Scott Morrison promises to 'lock in' GST changes

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is promising to legislate a floor in GST payments to Western Australia, matching a pledge made by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been urged to maintain the ABC and SBS as separate entities.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison Source: AAP

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is promising to legislate changes to GST distributions within weeks to guarantee Western Australia's share does not fall below 75 cents in the dollar.

Mr Morrison will make the pledge on Monday to kick off a three-day visit to WA, matching a recent commitment made by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to enshrine the GST floor in law.

"The legislation implements the government's decision for a new, fairer GST deal," the prime minister told The West Australian.

"It prevents the system becoming a political football, not just between the major parties, but in the argy-bargy and games often played between the states, territories and the Commonwealth."
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said it was clearly unsustainable for WA to be getting just 30 cents in the GST dollar.

"So what we are going to do is to legislate a floor of 75 cents in the dollar for any state or territory," he told Nine Network.

"We are providing an additional $9 billion and as a result, every state and territory will be better off as a result of our reforms."

Mr Frydenberg said it was now up to Labor to support the legislation.

"Bill Shorten, just a few weeks ago, was in WA saying he wants to support us in legislating it. So let's just now see if he walks the talk," he said.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world