Treasurer Peter Gutwein says he and Prime Minister Scott Morrison continue to have a good working relationship despite a report the latter swore at him during a conversation about a new method of GST distribution.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
News Limited reported on Wednesday that Mr Morrison called Mr Gutwein a “f---ing mendicant” during a brief phone call to negotiate a new GST carve-up.
After this, Premier Will Hodgman and former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull were then required to negotiate an outcome.
Mr Morrison and Mr Gutwein have denied the claim.
“While it is not my usual practice to comment on private conversations, I can confirm that during our discussions relating to the GST the phrase attributed in today’s media to Mr Morrison was not used,” Mr Gutwein said.
“Mr Morrison and I continue to have a very good working relationship and most importantly, the GST proposal that Mr Morrison and I reached is, on face value, a good deal for Tasmania.”
Bass Labor MHR Ross Hart said Mr Morrison had essentially referred to Tasmanians as beggars.
“Scott Morrison owes an apology to all Tasmanians for this disgraceful insult,” he said.
Braddon Labor MHR Justine Keay said it was right for Tasmania to fight for a fair share of GST receipts.
“Regional Tasmania is already suffering as a result of this government overseeing growing inequality between cities and the regions,” she said.
Tasmanian Labor finance spokesman Scott Bacon said it was clear that Mr Gutwein believed the GST deal was a dud.
“The GST deal was designed for Western Australia at the expense of Tasmania," he said.
The federal government in June announced it would reject the Productivity Commission’s recommendation that GST payments should be divided up based on a calculation which averages out the financial capacities of all states.
Instead, it would benchmark distributions against the financial capacities of New South Wales or Victoria – whichever state performed better.
To assist with the transition from 2021-22, the federal government said it would give Tasmania $112 million over six years.