Tony Abbott rules out GST changes before election

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says there will be no changes to the goods and services tax before the next federal election, which is due next year.

“There will be no changes to the GST in the first term of a Coalition government,” he said.

“I don’t mind people debating the GST and I certainly don’t mind member of parliament discussing the GST. But the GST simply can’t change unless all of the states and territories agree.”

His comments come after Liberal MP Dan Tehan broke ranks this week to call for the GST to be applied to fresh food, education, health and financial services.

Mr Abbott is in the United Arab Emirates after a surprise visit to Australian troops in Iraq. He talked to Australian Special Forces personnel operating at Baghdad International Airport and further west in Anbar Province. He also met with Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi.

“It’s important to be able to say thank you on behalf of the Australian nation to our military personnel,” he said..
 

Mr Abbott said he wasn’t ruling out providing support in addition to the 400 Australian personnel already on the ground in the Middle East.

Responding to a question about domestic matters, Mr Abbott said people tended to “hyperventilate” whenever the GST was mentioned.

“But it’s important to remind people that it simply cannot change unless all of the states and territories, including the Labor states and territories, agree and there is a consensus in the parliament and it won’t change in this term of parliament.”

He also responded to criticism that no Australian media accompanied him on the visit.

“It’s profoundly implausible that any Australian prime minister would want to have a secret visit to Australian troops and, plainly, there was footage released of everything that I did yesterday, but for understandable security reasons it is difficult to get people into Iraq at the moment and it was for security reasons that I was unable to take local media in,” he said. .
 

Source: The Australian Financial Review , Australia, dated 06/01/2015