SLOMO STILL TALKING ON GST DISTRIBUTION, NO PLAN

The Abbott and Turnbull Governments have been nothing but talk when it comes to concerns around the GST distribution formula.

 

And today’s announcement by the Commonwealth Grants Commission is the normal functioning of the current GST distribution system, not a policy decision from the Commonwealth Government to do anything substantive about Western Australia’s legitimate concerns about GST relativities.

 

Scott Morrison has completely mishandled this issue from the very start.

 

Firstly, Mr Morrison refused to consider or adopt Labor’s $1.6 billion Fair Share for WA Fund that would have seen Commonwealth funding for Western Australia brought up to the equivalent of a 70 cent floor, without ripping billions of dollars of GST revenue from other states and the territories, preferring instead to kick-off another review into the GST distribution formula.

 

Then Mr Morrison came charging out of the blocks in support of the Productivity Commission’s draft recommendations which would see South Australia lose $256 million and Tasmania lose $77 million in GST revenue.

 

Then after the understandable push back from Federal Labor and state and territory governments, Mr Morrison announced in early January – as Australians were enjoying the summer break – that the Productivity Commission would not provide its final report on GST distribution reform until after the May Budget.

 

All Scott Morrison has is talk and delay adding to the chaos and uncertainty of the Turnbull Government’s position on GST distribution.