Andrew Leigh

The Abbott Government is playing its state government colleagues for fools, forcing them to make the case for tax changes it clearly wants to make. 

MEDIA RELEASE

PREMIER NEWMAN ANOTHER PAWN IN ABBOTT’S GST STEALTH CAMPAIGN 

Campbell Newman’s call for more tax revenue to be returned to the states shows Tony Abbott’s $80 billion in cuts must be starting to bite.

In an opinion piece in today’s Australian, Mr Newman has argued that the states and territories will need a greater share of Commonwealth revenue in order to continue providing high quality services like hospitals and schools. 

Until the May Budget slashed the Commonwealth’s contribution to the states, they were set to receive substantially more federal funding – over $80 billion more over the next 10 years.

But Treasurer Joe Hockey ripped away this funding in one of the budget’s biggest broken promises, leaving state governments like Mr Newman’s to fend for themselves.

The Queensland Premier must resent being made a pawn in the Abbott Government’s stealth campaign to junk the existing distribution of revenue and raise the GST.

In parroting the Government’s call for more competitive federalism, Mr Newman is really advocating for a race to the bottom on service delivery, workplace rights and environmental protections.

Rather than letting himself be used by the Abbott Government in its political games on the GST, Campbell Newman should join Labor in fighting to get back the $80 billion Joe Hockey has ripped away from vital health and education services. The people of Queensland expect that he ‘can do’ better to stand up to his federal colleagues.

WEDNESDAY, 12 NOVEMBER 2014

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