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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-05-12 Daily Xml
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Goods and Services Tax

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:53): I seek leave to make an explanation prior to directing a question to the minister representing the Treasurer on the subject of GST allocations to South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: There has been ongoing discussion about the level and extent of commonwealth funding to the states, in particular to South Australia. The government's own budget papers—that is, last year's 2014-15 budget papers—and then the Mid-Year Budget Review, which was released in December last year, indicated that at the time of the budget last year the government confirmed that the estimated GST appropriation from the commonwealth to the state for the last financial year—that is, for 2014-15—was $4,954 million. At the time of the Mid-Year Budget Review the estimate for next year, 2015-16, was $5,381 million.

In the last few weeks, at the COAG meetings between Premiers and the Prime Minister, it was announced by the commonwealth that South Australia's allocation for 2015-16 would be as the Grants Commission recommended, and not as the Western Australian Premier and government would have wished, and that South Australia would receive $5,525 million next year. That indicates a $571 million increase next year compared to this year in terms of GST allocation to South Australia.

Importantly, if the COAG decision is confirmed in the federal budget papers tonight, as one would expect, at $5,525 million, that is an unbudgeted increase of $144 million from the Mid-Year Budget Review. Put simply, that means that there is a $571 million increase expected next year over and above what we received this year from the GST but, critically, $144 million of that has not been allocated by state Treasury, by the state Treasurer, by the state government to any department or agency. It is an unbudgeted, unallocated increase in funding for next year. What we do not know, of course, is what increases, if any, there will be in the forward estimates, in 2016-17 and 2017-18, but that will be confirmed tonight. What we do know is that there is a $144 million increase for next year. My questions to the Treasurer are:

1. Can he confirm that, on the basis of the COAG advice, that is consistent with a $571 million increase on the actual receipts from last year?

2. Can the Treasurer confirm that $144 million of that $571 million is unbudgeted and unallocated and therefore able to be spent on any priority that the state government chooses?

3. Can the Treasurer confirm that, for budget year 2015-16, that $144 million of unallocated GST is more than sufficient to pay the pensioner concessions, which is in dispute at the moment, at approximately $30 million; reverse the massive ESL slug instituted last year on family homes and taxpayers and businesses, which is approximately $90 million; and ensure the continued operation of the Repatriation General Hospital, with improvements, during the financial year 2015-16?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:57): I thank the member for his questions. I will refer them to the Treasurer in another place and bring back a response. But I think the honourable member has a great cheek to come into this place and suggest that there is adequate money in the budget to pay for pensioner concessions when his own federal Liberal mates in Canberra have chopped out, slashed out, funds in relation to pensioner concessions.

I think it would probably be more appropriate for the honourable member to get to his feet and suggest that it is a great opportunity for the Liberal Abbott government to reinstate those funds to South Australian pensioners in the budget tonight. They have left our aged people high and dry. It is an absolute disgrace that the federal Liberal government has done this, and it is supported by their state Liberal mates. They sit there and accept older people being done over in this state.

The member should also be on his feet reminding his federal Liberal mates that it is a great opportunity tonight for them to reinstate all of the funds that were originally promised to support our Holden workers to reskill and our industries to redevelop to find other market positions. The Hon. Robert Lucas should also be on his feet saying that this is a great opportunity for his federal Liberal mates tonight to confirm that all submarines will be made here in South Australia. That is what he should be doing in this chamber today, but what do we hear? Not a word, not a whisper. The Liberal state opposition is happy to leave South Australians high and dry time and time again. They come into this place, talk South Australia down and sell South Australians out—shame on them, Mr President.

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