Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over the last month I have been contacted by many Canberrans who are scared. They are scared that their cost of living will rise under an increased GST. They are scared they will not be able to afford their rent. They are scared that they will not be able to afford their medical bills. They are scared they will not be able to afford to buy their kids healthy, nutritious food. Families and pensioners are already struggling with the cost of living, and now they are scared that, if the GST is increased, they will not be able to make ends meet. There are Canberrans like Dean and Kay, who contacted me recently, concerned about the government's plans to raise the GST. They wrote:

Neither my wife nor I currently pay tax as we are earning below the tax thresh-hold when our senior rebates are applied. Therefore an increase in GST would simply increase our cost of living.

The Government has found yet another way to reduce our income without having the inconvenience of getting any parliamentary approval.

This is just one of the reasons why Labor will not support the government's plan to raise the GST. It hurts the very families who can least afford it—families who Labor will protect by opposing this terrible plan.