Malcolm Turnbull has announced a multimillion-dollar infrastructure investment package in Western Australia, a day after saying he won’t throw a “fistful of dollars” at voters.
On Sunday the prime minister announced an investment of $490m, earmarked for infrastructure in Western Australia, to ensure the state would receive a reasonable share of goods and services tax. Western Australia currently receives the lowest share of GST.
When asked on Sunday about the spending announcement in light of his comments about the budget, Turnbull said it was about ensuring WA was given a fair deal.
He said the “net consequence” was about ensuring Western Australia was not worse off than it would have been because of the allocation of the GST.
“Western Australia has had a very raw deal. Everyone understands that. What we are doing is ensuring, as we did last year, that there is a balance brought back into it,” he said.
“This is a question of dealing fairly with Western Australia. We have done so in a way that does not prejudice other states or disturb the allocation of GST. We believe this is an equitable way of ensuring that the distribution of the GST.”
Labor senator Penny Wong said she understood the concerns of Western Australians about the GST, but was critical of the government’s broader budgeting for the state, pointing to public transport funding cuts.
“It’s all very well for Mr Turnbull to come out and offer Western Australia a payment as he has today, but what you always get with Mr Turnbull and the Liberal party is a give with one hand and a take with the other,” she said.
“If you want a better deal with Western Australian schools and hospitals, there’s only one party that is putting that on the table and that’s the Labor party.”
The announcement from Turnbull said the infrastructure it would pay for would help reduce congestion and improve safety.
