Water load of rubbish
THE State Government is being deceitful in its claim that the Federal Government and Herbert MP Phillip Thompson have not delivered $195m in federal funding for Stage 2 of Townsville Water’s Haughton Pipeline.
I have researched the 2019 federal budget, The Commonwealth Grants Commission 2019 GST Revenue Sharing Update and the Queensland Government 201819 Financial Audit Report.
All the facts confirm that the Queensland Government, the state Treasurer and our local three State Labor MPS are endeavouring to deceive the people of Townsville for crass political advantage in the leadup to the October state election.
The state Labor Party is already issuing printed election flyers claiming that “the LNP’S Phillip Thompson, has broken his promise on water security for Townsville” and “he has not delivered funding for Stage 2 of the pipeline”.
The federal budget of April last year allocated $195m over 2019-20 and 2020-21 for the Stage 2 Haughton Pipeline. Budget Paper 3, Page 54, shows this allocation and states, “the Australian Government will provide funding to support projects … including Stage 2 of the Haughton pipeline …”
FACT: Premier Palaszczuk’s government is refusing to accept the approved and allocated $195m so Labor can claim the LNP has broken its promise.
Labor claims the $195m federal pipeline funding must be excluded from GST calculations otherwise it will cost Queensland $156m.
Originally Labor stated that it was about the GST being applied to the work. GST is 10 per cent. Businesses claim back GST and GST is not applied to wages. GST could never account for a loss of $156m.
When I asked Scott Stewart, state MP for Townsville, for an explanation, he said “the confusion was in the message … the problem is not having GST exempt from the project, it is having the entire funding ($195m) deducted from Queensland’s GST allocation”.
Mr Stewart’s explanation is bizarre. He could not explain why the state Treasurer was claiming a lesser figure of $156m.
The annual GST allocation to each state is done by the Commonwealth Grants Commission. The Federal Government has no power to deduct or withhold any funds from any state’s GST allocation.
The GST allocation calculations are complex. The Grants Commission uses a model known as horizontal fiscal equalisation, which is approved by all the states.
The Grants Commission calculations include each state’s assets and revenues. Labor’s $156m bogus costing is based on irrational demands that all federal-funded Queensland state assets be excluded. This has never happened before and does not happen with other states. Labor is using this ludicrous GST claim to delay accepting the $195m so it can claim these funds have not been “delivered”.
Labor is willing to delay the pipeline construction, create loss of jobs and incur more costs. Why? So Labor can cry “broken promise” by Phillip Thompson and the LNP.
If Labor blatantly lies about this to the people of Townsville, what else will Labor lie about?
I welcome Mr Stewart, and anyone else, to challenge my research and the facts.
BARRY LOWE, Kirwan.