Sussan Ley reiterates WA GST deal support ahead of Federal Government’s productivity summit, warns on tax

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has backed in WA’s share of the GST deal as she tours the State’s north for the first time. Speaking from the rural town of Wyndham, Ms Ley said she supported maintaining the Morrison Government-brokered deal, which sees Western Australia receive a larger share of GST revenue than the previous system. “We support what we initiated under the Morrison government for the great state of Western Australia,” she said on Saturday. The backing comes as the Federal Government plans its productivity summit for August, with tax reform on the agenda. The lineup of speakers chosen by Treasurer Jim Chalmers includes Grattan Institute chief executive Aruna Sathanapally, who will give a speech titled A better tax system. Dr Sathanapally has previously called for scrapping the 2018 GST deal, including the institute’s Orange Book 2025: Policy priorities for the Federal Government. “In effect, the federal government spends more than $6 billion a year to support superior government services in the only state that is running a strong surplus, undermining the principles of equalisation on which the GST is distributed,” the document said. “Winding back the deal will undoubtedly raise political challenges in WA, but the current deal is expensive and unjustified. The next federal government should start working towards a new deal in the interests of all Australians.” Ms Ley said she believed Dr Chalmers was focused on raising taxes. “With respect to the Productivity Commission, of course lots of people are putting ideas forward,” she said, referencing the authority’s major tax overhaul proposal released this week. “My concern is that the Treasurer only has one idea in mind and that is how to raise taxes because everything that I’ve heard from the Treasurer is not about productivity, it is about excuses to raise taxes on hardworking Australians. “You don’t improve productivity by raising taxes that’s my message to the Treasurer going into this roundtable.” The comments came as Ms Ley tours Western Australia’s Kimberley region as part of her listening tour, visiting Kununurra, Wyndham and Broome.