Murray Olds: Australian correspondent on the growing calls to raise Australia's GST

The Australian Government is facing renewed calls to increase the GST, but hand taxpayers a hefty rebate set to shield low-income earners.

The new proposal, put forward by teal independent MP Kate Chaney and economist Richard Holden, would raise the GST from 10 percent to 15 percent.

Australian correspondent Murray Olds says this change would leave Australia's lowest earners better off than under the current system.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
International correspondence with ends in Eye Insurance Peace of Mind
for New Zealand Business.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Murray Old OSSI correspondence to me. Now he mus Afternoondia Heather,
so is Gareth Wood? Has he just completely lost the
plot here? Has he?

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Well? No his argument and it's being put this afternoon
by his lawyer. He says, listen until my appeal is heard.
The appeal process is heard and has concluded I am
entitled to remain a member of the New South Wales Parliament.
He's currently in jail, as you say, very serious sex
offenses against a couple of young men. He went to

(00:37):
jail straight away last week with bail was revoked, so
he's been in jail for a week now. The Parliament
can't under the constitution, the Parliament can't punish him, heaber,
that's not allowed. But the Parliament can seek to preserve
its dignity by expelling MPs who are convicted of pretty
serious crimes. That's what the government wants to do and

(01:00):
got by part of the support. But at Gareth Ward's
lawyer went to the Supreme Court on Tuesday this week
and sought an adjunction. Successfully sought an injunction to prevent
the Parliament considering emotion along those lines to kick him
out at once. So he's in jail, probably in protective custody,
still collecting around a quarter million dollars a year in salary.

(01:21):
And he says he's entitled to say as an MP
until he has had his appeal has been heard.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
Ah ok, fair enough. I suppose, I suppose what do
you make of this plan about GST?

Speaker 1 (01:33):
Well, look on the service, it looks to be pretty smart.
But Albany, but the Prime Minister Anthony Albanezi, you know,
he says it won't be considered in a nutshell right,
The GST has been ten percent forever ever since it
came in about twenty five years ago. The government has
an economic roundtable later this month. Unions, business leaders all invited.
Now a new suggestion from an economist, raise the GST

(01:56):
to fifteen percent, right up from ten to fifteen percent,
and taking items that currently are exempt like fresh food,
like childcare, like education, like help and utilities as well.
These are exempt from the GST. Now the sums look
pretty igh watering. It would raise over ninety billion dollars
a year. But here's the thing. If you raise that

(02:16):
says this economist's plan, you'd have to provide offsets. Every
tax player would get around three and a half thousand
dollars in rebates, which would eliminate the impact of the
higher GST on the first twenty two to twenty three
thousand dollars of everyone's annual income, which would help young
people starting out in the workforce. You wouldn't be paying
as much income tax and never to get young people

(02:38):
earn less. But they've still paid a disproportioned amount of
income tax. But Alban Eazy just, I don't know what
the problem is. He's got ninety four seats in the
lower House of Federal Parliament. The opposition is fifty seats behind.
If he's not going to do it now, he'll never
do it because he's got the perfect opportunity with a
margin like that. Have some cur have some testicular fortitude

(03:02):
and say we're going to have tax re form here.
We need it because you can't keep relying it relying
on income text just not going to work.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
As you see Albanezy's come out and defended just to
Alan for the working from home idea.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
Well, look at a labor it's a labor thing. You
know workers have to have I mean, look, I'm a
labor voter, you know that. But the right to work
from home isn't the spotlight over here. Property Council Austray says, listen,
we've got all this vacant office space in downtown's all
over the country. The vacancy rates in some of the
high rise buildings in our CBDs ever, are at a

(03:37):
thirty year high three zeros. They have them in this
high for thirty years fifteen percent plus in some cb
details worse than some pockets of Melbourne. Now, look, the
cb details are making a slow comeback, but you know
from COVID. COVID destroyed businesses. We all know people work
from home and people got used to it. They quite
liked working from home. The Property Council says, listen, employers

(04:00):
have to get workers back into these offices because property
counts are losing money and the Victorian governments confirmed it's
going to actually legislate to guarantee the right of employees
to work from home two days a week. The bosses
are saying, you're out of your mind. The Property Council
are saying, listen, we need the revenue to keep on
adding to the office space because the economy isn't going

(04:21):
to stand still. Interesting to see where this one's going
to land.

Speaker 2 (04:25):
Marz appreciate your time, Murray Old's Australia correspondent. For more
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