GOODS AND SERVICES TAX

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (14:29): Supplementary question: given the Premier's attempt to answer the question, was Treasurer Snelling correct when he told media, as reported this morning, that the GST revenue growth had not kept pace with economic growth?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:29): I have not seen Mr Snelling's reported remarks. I have not had—

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Davenport! The Minister for Transport.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The opposition has taken two points of order on orderly proceedings and will not stop interjecting. Their behaviour is out of order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The member for Norwood seems to know something about everything, which I doubt.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Unley, behave! Order!

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey, order! Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am not aware of the precise remarks that minister Snelling was making and I do not know whether he was accurately reported, but what I can say is this—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I don't know whether you are accurately recounting what was said and I don't know what he said to the relevant journalist, but I do know the sentiment that he was expressing, and it is simply this. The rate of taxation, the grants that we receive through GST from the commonwealth, especially in the current circumstances where we have a dip in spending, do not keep pace with the sorts of commitments that we as a state government have to our community. We have a continuing obligation to meet the healthcare needs, the hospital needs, the police needs—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Norwood, you will leave the chamber for 10 minutes.

The honourable member for Norwood having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The burden of his remarks were directed at this proposition. We rely very substantially on a couple of sources of taxation. One of them, of course, is property transactions, and we know that property transactions have fallen dramatically. The other is commonwealth grants, a substantial proportion of which comprises GST. Of course, GST is a taxation regime based on consumption expenditure and consumption expenditure has dramatically fallen and is not keeping pace with the sorts of obligations that we have as a state government to meet the needs of the community. I understand that is the sense in which the Treasurer was communicating. He was raising the question that our obligations—

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will leave the chamber for 10 minutes.

The honourable member for Heysen having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I am trying to give information to the house, Madam Speaker, which I think is important. Our obligations as a state continue. They are not removed, reduced or mitigated just because a funding source from the federal government takes a dive. That is the burden of what he is suggesting. We have a very substantial ongoing set of obligations to provide services to our community but we have not had commonwealth revenues that have kept pace with that through the GST, and we have seen a very dramatic change in those circumstances recently. That is the burden of the proposition that the Treasurer I think sought to communicate. I do not know precisely what he said but I know that is the sentiment that we certainly share.