Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to remind the House of what is undoubtedly the most important issue in Western Australia right now, and that is our paltry, miserable share of GST revenue. Let me put it this way: Western Australians are fed up. Those other states who have stood in the way of developing their economies by pumping up public servant pay while stamping on resources development do not deserve the GST money of Western Australians.

I have more resource projects in my electorate than anywhere in Western Australia.

Mr Hammond interjecting—

Ms Madeleine King interjecting—

I will just stop and take the interjections. WA Labor members, rather than yelling at me, why don't you yell at your colleagues around the country to ensure that Western Australia gets a fair share.

I shall continue. What we find is that the state government has to contribute significantly to towns like mine, together with the resources companies. It is not our fault that we have a poor share of the GST, and it is not our fault that we have developed our natural resources, that we have provided jobs for our kids—and, by the way, many jobs for young people from all around the country. It is not our fault, but we have strived to do better in our state.

It is timely that we see in The West Australian newspaper today that the New South Wales government has now joined WA's call for an overhaul of the GST model, as we see that NSW's share will now drop to 79c. As the New South Wales Treasurer has said, 'The current model of GST distribution is a tax on our success.' In WA, we could not agree more.