George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, the last refuge of a scoundrel is a GST scare campaign. So far as I am aware, Senator Lines, the only leader of government in Australia who is openly calling for an increase in the GST rate is the Labor Premier of South Australia, Mr Jay Weatherill. The Prime Minister, Mr Abbott, has said no such thing. What the Prime Minister, Mr Abbott, is very proud of is that: under this government Commonwealth expenditure on hospitals in Western Australia will increase by 27 per cent over the next four years; under this government Commonwealth expenditure on schools in Western Australia will increase by 42 per cent over the next four years; and under this government an additional $5.2 billion will be invested in Western Australian infrastructure, much of it in the electorate of Canning, to meet the needs of the people of Western Australia and the particular needs of the people of Canning.