GST DISTRIBUTION
220. Mr D.R. MICHAEL to the Premier:
I
refer to the McGowan Labor government's strong response to the COVID-19
pandemic that has delivered a strong economy and a strong mining
industry.
(1) Can the
Premier outline to the house how the Western Australian economy has supported
the rest of the country throughout the COVID-19 pandemic?
(2) Can the
Premier advise the house whether it is correct that other states are
subsidising Western Australia through the distribution of the GST?
Mr M.
McGOWAN replied:
I thank the member for Balcatta for
the question.
(1)–(2) It
is true that the government, upon its arrival in office in March 2017,
certainly worked hard to secure a better deal from the GST. We secured that in
2018, after many governments over many years had tried and failed. We secured
the floor of 70�, rising to 75�, via the strenuous efforts of various people in
the government working with the commonwealth government and Treasury to get
that better deal. No state or territory across Australia has lost a cent from
these reforms. In fact, they have had massive windfalls. Every state and
territory across Australia benefits from the strength of the Western Australian
economy. We receive only 70� for every $1 we put in; in other words, 30� of
every $1 we put in is redistributed to the other states and territories.
I
was pleased to see today that Anthony Albanese guaranteed that the deal will
not change. The Prime Minister says
that it will not change, yet the other states are working themselves into a frenzy
on the issue, as though their
financial failures somehow should be blamed on the people of Western Australia.
Some of them even claimed that they
are subsidising Western Australia. It is very odd for states like Tasmania or
South Australia, or, in fact, any of them, to suggest that somehow they
are subsidising Western Australia when clearly this state sends enormous
amounts of revenue in their direction. Western Australia gets 70� for every $1
it puts in; New South Wales gets 96�; Victoria gets 92�; Queensland gets $1.06;
South Australia gets $1.35; Tasmania gets $1.96; and the Northern Territory,
from memory, gets about $4.50. Tasmania basically for every $1 it puts in gets
$2 back. It is a remarkable electronic gaming machine that the Tasmanians have
supporting them under this system!
Over the last 10 years, Western Australia
has subsidised the other states via this system to the tune of $32.2 billion. As I have said many times before,
despite their best efforts, we managed to keep our industries open and
COVID-free over the course of the last two years, which meant that enormous
revenues flowed to the commonwealth, which then did those massive bailout
packages, particularly for New South Wales and Victoria when they were overrun
with COVID. By keeping our industries strong and putting in place the measures
we did, we ensured that those states were the recipients of much commonwealth
revenue, which Western Australia will play a large part in paying for.
On top of that, because we kept the
mining industry strong over the course of the last two years, Qantas made money
out of WA—the only place it made money in the last two years. It is now
buying four new planes for the Western Australian fleet to meet the demand. It
was odd to have heard the comments of Qantas considering that Western Australia
was its only profitable jurisdiction over this period. Be that as it may, we
are on good terms with Qantas and we will continue to ensure that we support it
into the future.
All I would say to the other
states is that they need to look at their own budget management rather than
blame Western Australia. I know that New South Wales in particular leads the
charge on these things. It thinks that it is kind of a big deal. To quote Ron Burgundy,
I think it should get out of its glass case of emotion and start focusing on managing its own finances. New South Wales
sold all its assets and then blew its spending and its debt. As Ron
said, it escalated quickly in New South Wales, and it should not look to the
people of Western Australia to bail it out for its own failures.