A strong case for keeping Western Australia’s GST deal was made today, with CCIWA CEO Will Golsby and Dr Daniel Kiely appearing before a Productivity Commission hearing.
L-R: CCIWA CEO Will Golsby and Chief Economist Daniel Kiely addressing the Productivity Commission.
It comes after the Commission released its interim report last month on the GST, recommending up to $6 billion a year be ripped from WA’s economy under proposed GST reforms.
CCIWA argued the report is flawed, diverges significantly from previous positions held by the Commission, and does not consider the broader economic and productivity context of the current GST deal.
“WA contributes more to the national economy per person than any other State but receives the lowest GST distribution on a per capita basis, even with the 2018 deal that provided WA with a safety net,” Kiely said.
“Before that safety net was introduced, WA was getting back as little as 30 cents from every dollar of GST collected.
“The Productivity Commission is advocating for a return to a system that it said itself was broken back in 2018.”
The fight continues
Despite assurances from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that the GST deal will not change, Kiely said WA cannot afford to be complacent.
“It’s extremely important that we continue to highlight the flaws in the Productivity Commission’s interim report,” he said.
“A return to a pre-2018 GST system would blow a hole in WA’s finances, impacting funding for roads, hospitals schools and the services we rely on every day.
“It would also act as a deterrent for investment in emerging industries like critical minerals, at a time when Australia is competing with the rest of the world for capital.”
Reforms we support
In its submission to the Commission, CCIWA backed in the deal and identified improvements that could be made to the current GST system, including:
- Review how the Commonwealth Grant Commission assess mining royalties
- Changes to the definitions applied to remote areas of Australia
- Exclusion of East Coast gambling revenue from the GST carve-up
- Improving transparency in the calculation of GST relativities
“There are obvious flaws that should be addressed by the Productivity Commission in its final report,” Kiely said.
Help protect WA’s share of GST
CCIWA’s petition calling for the GST deal to be kept has been signed by more than 20,000 Western Australians.
Sign our Keeping WA Strong petition and add your voice to fight for to help protect WA’s fair share of the GST deal.
