Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Payments) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Macdonald may want to inject, as he often does, but we know that increasing the GST is in the coalition's DNA. They made the promise that they would not increase the GST.

Government senators interjecting—

All you have to do is rule it out. You did prior to the election. You know that this is exactly what you want to do. You are trying to blame the states; you are pushing the states into a position by blaming them for having the discussion on the GST. You ripped billions of dollars out of the states' health budgets and their education budgets. You told the community a number of things prior to the last election and you broke nearly every single promise that you made. You broke your promises to the pensioners, you broke your promises to parents and families, you broke your promises to the premiers of the day. You did that as soon as you came in. An increase in the GST in Tasmania would have a massive impact.