Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm a proud Western Australian and I'm a proud Australian. WA is small in numbers but rather mighty, and I'm proud of our economic contribution to the country. While I appreciate the interest from others in the GST debate, comments from people via the eastern-states lens make no sense. No state is worse off under the agreement, and the agreement is ironclad. The GST formula is in place, and it's here to stay. The Prime Minister said it on the record, it's a National Cabinet agreement, and we have it in writing. East coast economists are manufacturing a bizarre interstate drama that's simply not there.

The Albanese government is known as a government that listens and acts, and that's exactly what we're doing on the cost of living. My community spoke, I heard, and my government is acting. In WA, 1.5 million taxpayers will get a tax cut thanks to Labor's cost-of-living tax cuts, and 1.2 million people in WA will get a bigger tax cut under Labor's plans. As a Western Australian MP in the federal parliament, I work hard every day to ensure that our interests are heard. I will stand up for our fair share of the GST and Labor's cost-of-living tax cuts. I will stand up for WA. We're putting more money back where it belongs—in people's back pockets.

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