Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance, Senator Cormann. Does the minister stand by his 2013 commitment that the:

GST won't change if we're elected to govern on September 7.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We made a very clear commitment in the lead-up to the last election that if we were elected in 2013 the GST would not change. We are, absolutely, standing by that commitment. What we are also doing is engaging in a discussion on how we can strengthen the Australian economy further. In order to ensure that the Australian economy is as strong as it can be and we create a better opportunity for people to get ahead and get a job we need to have a growth-friendly tax system.

After we got rid of Labor's disastrous mining tax, after we got rid of Labor's disastrous carbon tax, after we gave a company tax cut to small business and after we decided not to go ahead with Labor's bank tax we have, as we always said we would, initiated a discussion and a consultation, in good faith, with the Australian people and with the states and territories about how our tax system could be further improved to strengthen growth. Guess which state government leader was one of the earliest to suggest that we should look at the GST: it was the then Tasmanian Labor Premier Lara Giddings. Go and ask Lara Giddings. When she was coming to Canberra for more money for the state government in Tasmania, for health and education and the like, the Tasmanian Labor Premier Lara Giddings was suggesting that the federal government look at the GST.

We are working, in good faith, as we are developing our agenda for stronger growth that we will take to the next election, on how we can improve our tax system to make it more economic-growth friendly. That is a responsible course of action. That is what any good government would do. The Labor Party are going into a desert of negativity. We have the Leader of the Opposition trying to run a scare campaign, which has scared all of the Labor people, but we are not scared on this side. (Time expired)

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Does the minister stand by his commitment that:

Under the Coalition there will be no cuts to hospitals, schools, defence or pensions and no increase in the GST.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the good senator would know, federal government funding for health, education and pensions continues to increase. The age pension is going up twice a year. Every six months the pension goes up. Do you know what else is happening? Every year, the Commonwealth government is putting more money into state hospitals and state schools. What this government will continue to do, as part of our focus on stronger growth, more jobs and giving everybody the best opportunity to get ahead, is ensure that our spending at a federal level is affordable and the economy is sustainable. We are not making any apology for making sure that the important expenditure on the social safety net and on health, education, national security, defence, border security and so on is affordable over the medium to long term. We know that the Labor Party keeps putting their head in the sand. You stay there—it's a good view, isn't it?

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Was the industry minister, Mr Pyne, correct when he told a group of coalition members of parliament, yesterday, that the Turnbull government would not be taking an increase to the GST to the next election?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Turnbull government is focused on doing everything it can to strengthen growth and strengthen the opportunity for everyone across Australia to get ahead. Over the last two years, this government has implemented a strong growth agenda. We got rid of Labor's lead from our saddlebags—the mining tax and the carbon tax. We reduced red tape costs for business by $2 billion a year. We are pursuing an ambitious free trade agenda, with free trade agreements with Korea, Japan and China. We are pursuing an ambitious infrastructure investment program—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Pause the clock! Order, Minister. Order, on my left.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order going to direct relevance to the specific question. If you look at the question there is only one element, and that was to ask the minister about the comments by Minister Pyne about whether the Turnbull government would be taking a GST to the election. We have not got close to that, so far, and half the time has gone.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remind the minister of the question. The minster has 27 seconds in which to answer.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What I can say to the good senator and to the Senate is that the next frontier of the government's efforts to strengthen growth and create more jobs is the innovation package, which minister Pyne is leading the charge in developing. And our efforts to ensure that we have a more growth-friendly—

Opposition senators interjecting—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Pause the clock! Order, Minister. Order, on my left.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise again on a point of order going to direct relevance. The term 'GST' has not passed the minister's mouth.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I notice that the minister did mention Minister Pyne's name, but I remind him of the question. Minister, you have six seconds in which to answer the question.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I know that sections of the media and the Labor Party are getting way ahead of themselves. We are focused on stronger growth. (Time expired)