Leader of The Nationals WA Mia Davies has condemned WA’s Federal Members of Parliament for failing to fight against the State’s disgraceful GST return.
Ms Davies questioned how WA’s Federal MPs had chosen not to use their influence in Parliament to get a better deal for their State, after it was yesterday revealed WA will only receive a pitiful 34 cents for every dollar it raises in 2017-18.
“Malcolm Turnbull promised to put a floor in the GST when he was in Perth last year, but that promise was off the table as soon as he boarded the plane back to Canberra,” Ms Davies said.
“Senior WA Liberals such as Julie Bishop and Mathias Cormann sit around the Cabinet table so why aren’t they taking up the fight on behalf of WA?
“They hold the balance of power in Canberra but obviously lack the political courage to do anything to fix this appalling situation.”
Ms Davies said The Nationals WA put the State’s unfair GST return front-and-centre when the party introduced its proposal to increase the special lease rental paid by the big miners in WA in 2016.
“The Nationals WA had the political courage to take a stand on behalf of WA and have kept this important issue on the agenda,” Ms Davies said.
“Unlike The Nationals WA, the Federal Liberals haven’t lost any skin on behalf of the people of WA so I suggest some of our Federal MPs start standing up to Malcolm Turnbull.
“If they want to put their own political aspirations ahead of the interests of their home State, the people of WA will hold them to account.”
Ms Davies said the GST distribution system was broken and the State’s Budget was being smashed.
“West Australian taxpayers have facilitated the massive expansion of the iron ore sector when 500,000 extra people came to WA during the construction boom – the equivalent of the Tasmanian population,” Ms Davies said.
“Our State Budget wore the costs of that growth, but now three years have passed the aggressive redistribution is smashing the State’s finances.”
