Page 3067 - Week 07 - Thursday, 1 July 2010
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As usual, the Treasurer did not allow the facts to get in the way of a good story. She was asked whether or not it was being retained. She was asked by Mr Smyth, “Will you at least admit that 47 per cent of our GST is now being retained?” “No,” she said, and she kept repeating it. Yet we see that Nicola Roxon has a different view. She said, “Our bottom line is that the GST must be retained by the commonwealth and dedicated to health.” Is it retained or is it not? Who is right? Is Nicola Roxon not telling the truth? Does she not know what the agreement was? She goes on to say, in her press release of 28 April entitled “Historic health reform” under “Funding Arrangements”:
The commonwealth and seven states and territories have agreed to the Commonwealth retaining one third of the GST and becoming the dominant funder of the nation’s hospital system.
I guess that is where they got the one-third figure, but we did not ever hear anything different. The defence was “it’s not being retained”. No-one else actually believes that. That is why Colin Barnett has not signed up—because he does believe that it is being retained. That is what Nicola Roxon has said. It must be said again that the comparison with New South Wales is extraordinary. New South Wales held out and negotiated. We heard Kristina Keneally talking about how she negotiated hard. She said: “New South Wales got what it wanted out of this Council of Australian Governments negotiation. We got the money. We got the guarantees. I’m more than happy to speak to the conditions and the safeguards for agreement to GST retention by the commonwealth.”
Again, Kristina Keneally knows that it is being retained, but she actually bothered, on behalf of the people of New South Wales, to negotiate a better deal. Did ACT Labor negotiate a better deal? No, they got the worst deal. They gave up half our GST when New South Wales gave up one-third and they did not get anything extra in return.
Mr Smyth: Free bar snacks at the bar.
MR SESELJA: Indeed, Mr Stanhope was so keen. It is extraordinary. I suppose when he reflects on the fact that now Mr Rudd has gone that maybe he looks back with a tinge of regret that he was so desperate to please the then Prime Minister. They went for a nice walk around the gardens of the Lodge. We saw the footage there.
Mr Smyth: Saw the chooks.
MR SESELJA: Were the chooks there then?
Mr Smyth: They may have seen the chooks.
MR SESELJA: I think they may have seen the chooks. They had a lovely cup of tea and over that Mr Rudd said, “Look, Jon, I need you to sign up to this.” Jon said, “Absolutely; we will sign up.” There was no negotiation. They did not seek anything extra and they did not get anything extra. In fact, they got the worst deal of any jurisdiction, and then they hid it. We know why they hid it—because it is embarrassing. It is embarrassing that the people of the ACT, in order to get the same
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