Interview with Jerrie Damasi, Nine News Perth
1 October 2018
JERRIE DAMASI: We cross live to the Prime Minister now. Scott Morrison is in Perth on a GST mission, vowing to lock in, as law, his Government’s proposed changes to the goods and services tax.
Mr Morrison, welcome to Nine Live Perth.
PRIME MINISTER: Hi Jerrie, good to be here.
DAMASI: Very good, firstly, let me get your opinion on this fuel hike? We just heard the average in Perth tomorrow will be almost $1.70 a litre. That’s a record high here. The ACCC says it’s price gouging, what can be done?
PRIME MINISTER: Well that is very high and we’ve seen similar outcomes over in the eastern states as well. The ACCC, if they can make the case, then they will need to bring forward some actions and that’s their job. They are the cop on the beat and when I was Treasurer, I gave them the powers to actually look not just at what was happening at the bowser but the extent to which this price-setting was happening back in the boardrooms as well. We’re still waiting for their final report on that. But they are the cop on the beat. We have given them more resources to look at these things specifically, so I’ll be looking forward to the recommendations that come from Rod Simms as to what action they propose to take as that cop.
DAMASI: Alright. Now let’s talk GST which is why you’re here in Perth. How do you plan to fix WA’s GST woes?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, back in July people will know that I made good on my promise as Treasurer to change the formula, put a floor in, increase the amount that was being put in by the Commonwealth and provide those early top-up payments over the next couple of years. Now, that’s $4.7 billion for Western Australia specifically. That means schools, that’s hospitals, that’s law and order, happening out over the next eight years. And when we come back into Parliament we’ll be introducing legislation to give effect to all of that.
So, from changing the formula and putting the floor in, to the extra investment we’re putting in to make sure that all states and territories will be better off. It wasn’t just a matter of fixing this for WA, it was about fixing this nationally and in the national interest. That’s what we were able to announce and we’ll be taking that into law when Parliament returns in a few weeks’ time.
DAMASI: Right and Prime Minister, it’s been a contentious issue in WA for a long time, is this move a bid to secure votes here?
PRIME MINISTER: This is a bid to secure a fair deal for Western Australia and to ensure the way we distribute the GST is done on a fair go principle. So it’s still supporting some of the smaller states like Tasmania and South Australia, but at the same time, recognising that states like Western Australia or indeed New South Wales or Victoria who have had a stronger economic performance, don’t get the raw end of the stick. So it is important that we have a fairer system. This is the biggest set of changes to the GST since it was first introduced all those years ago and it’s been a long process to get to this point. There’s a lot of work being done and I appreciate the patience of Western Australians as we’ve worked through this issue. From Colin Barnett to the current Premier, we’ve all been working on this for some time.
This is the fair deal that WA has been waiting for. It’s being delivered by our Government.
DAMASI: Alright Prime Minister, I understand you caught up with Julie Bishop this morning?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah we were out at West Coast. We were just talking about the big win for the west when it comes to the GST, but also, a big win for West Coast on the weekend as well. Julie is their number one ticket holder and we went out there to see the boys today. That was a lot of fun, I mean I’m not an AFL afficionado, Julie certainly is. She was sitting just behind me at the Grand Final on the weekend and she was pretty excited, I’ve got to say and so she should be. It was a tremendous game.
DAMASI: It was fantastic. Scott Morrison thank you very much for joining us. Hope you enjoy Perth, make sure you check out the beaches.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, great to be with you.
