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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 724 asked in the Legislative Council on 31 October 2017 by Hon Dr Steve Thomas

Parliament: 40 Session: 1


BOARD OF STATE AND TERRITORY TREASURERS
      724. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the minister representing the Treasurer:
I refer to the Treasurer's re-tweeting of a document he signed on Friday, 27 October 2017, at the Council on Federal Financial Relations committing state and territory Treasurers to form a new talkfest called the Board of State and Territory Treasurers, which appears to be the same group as the Council on Federal Financial Relations with the exclusion of the federal Treasurer.
      (1) Which of those state or territory Treasurers who co-signed the document support the boosting of WA's GST revenues by billions of dollars at the expense of their own budgets?
      (2) If none, is this merely a cynical political exercise for the states to demand that the commonwealth provide them billions of additional funding?
      (3) If so to (2), why would the commonwealth or the public take this new group seriously?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
      (1) Most states and territories recognise that there are problems with the current system of horizontal fiscal equalisation that should be addressed. The Board of State and Territory Treasurers will provide a forum to discuss these and other issues in a constructive way.
      (2) The Board of State and Territory Treasurers has been formed in response to frustrations amongst the states about a loss of autonomy in important policy areas. It was formed on the suggestion of New South Wales Treasurer, Dominic Perrottet. The federal government is increasingly seeking to influence how the states spend their money with little or no consultation. For example, the same day the new board was announced, the federal Treasurer released details of a new Housing Finance and Investment Corporation, which was developed without state and territory involvement. The state government considers that the current approach to federalism is not delivering appropriate outcomes for the Western Australian community, and as such is open to exploring new governance arrangements that improve outcomes.
      (3) Any efforts to achieve a more collaborative form of federalism should be taken seriously. We hope that the state opposition will unite with the government in seeking to secure better outcomes for Western Australians through the Federation.