Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question again is to the Treasurer, and I refer to the Treasurer's previous answer. Given that the Treasurer just ruled out including the family home in the pension assets test by affirming that the government's policy will not change, why won't he also rule out increasing the GST to 15 per cent, which will push up the price of everything for pensioners?

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Dobell will cease interjecting.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government has the same position as the opposition when it comes to the matters to which the member refers. I am happy to confirm that our policy has not changed when it comes to the issue of family homes, and nor should it. This is something that I think is understood around this chamber. The members opposite make reference to the goods and services tax. Again, we are going back to where we were a few weeks ago and where we were last week.

Ms Macklin interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Jagajaga will not interject.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government has no such proposal and has not put forward any such preferred option or set of options. What the government has done is respond to the request from states and territories who have raised the issue of the GST. The only other group that I am aware of in this parliament who has raised it and had modelling and assumptions worked out on a GST increase is the member for McMahon, when he was the Treasurer, with the well-known scenario 3. We are still waiting for the opposition to give authority for the release of all the modelling that they did on an increase in the GST and an expansion of the GST. They will not allow that information to be released, and I would encourage the shadow Treasurer—

Honourable members interjecting—

When he is not having a go at the member for Fowler—he is a great bloke, the member for Fowler. He is a tremendous bloke. I cannot understand why the member for McMahon would have so much against the son of a policeman. I think that he has something against policemen, as we learnt at the last election.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney will cease interjecting. The member for Chifley will cease interjecting. Through that answer, the member for Jagajaga continued to interject. I now warn her. The Minister for Veterans' Affairs will not interject.