Today it’s been revealed what many people have always suspected: the federal government is denying the state government GST exemption on the $240 million that has been given to redevelop the Macquarie Point site. This is Labor and Liberal politicians playing with Tasmanians and denying Tasmanians the ability to spend that money on the things that really count, to spend that money on health care, on education, on public transport, and on other initiatives that actually really help relieve the cost of living pressure.
It’s revealed that Treasurer Ferguson and his Treasury Department was actually informed mid-December that the federal government wasn’t going to exempt the GST from the contribution to the Macquarie Point site. Despite this Treasurer Ferguson sat on this information for two months and it wasn’t until the day that Jeremy Rockliff called the election that he’s written a desperate letter back to the federal treasurer seeking a reassessment of the decision. That decision won’t change. This is Liberal and Labor politicians dudding Tasmanians out of $240 million that could be spent on the things that matter most: health care, education, housing support and other initiatives that people need so desperately today.