Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am so glad to have the opportunity this afternoon to make a very clear statement on behalf of the people of Hotham that an increase to the GST, a massive tax hike that will go onto every Australian family, is not the answer to this country's problems.

The Prime Minister has referred to a table where all of the reform opportunities are heaping up, and I have to say that table is going to be buckling under the pressure of all the options before him. We have a Prime Minister who tells us that he is trying to run a debate about reform, yet he is not able to tell us what the objectives of this reform process are.

Despite that, no matter what objectives the Prime Minister seems to think are in the interests of this government, the GST seems to be the answer. Well, it is not the answer no matter how you define Australia's problems.

There are four big reasons for that. First of all, the GST is not necessarily going to be a more efficient tax. The recent tax report commissioned by this government shows that the GST is not any more efficient, essentially, than income tax, so that argument is out. The GST is incredibly unfair. Every piece of modelling that has been done shows that the impost will be on the lowest income households. That is an unfair tax.

The Prime Minister has told us that we should trust him to make this tax change in a fair way. That is a joke.

Opposition Member:

An opposition member interjecting—

Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I understand why my good friend over here is laughing. This is a government that has spent two full years doing everything it can to reduce equality in this country, and the GST is just a part of that plan.