Malcolm Turnbull confirms GST increase on the table

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed a GST increase is in his sights as the government prepares its tax reform package.

At the same time Treasurer Scott Morrison has separately confirmed superannuation tax concessions will be looked at to preserve the "integrity" of tax revenue.

And the Prime Minister has backed Australia playing a lead role in the nuclear fuel cycle but not using nuclear power itself.

Speaking to radio 5AA during visit to Adelaide, Mr Turnbull said of a GST increase; "That's on the table clearly".

But he disagreed with SA Premier Jay Weatherill who has argued that revenue from an increased GST should be directed to filling the yawning health funding gap faced by the states. The federal government argues any GST increase should be offset by tax cuts elsewhere so there is no net increase in the tax take. 



"It certainly has to be part of a suite of measures. No one's suggesting doing it in isolation," Mr Turnbull said.

"You've got to look at it in a whole context."

Mr Turnbull said states would have to get rid of inefficient taxes and be more efficient in the services they deliver, such as health.

"You can't just treat the Commonwealth government as an ATM, everyone's got to improve the delivery of their services," he said.

Mr Morrison has already put to the states a series of competition reforms stemming from the Harper review in which they would receive incentive payments if they opened up the delivery of health and other human services to the private sector.

MORRISON SAYS SUPER UP FOR REVIEW

Separately, Mr Morrison confirmed superannuation taxes were also up for review, saying the issue of "integrity" needed to be addressed to ensue the concessions were about enabling people to save for retirement and nt more. But he also assured any changes would not be retrospective to maintaining the stability of the super system.

"I think the superannuation system has to have stability and certainty," Mr Morrison said on the issue of retrospectivity," Mr Morrison said.

"So if people have been investing under particular rules, then I think if you change those rules retrospectively then that really can undermine confidence in the superannuation system.

"I mean, if you're 27 years old today and you saw something like that happen, now it may not impact you directly but you'd be thinking 'Gee, should I be putting more money in super, they could just change the rules on me later'. So I think governments have a responsibility to have stability in the system."

Mr Turnbull did commend Mr Weatherill for having a royal commission into the nuclear industry and said Australia should get involved in the nuclear fuel cycle insofar as it could produce fuel rods, export them, and then bring them home once spent and store them in outback waste dumps.

"That is a business you could well imagine here," he said, saying it was "worth looking at closely".

The Howard government tried to establish a waste dump in South Australia to take spent fuel rods from overseas and faced a bitter backlash, forcing it eventually to back off.

Mr Turnbull said he did not envisage Australia moving to nuclear power only because it had abundant affordable sources of renewable energy and fossil fuels.

Source::: The Australian Financial Review, dated 28/10/2015.........