Malcolm Turnbull’s gone to water over the GST debate, writes Jay Weatherill

OPINION: Australians were promised a mature GST debate by the Prime Minister, but it now appears even he is not capable of having a debate that addresses both national revenue and expenditure together.

MPs coming together to stand against domestic violence - have formed the Parliamentarians united against Domestic Violence group. Launch in Old parliament house North Tce. Premier Jay Weatherill speaking.

• Main report: Defiant Premier out on a limb on his big tax plan
• Ross Womersley: We’re not even having the right tax debate
• Steven Marshall: Raising the GST is just lazy and unfair
• Tory Shepherd: Plenty on Turnbull’s tax plate, but will he choose GST?

AUSTRALIANS were promised a mature debate by the Prime Minister, but it now appears even he is not capable of having a debate that addresses both national revenue and expenditure together.

Instead, we are back to the old Abbott model where the conversation about tax ignores the important debate about how revenue is spent. It’s infantile. We raise taxes to fund quality services — health and education being the most important.

The Prime Minister’s comments on tax are self-contradictory. On the one hand, he says we can’t increase the overall tax take. On the other hand, he says the states should raise taxes which will raise the overall tax take. This is cheap politics.

When questioned on the billions of dollars he has cut out of education he says teacher quality is the issue. When questioned about the billions of dollars his Government has cut from hospitals he says they are run inefficiently. So he is happy to blame doctors, nurses and teachers for being incompetent and inefficient. It’s glib, it’s blame-shifting and it’s the opposite of taking responsibility and demonstrating the leadership that he promised.

It is an obvious fact that $80 billion cuts to health and education budgets will deliver second-rate schools and hospitals.

Australians pay their taxes to get high quality education and health services.

I want a debate about this because we can’t have a country with second-rate services and increasing public debt. That is why I went out on a limb on the GST — against the position of my party. New South Wales Premier Mike Baird and I are doing this to provide a way forward in this debate.

The Prime Minister’s lectures on fiscal responsibility are also a bit hard to take. His Government, despite all the cuts, has increased the deficit. In South Australia we are running a balanced budget and we have undertaken significant business tax reform.

After softening up the public for months on the GST the Prime Minister has now gone to water. His party looks too divided for him to lead and deliver what most people want — quality services and a balanced budget.