James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

This motion is a stunt by the Labor Party and factually wrong. The Productivity Commission is an independent body that requested that the horizontal fiscal equalisation report deadline be extended to 15 May to allow sufficient time for them to complete the report. The figures quoted are cameos from a draft report relating to last year's GST relativities, and it is incorrect to suggest these numbers reflect the impact of potential changes to the equalisation system. The government is not hiding any plans to change the GST. The government will respond to the Productivity Commission's final report after it's completed in May.