Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I really do thank the honourable member for that question. It does come as a surprise! Last night, there I was quietly eating my dinner when I saw on TV that the journalists from Canberra were referring to Treasury modelling on increases to the GST. I thought, 'Treasury modelling on increases to the GST?' So I rang Treasury and asked, 'Did we ask you to model changes to the GST?' They said, 'No, Treasurer, we didn't.' But I kept hearing about this Treasury modelling on the GST. I looked everywhere. I looked under the table. I looked in the drawers. I went to the gym. I thought it might be hiding in the physio's. It was not there. I went everywhere. Lo and behold! I found it in the press gallery: 'Oh, Treasury modelling on increases to the GST.' I thought, 'This must be a comprehensive document.' It is one page long! It is a dramatic page, in fact: one page with half of it blacked out. Up the top it says, 'Scenario 3: Increase GST to 12½ per cent.' I thought, 'Hang on! What happened to scenario 1? What happened to scenario 2, scenario 4, 5, 6, 7?' I asked the Treasury, 'Where did this come from?' They said, 'We did it for the previous Labor government.'

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