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

Let me continue—and I will of course come directly to the point of your question, Senator Brown, I can assure you. It is a long-overdue matter to address, and we will have a window to do so in the next few years and, when that window opens, we should seize that. There is no doubt that the GST formula, when it was originally devised, did not contemplate wild swings in shares like we have seen in relation to Western Australia. This important reform will preserve the integrity of the horizontal fiscal equalisation system while giving all states more certainty and making it easier to plan and budget. Now, Senator Brown, as in relation to all matters which are the subject of announcements by the Prime Minister, the appropriate consultations, including with senior ministers, were of course engaged in.