Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's been interesting listening to some of the members opposite, particularly when we recall that it was only on 26 February, in a West Australian podcast, that the member for Burt said 'fixing the GST system is almost politically impossible'. Well, we have proven that it is not. I'm very proud of that on this side of the House, as a very proud and active Western Australian member of this parliament. This bill is a testament to the work of all of the Western Australian Liberal members of parliament and senators, and I want to thank them for their long-term commitment to this and their work behind the scenes as well.

All of us on this side and all of us in this chamber—and I see the member for O'Connor is sitting in the chamber—are very, very committed and active in this space. All of the WA members and senators in the government are absolutely determined and committed, and we see the results of that through this legislation. And we all knew very directly in Western Australia how serious it was for our state that we were only receiving 30c in the dollar. There was, without any question, white hot anger in Western Australia. And we felt it in the same way. We saw the work that WA had put into its economy at the time. Part of the anger was centred around the fact that Western Australians believed they were doing more than their fair share in providing for the rest of Australia. They were happy to do their fair share—and they saw the investment that had gone into developing our amazing resources and into exports and the work that was being done on the ground. We saw a state that was committed to developing its natural resources. But other states locked theirs up and then expected Western Australia to support them.

I look at some of the work that's been done and I want to congratulate and thank all of my WA colleagues. We have worked consistently with the now Prime Minister, formerly the Treasurer, who understood, when we sat down with him on a regular basis and talked through this, why we needed to resolve the GST situation for Western Australia. The genesis of that has been several years in the making. It wasn't a simple process but, by gee, this government has got there, thanks to the work of the Liberal members in WA and, of course, the senators as well and the Prime Minister and Treasurer. The Productivity Commission work evolved out of those earlier efforts, and the solution is a very sound one.

The only reason that we can actually provide these sorts of results for Western Australia and every other state is the fact that we're running such a sound economic set of policies—very strong. We are seeing over one million jobs created by great businesses who have had the confidence to invest and employ people. We see unemployment at five per cent. We have seen the small business tax cuts and tax relief for Australians. That's because we're running very sound economic policies. As the Prime Minister has always said, the basis for everything the government does is founded on a strong economy. All the essential services that Australians expect of government stem from sound economic management.

Back in those years we saw the iron ore prices doubling in Western Australia, the construction boom of new mining projects and the infrastructure costs that went with that sudden expansion. At one point we had 1,000 people a week coming into Western Australia to fill those jobs and they expected everything from roads to transport, housing and accommodation. There was even massive pressure on our local major businesses, particularly on those in the earthmoving, transport and logistics sector, who saw much of their workforce move north, and extra costs that applied to businesses and industry, particularly in the South West of Western Australia.

We know that the three-year time lag that's part of the Commonwealth Grants Commission formula had a real impact in Western Australia. Even though the CGC's formula has impacted on other states, it has never fallen to a floor of 30c in the dollar. None has been affected like Western Australia was. The whole principle of horizontal fiscal equalisation is the fair go. A fair go really is for those having a go, and that's what Western Australia was doing—having a go—and much of the benefit of that was shared across Australia.

The coalition Liberal-National government reforms will deliver a fairer and far more sustainable GST deal for all Australians. Again, I want to thank the Prime Minister and the Treasurer. It is not easy to manage the complexities of the GST formula, but they've done a very sound job in what they've proposed through this legislation—that no state will be worse off. But no state has previously, as we know, fallen below 86c, and Western Australia went to 30c. I don't want to see any other state anywhere in Australia go through what Western Australia went through, and the measures that the Prime Minister and the Treasurer, and our government, are putting in place are to ensure that doesn't happen. There could well be a boom ahead. It could come in South Australia. It could come in Queensland. It could come in the Northern Territory. Under the previous arrangements, that state could have found themselves in the same situation as Western Australia, hitting a brick wall.

We know all Australians must have access to vital government services, no matter where they live across our diverse nation. The investment by the Commonwealth will guarantee an extra $9 billion to the states and territories over the next decade. This funding is untied. The states can invest in schools, roads, hospitals or whatever is needed and whatever that state decides. The states make the decisions about where they apply this funding, as they see fit, to their priorities—to what is needed on a state-by-state and territory-by-territory basis. There will be transition arrangements in place to move gradually to the new formula, and that's to make sure that no state is left behind. The benchmarks set in the legislation are Victoria and New South Wales. They have been historically strong states from an economic point of view, and benchmarking against them means that all states will have a secure revenue stream, going forward.

This decision, as I said, is very important to Western Australia. I know from moving around my electorate that people felt very, very strongly about this. As I said, it was a white-hot issue. It basically stopped barbecues. It was what was discussed at footy games. I can remember going to the Tracmach Lights on the Hill event, a vintage tractor machinery show, in Brunswick. I got only 50 metres up the hill that day because everyone wanted to talk about the problems that Western Australia had, or where they felt Western Australia was, to their mind, being ripped off and where we weren't getting a fair go. Well, this federal government has changed that.

As I said, the new equalisation benchmark is the stronger of New South Wales or Victoria, whichever is higher. As I've also said previously, not all Labor members from Western Australia were supportive and, at times, certainly didn't support the efforts of our Western Australian colleagues in this space. I've mentioned the comments of the member for Burt, for instance. Speeches in this House that were simply empty rhetoric didn't do Western Australia any good. However, I see the legislation before us as an important starting point. This is a government that has delivered and will deliver for the people of Western Australia. We see it in this bill before the House today.

Again, in recognising so much of the work that's gone into this issue, I want to really recognise the persistence of the WA members and senators, and I want to thank them. I want to acknowledge the work of the Prime Minister, his work both as the Treasurer and in carrying that through as the Prime Minister of this nation. It was a difficult process. Yes, the Productivity Commission work was very, very important in this process, but having the courage to make very strong decisions is what our government can and does do, and we see it within the legislation before the House.

The measures are, as I say, a new equalisation benchmark, the stronger of New South Wales or Victoria, whichever is highest, and all states will transition to this new equalisation standard over six years; the introduction of a permanent in-system relativity floor, which is particularly important; boosting the GST pool of funds; and increasing the funding available during the transition period and guaranteeing the states and territories the better of the old or the new system so that each state will have the better of the cumulative total. I think it is equally important that the Productivity Commission itself will conduct an inquiry to assess whether the new system is working efficiently and effectively and operating as intended—the check and balance in this one. The short-term top-ups to Western Australia and the Northern Territory to keep their relativities above 0.7 and 4.66 respectively from 2019-20 to 2021-22 are a great improvement.

I'll go back to where I started. I want to acknowledge all the work of the Western Australian members and senators, their persistence, their passion and their commitment to Western Australia, but equally the Treasurer and the Prime Minister in coming up with a solution so that every Australian will be better off. I endorse the bill.

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