The Victorian Government has renewed its attacks on the GST carve-up as it handed down a budget forecasting a $17.6 billion deficit in the current financial year.
Josh Zimmerman
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas will not seek to unwind WA’s GST guarantee – but wants a commitment that expensive top-up payments to other states continue indefinitely.
Mr Morrison gave a speech to a sea of blue-wearing supporters to introduce his WA federal election team, and to discuss topics such as WA’s GST deal.
Lanai Scarr
Both major parties have made a cast-iron guarantee not to bring forward a planned review of the GST carve-up, as Premier Mark McGowan channelled hit movie Anchorman while chiding other States.
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has defended the GST carve-up and said there will be no changes to the deal that benefited WA, despite concerns his home State of Victoria could be worse off in a few years.
WA’s share of GST would have fallen to an all-time low of 16c in the dollar next year – leaving the State $4.4 billion worse off – under the carve-up replaced in 2018.
Premier Mark McGowan has accused the NSW Government of being ungrateful to WA for its contribution to the financial support required to prop up its ‘tanking’ economy as Delta ran rampant.
Claims the GST deal isn’t fair, that it gives us an unfair advantage and urgently needs to be reviewed continue to plague WA. The problem is none of them is true. Not even a little bit.
Mark McGowan
In response to the SA-led initiative, Premier Mark McGowan accused the States of ‘ganging up on WA’ to force the Commonwealth to bring forward a review of the GST deal.
Peter Law
Mark McGowan says WA is ‘sick of being treated like an ATM machine’ by NSW, as Treasurer Matt Kean on Sunday called for GST ‘reform’ to get NSW its ‘fair share’.
Sarah Ison
Opposition leader Mia Davies believes Mark McGowan is milking the GST battle with the east for all it’s worth — and she’s probably right.
Joe Spagnolo
The man replacing GST grump Dominic Perrottet as NSW Treasurer, Matt Kean, has indicated he’s not as up for a fight over the tax distribution as his new leader.
WA’s Premier and the Prime Minister have told the leading contender for the new NSW leadership position to keep his hands off hard-fought GST deal.
Kimberley Caines
Those who may suggest we are paranoid to foster fears of another unfair GST carve-up looming on the back of the sudden rise of Dominic Perrottet to NSW Premier might have short memories.
Dominic Perrottet has been a constant critic of WA and has relished his role as attack dog for the NSW Government in its spats with Premier Mark McGowan over borders and budgets.
Scott Morrison says there will be no change to WA’s GST allocation - but the PM did have a subtle dig for Premier Mark McGowan on how the money should be spent.
The Premier says NSW shouldn’t be ‘bailed out’ by WA taxpayers for its own ‘poor financial management’ after the Berejiklian Government renewed calls to strip WA of GST top-up payments.
The State’s GST will take centre stage at the Liberal Party’s Federal Council this weekend with members asked to support a motion for the Morrison Government to “reaffirm its commitment” to the deal.
WA Premier Mark McGowan says his Eastern States counterparts ‘will try anything’ to get their hands on the state’s new GST windfall, firing back at moans from Victoria that a new deal is unfair.
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he was taking away a ‘very positive feeling’ after a whirlwind 48 hours in Perth this week, saying he had a ‘constructive afternoon’ with Premier Mark McGowan.
Angela Pownall
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he won’t be reviewing WA’s new GST deal, despite calls by South Australia to do so.
The oldest trick in politics is to manufacture an external threat to garner domestic support. Last year it was the pandemic, now Mark McGowan has now lobbed on WA’s share of GST as the new threat.
Paul Murray
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has given an emphatic no to rolling back a GST deal that has finally delivered WA its fair share of the multi-billion dollar pie.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has ruled out making any changes to the split of GST that would unwind the reforms WA successfully campaigned for in 2018, The West can exclusively reveal.
Annabel Hennessy
© West Australian Newspapers Limited 2022
