Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When government tax reform is centred around increasing the GST it is a clear sign that the government has lost control of its budget. Even worse, it means that the government has no ideas for genuine tax reform or lacks the political courage to implement real tax reform measures. So the government takes the easy and lazy option of so-called tax reform by increasing the GST, knowing full well that by doing so people on lower incomes will be hit hardest.

Yesterday the Prime Minister skirted around questions about his government's plans to increase the GST during question time by claiming that any tax changes have to be fair. He did not define the term 'fair', which—as we all know—means different things to different people. When it comes to taxation, what I can say to the Prime Minister is that it is not fair to balance your books on the backs of lower income Australians. It is not fair to make lower income people pay extra for essential things like fresh food or medical expenses.

I call on the Prime Minister to make clear his plans and his government's plans about the GST increase and to stop hiding behind statements made by Labor premiers and other political commentators about this issue. The research is out. Clearly, the people at the lower-income end of the scale will pay more under a GST plan. The Prime Minister is the head of this government and the GST buck stops with him.