Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, I can confirm that the plan which the Prime Minister, as the Treasurer, put together to ensure that Western Australia receives a fairer share of the GST, in a way that leaves every other state better off, will soon be introduced into the parliament so that it can be legislated. By all accounts, reading the latest statements of various members of this parliament, it looks as if there might well be a consensus for that legislation to be passed through the parliament, which will be great news for Western Australia, great news for every single state across Australia and great news for our country.

Does it involve a level of additional federal expenditure to ensure that we can facilitate this arrangement—this way forward, this important reform—in a way that leaves every state better off? Yes, it does. As part of the overall GST pool, it's a very small proportion, but it is a sufficient proportion for us to be able to genuinely provide reassurance to all states and territories that they will be better off and not worse off as a result of dealing with this important issue, which has been in the too-hard basket for way too long. I would say that, under our government, we have a demonstrated commitment to lower taxes. It is not that long ago that this parliament agreed to our plan to reduce personal income taxes by $144 billion over the next decade. That is great news for hardworking Australians and gives them the right incentives and encouragement to work harder, which will help drive stronger economic growth and increase prosperity into the future. We have already legislated lower taxes for small and medium sized businesses and we are about to legislate a faster reduction in business taxes, down to 25 per cent, for small and medium sized businesses.