.' I think that absolutely sums up the position of the Labor Party in this chamber. The Labor Party have announced a $1.6 billion fund. There isn't a problem they've had in the past which they haven't solved by taxing more and spending more. It's a big promise and it's like the promises they've made in the past and never followed through on.

In 2007, Kevin Rudd promised a $100 million a year infrastructure fund and it never happened. In 2010, Wayne Swan promised a $2 billion WA infrastructure fund and it never happened. There was a review by Mr Swan in 2012 and it never happened. The minister stole my thunder in relation to the member for Perth's interview on Sky News where he couldn't explain how the $1.6 billion promise will be funded by the Labor Party. He said that it's been 'backed in by shadow cabinet'; they're going to fund it because 'it's been assessed by Chris Bowen'. He said, 'It's funded. It will be funded.' You cannot believe Labor's position that fixing the GST issue for Western Australia means that they've got a big bucket of money and an infrastructure fund—more tax, more spend—but their solution does not, in any way, change the distribution of the GST. Is it believable? Absolutely not. It cannot be believable. If you ask the Labor Party to explain to this House whether they have a plan to fix the distribution of the GST that actually changes the distribution of the GST, they will say no. I encourage newspapers like the Hobart Mercury to put the question to Bill Shorten: does Labor have a plan to change the distribution of the GST? The answer is no. The Labor Party members in this chamber should be very honest in relation to that fact, but they're not because it's all smoke and mirrors.

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