OUTBACK ROADS

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (15:22): As a supplementary question to the minister's response, can he confirm that every dollar of the sixfold increase in infrastructure spending is government money; if so, how much of it is as a result of the GST?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (15:22): The honourable member would well know that GST revenues that come into the state are part of the overall financial package as GST revenue has increased. However, in recent years it has declined, and that is why it will be interesting for members opposite, when they come to their budget, to take into account that there are—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: It is interesting that members opposite and their federal colleagues have been opposing the federal government stimulus package. They are saying that, because it has worked so well and the economy has not dipped so much, therefore the revenues might be up a bit and the federal government should back off its stimulus. Of course, that would run the risk of not only commonwealth revenues but also state revenues falling.

The link between GST and federal government funding for the states is quite complex. The commonwealth has adjusted other revenue as the GST has gone up. If the honourable member is serious about getting that information, I suggest that he puts a question on notice to the Treasurer about the detail because, clearly, it is a complex arrangement. It is not just a simple matter of GST increases, and one would have to look at the overall commonwealth expenditure for this state.

This government welcomes the fact that the commonwealth government has provided significant money to the states for some of our major transport and other projects, particularly in relation to water. Had we not had that money from the commonwealth government, we would not have been able to spend the money for the honourable member's constituents in the lakes region. I think that there has been some $600 million of expenditure to try to bring potable water to those areas, and that has put a significant strain on expenditure in those areas. However, we welcome the commonwealth's support for that important infrastructure, recognising the fact that we have just been through (and probably, in fact, still are part of) the worst drought that this state has ever faced.