Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Medicare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

South Australians should be very concerned that the Turnbull government is delaying the release of the Productivity Commission review of GST distribution to the states, because the hidden message in that deferral is that South Australia is once again about to be dudded by the Turnbull government. We saw the Turnbull government turn its back on South Australians with respect to Holden and thousands of associated auto industry workers, the River Murray, infrastructure funding and education funding, and now it seems that South Australia's GST allocation is in its sights. The Turnbull government should come clean with South Australians before the March state election, release the report and tell the South Australian people whether South Australia will lose $557 million in GST funding—and if it's not $557 million, just how much will the Turnbull government cut from South Australia? I know the Liberal opposition in South Australia is hopeless, and South Australia's Liberal leader, Steven Marshall, needs all the help that he can get. He doesn't need more bad news for South Australia from his federal leader, but South Australian voters are entitled to know before the March state election which political party they can trust to protect South Australia's fair share of GST funding into the future.