David Leyonhjelm (NSW, Liberal Democratic Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) in contrast to New Zealand's comprehensive GST, Australia's GST does not apply to a significant range of products, such as various healthcare products and essential services, including water,

  (ii) healthcare products that are listed as GST-free in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (the GST Act), an Act of the Commonwealth Government, include medical devices and aids, such as incontinence pads,

  (iii) the Minister for Health is empowered under section 38 of the GST Act to unilaterally declare additional goods to be GST-free—previous Commonwealth Health Ministers have used this power to make various goods GST-free, including condoms, lubricants, folic acid, sunscreen and nicotine patches and gums,

  (iv) GST on tampons and sanitary pads is estimated to contribute around $30 million to the $63 billion in annual GST revenues,

  (v) tampons and sanitary pads are essential healthcare products, and

  (vi) it is therefore inequitable for incontinence pads, condoms, lubricants, folic acid, sunscreen, and nicotine patches and gums to be GST-free on health grounds, and for water to be GST-free on the grounds of water being essential, but for tampons and sanitary pads to be subject to GST; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to remove the GST on tampons and sanitary pads.