TRANSCRIPT
6PR WITH OLIVER PETERSON
13 March 2023
E&OE.
Oliver Peterson
The Treasurer Jim Chalmers has ordered an assessment into the impact of the Morrison Government’s 2018 deal, which gave WA a better share of the GST. Joining me now is WA Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash. Good afternoon.
Senator Cash
Great to be with you Ollie.
Oliver Peterson
What do you think that the Treasurer is up to here?
Senator Cash
Well, it’s Sneaky Jim and without a doubt, he is clearly coming after WA’s fair share of the GST. Now Ollie, this was something that if you recall, the WA Federal Liberal Members fought hard for and delivered for Western Australia. And before the 2022 election campaign, we vowed that the GST deal for WA was a forever deal, and it would never change under a Coalition Government. And I can tell you right now, and I can tell your listeners – that pledge remains in place today. And Peter Dutton and the WA Team will fight hard against any attempts by Jim Chalmers or Anthony Albanese, or anybody from Federal Labor who tries to change our GST deal. I can tell you now, we won’t let it happen.
Oliver Peterson
The Treasurer tells the Canberra Times to assist in ensuring that each state and territory will get the better of the current or former GST distribution, the commission should provide relativities that would have been applied if the Morrison deal had not been enacted. So he sounds like he’s certainly up to something here?
Senator Cash
Well Sneaky Jim, if you recall, prior to the election said a lot of things. For example, I’ll cut your electricity bill by $275… broken promise. Remember the promise of cheaper mortgages… broken. No changes to super – broken. Lower inflation – broken. One of my favorites, we’re not touching franking credits – broken. So I have to say, when it comes to WA’s fair share of the GST I don’t trust anything that Jim Chalmers or Anthony Albanese says. And in fact, what they should do, as a Federal Government is to make the current ‘no worse off’ guarantee (which as you know, is set to expire in mid-2027), a permanent feature of the carve up. Because when it comes to the Federal WA Liberal Team, I can tell you we will fight them every single step of the way.
Oliver Peterson
The Treasurer is trying to basically say there’s some sort of review here Senator. Then, how are we going to fund the other states? Not about WA, it’s about how we would fund the other states. But there’s still no guarantees here for Western Australia. When push comes to shove, the other states and territories and their treasurers come knocking on the door. What’s the treasurer going to do?
Senator Cash
Well he can do exactly what Scott Morrison did, what Malcolm Turnbull did, what Peter Dutton has done, and that is stand up for Western Australia. You’re either for Western Australia, or you are not. You’re either for the ‘no worse off’ guarantee being made permanent or you are not. And I have to say based on every other promise that Jim Chalmers and Anthony Albanese made prior to the election, and the fact that once they’re elected, they seem to think they can break all of those promises. You have a real trust issue happening now. And I have to say when it comes to Western Australia, you recall that under the former Morrison government, we had committed to spend $4.3 billion on the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson in relation to the dry-dock. Well, again, that now seems to be up in the air, under Mr. Albanese and the current Albanese government. When it comes to Western Australia, they seem to take us for granted and you just can’t do that.
Oliver Peterson
Well, you think as well that without Western Australia’s voting record at the last federal election, Anthony Albanese wouldn’t be the Prime Minister of Australia at the moment. Without the support of Mark McGowan and the State Labor Team here Michaelia, then he might find himself in a different predicament right now.
Senator Cash
You know Mark McGowan loves to blame everybody other than Mr. Albanese. I mean Mr McGowan was out there the other day complaining about Dominic Perrottet. Well guess what, pick up the phone to Dominic Perrottet, and tell him what you think on behalf of Western Australians. Because I can assure you, my Federal NSW colleagues know exactly where I stand when it comes to WA’s fair share of the GST. They know exactly where the WA Federal Liberal Team stands. They know exactly where the WA Liberal Team stands. So Mr. McGowan needs to start taking up the fight both to the other state Premiers but also to his mate in Canberra, Anthony Albanese. Making it very, very clear… Hands off WA’s GST?
Oliver Peterson
Are you worried there’s a bit of a pattern emerging here that the Federal Government is taking WA for granted?
Senator Cash
Look absolutely. And it’s also not just Western Australia, it’s all Australians and in particular, as I said the promises being made before the election. People relied on those promises – we’ll cut your electricity bill by $275, cheaper mortgages, no changes to super, lower inflation, we’re not touching franking credits. But also look at where Peter Dutton was on Friday. He was in Wagin with the WA Federal Liberal Team, talking to the farmers about Mr. Albanese’s plan to literally close them down. Sheep farmers in Western Australia, they don’t care about you, you will be out of a job. Peter Dutton on the other hand, he was standing up for the sheep farmers, he was standing up for Western Australians. So what you’ve got now that they’re elected to govern is a very clear anti-Western Australia sentiment flowing through. And you don’t hear anything from Patrick Gorman – the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister, you hear nothing from Madeleine King, you hear nothing from Matt Keogh. Can I tell you when we sat around that cabinet table as Cabinet Ministers from Western Australia, our colleagues were in no doubt about where we stood when it came to standing up for the interests of WA.
Oliver Peterson
Michaelia Cash, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
Senator Cash
Great to be with you Ollie.
Oliver Peterson
That is WA Liberal Senator, Michaelia Cash.
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