Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Treasurer has promised an increase in the GST will not lead to an increase in the total tax take. This would require every dollar raised by the GST increase to be spent on tax cuts, so how will the government compensate pensioners, veterans and carers for the increase in the GST?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The shadow Treasurer overlooks the fact that the government does not have a proposal to increase the GST. He would no doubt like the government to do so; he would no doubt like to write the government's policies. As he lies awake at night dreaming of a glorious future in a Shorten government, no doubt he imagines what policies he would like us to undertake. But the honourable member would be better off focusing on what his proposals are to deal with the challenges that we face. What is the Labor Party's proposal to deal with the massive deficit that they left us—the tens of billions of dollars worth of unfunded commitments? How do they propose to address the fact that we left them in 2007 with cash in the bank and they left us with a massive and growing deficit—with a structural deficit? How does he explain his own distinguished track record in stifling innovation with the employee share schemes legislation, which basically abolished employee share schemes—something that even he now acknowledges was a mistaken effort?

The honourable member should be well aware of this, and I will repeat what I said in response to the member for Griffith's question earlier: there are many, many proposals for tax reform being debated at the moment. They are being advocated and canvassed by people across the board—by Labor people, by Liberals, by academics, by interest groups. That is good, because if and when a government proposes substantial reforms it needs to do at least two things—

Mr Champion interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wakefield is now warned.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It needs to first demonstrate that the reforms are not reforms for reform's sake—that they will deliver stronger growth and greater opportunities; that they will be fair, ensuring that the burden of taxation is borne in an equitable manner across the economy; and that they will encourage innovation and growth and so forth. But we also have to demonstrate that we have listened to every view—that we have consulted widely, that we have not taken things off the table in some sort of panic response to feeble scare campaigns but have gone about the business of government in an open and adult way, taking account of all of the matters that are relevant and then coming to a thoroughly informed conclusion. The Australian people should expect nothing less from a responsible government.