Premier Jacinta Allan says Victoria will now back a plan to pass a GST discount directly to motorists, after states clashed over how to spend the windfall from surging petrol prices.
Queensland and Victoria argued at a meeting yesterday that the extra GST revenue generated from soaring fuel costs should be reinvested into broader cost-of-living measures, with Allan advocating for it to be used to support the agricultural sector and reduce the price of some food. NSW rejected the proposal.
By this morning, Allan confirmed Victoria supported handing back discounts to motorists at the bowser.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.Eddie Jim
“Well, Victoria’s position is … that we support the use of the GST to further drive down fuel prices at the pump,” she said.
“So we can hold both positions … we can support the reduction of the fuel costs at the pump through further using the GST process. And we can also look at new ways and measures of supporting rural and regional communities and the agricultural sector. And that’s absolutely Victoria’s position, and will continue to be the position going forward.”
The proposal to hand back GST windfalls directly at the bowser had been publicly backed by NSW Premier Chris Minns. If introduced, it is expected to save motorists an additional 6-10¢ per litre in fuel on top of the temporary halving of the fuel excise.
Allan said it was a complex process to determine how the GST discount would be calculated.
“And that was also what we talked about in our meeting yesterday, that we needed a bit of time to work through the quantum and to also work through the mechanism,” she said.