Galaxy poll shows two out of five South Australians support GST increase

PREMIER Jay Weatherill will continue pushing for a rise in the GST, despite the Prime Minister all but ruling out an increase and an Advertiser poll showing just two in five voters support the idea.

18/06/15 State Premier Jay Weatherill and Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis arrive at the Adelaide Convention Centre before later delivering the Budget today. photo Calum Robertson

• Turnbull remains sceptical on GST increease
• Tory Shepherd: Plenty on Turnbull’s tax plate, but will he choose GST?
• Ross Womersley: We’re not even having the right tax debate
• Steven Marshall: Raising the GST is just lazy and unfair
• Jay Weatherill: Turnbull’s gone to water over the GST

PREMIER Jay Weatherill will continue pushing for a rise in the GST, despite the Prime Minister all but ruling out an increase and an Advertiser poll showing just two in five voters support the idea.

Mr Weatherill concedes he is “out on a limb” on the issue, facing criticism from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and within his party, but said he felt “very comfortable” about his position.

He has pledged to “escalate” his campaign for an increase in the GST to help fund health and education services in the lead-up to a federal election later this year.

An Advertiser/Galaxy survey of 860 people conducted between last Wednesday and Friday asked their views on Mr Weatherill’s reform proposal, which would lift the GST rate from 10 to 15 per cent, compensate low-income earners and fund health and education.

It found 51 per cent of respondents were opposed and 39 per cent in favour, while 10 per cent were undecided.

There were slightly more Liberal voters in favour of the proposal than Labor voters.

Premier Jay Weatherill

Mr Weatherill said it was important to note public opinion but brushed off the results.

“It’s not about a popularity contest,” he said.

“It’s my job to stand up for South Australians and to advocate for the changes that I believe are necessary.

“That’s why we’re determined to pursue this debate.”

Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said an increase to the GST would be “a disaster for South Australia’s economy, which has already flatlined”.

Mr Turnbull has indicated that the Federal Government will outline its plans for tax reform in the May Budget.

However, a change to the GST will not be included unless it can be shown to drive economic growth.

If a proposal is not presented by the May Budget then any change to the GST would be off the agenda for the next term of government, he said.

Mr Weatherill said the public response to a proposal to increase tax “was always likely to be negative”.

“I’m more surprised at the size of the support for it, given it’s a completely undeveloped debate,” he said.

“While the public mood is important to gauge I think a more important indicator is the quality of the debate.

“A once-off survey is not going to lead to the considered judgment that citizens ultimately will make about this matter.”

Having previously welcomed Mr Weatherill’s “contribution” to the tax debate, Mr Turnbull yesterday criticised his approach.

“Jay Weatherill has got out there and said ... we should be paying more tax,” Mr Turnbull said.

“We think we’re already paying more than enough tax.”

In a scathing opinion piece written for The Advertiser, Mr Weatherill describes Mr Turnbull’s recent approach to the issue as “infantile” and warns that the “conversation about tax ignores the important debate about how revenue is spent”.

“After softening up the public for months on the GST the Prime Minister has now gone to water,” he writes.

“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.”

SA Council of Social Service executive director Ross Womersley said Mr Weatherill was “absolutely right to focus on the need to raise sufficient revenue” to pay for public services and the Coalition’s “refusal to recognise the revenue problem ... is disappointing and shortsighted”.

“We are still yet to have a tax debate where everything is really on the table, including the first-principle question of what level of services we want from our governments, and therefore how much revenue is required?,” he said.

Mr Marshall said more money would not fix the health system.

“We need to run the health system better,” he said.

“We’ve got the most expensive health system in the country and we’re at the bottom of the pack (on performance).”

“The majority of people aren’t in favour of Jay’s proposal to increase taxes.

“They would prefer him to focus on creating long-term sustainable jobs.”

University of Adelaide Professor Clem Macintyre said the chances of Mr Weatherill’s model “getting up ... are very, very slight, but its intriguing that nearly 40 per cent of the state are sufficiently anxious about funding of schools and the health system that they’re willing to support that plan”.