The Premier and Treasurer of Victoria have pushed back on Tony Abbott's plan to take billions of dollars from the large eastern states.
Premier Denis Napthine was today quoted as opposing any redistribution of the GST that would disadvantage Victoria:
We have our needs here for major infrastructure, we have our needs for services in health and education, disability services, community services, law and order and we believe there should be a rejigging of the GST to put more GST back in Victoria's pockets because they have taken it from Victoria and we are not getting our fair share back.
[THE AGE - 24 APRIL 2013]
His Treasurer, Michael O'Brien, made similar comments:
Victoria currently subsidises other states to the tune of $1.2 billion per year in GST revenue. Any fair changes to GST will see Victoria receive more, not less, GST funding.
[THE AUSTRALIAN ONLINE - 24 APRIL 2013]
At the weekend, Tony Abbott expressed his support for a change to the GST distribution, giving the green light to West Australian Premier Colin Barnett to put in train a plan to boost his state's GST revenue by taking it off New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland:
ABBOTT: And my understanding is that the premiers of the larger states are prepared to look at some changes.
[AUSTRALIAN AGENDA - 21 APRIL 2013]
The Premiers of New South Wales and Queensland have remained silent, despite the three large eastern states standing to collectively lose more than $2 billion in GST revenue under Western Australia's proposal to lift that state's share to 75 cents in the dollar.
The questions now for Mr Abbott are:
- Does he support a redistribution of the GST to provide more revenue to Western Australia?
- What are the changes that his Liberal Premier colleagues are looking at?
- Which States and Territories would lose money in a redistribution of the GST?
- Will he guarantee there would be no changes to the base or rate of the GST under a Coalition Government?
The Government commissioned an independent review of GST distribution which found the current system of Horizontal Fiscal Equalisation works well.