Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to use this time to again highlight the real risks to Tasmania of Tony Abbott's broken promise to not change the GST. Tasmania stands to lose around $700 million if a per capita model is introduced. At a time when the state Liberal government is hell-bent on cutting 800 public sector workers out of Tasmania over the coming months, the Tasmanian people and the economy in Tasmania cannot afford any more savage Liberal cuts. It would be a $700 million cut if the GST were changed to a per capita model and that would mean job losses, on top of the 800 public sector workers that the current Liberal government is choosing to cut, equating to 800 doctors, 3,000 nurses, 500 allied health professionals and 100 child protection staff combined.

The member for Braddon, Mr Brett Whiteley—despite being more than happy to beat his chest in March of this year when a minor party was promoting the per capita distribution model—was alarmingly silent when his own Prime Minister put changing the GST back on the table. It is time for Mr Whiteley to come out of hiding and fight against a move that could strip the Tasmanian economy of $700 million a year. Before the election Mr Tony Abbott gave a firm commitment to the existing GST arrangements. He said:

The Coalition fully supports the existing GST arrangements. We will not change them.

But after the election Mr Abbott yet again walked away from an election commitment. Make no mistake, the threat to Tasmanian public service jobs of Tony Abbott and the Liberals fiddling around with the GST is very real. Now, more than ever, we need a strong response from the Tasmanian Liberals. The most fundamental duty of a member of parliament is to fight for the interests of the people who elected them. Mr Whiteley, the member for Braddon, now has to come out against the Prime Minister—he needs to be strong and vocal, not silent, about these repressive GST changes and ensure that the government of which he is a member does not implement changes that will affect the long-term viability of Tasmania or, if there is a change to a per capita model, he needs to ensure that we do not lose 800 doctors, 3,000 nurses, 500 allied health professionals and 100 child protection staff combined. That is too much of a risk to my state of Tasmania and we need to make sure that the representative from Braddon, Mr Whiteley, is on top of this issue and fighting against that change.

Debate interrupted.