Western Australian Prime Minister Mark McGowan says he is pleased to have joined the Victorian government and opposition in an ironic response to a verbal dispute with the state over spending on GST and the Commonwealth Games. .
McGowan has criticized Victoria for spending $ 2.6 billion bringing the games to Bendigo, but also wants a further reduction in VAT as WA collects mining royalties.
WA Prime Minister Mark McGowan is pointing the finger at Eastern states on a number of issues. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
The position led to rebukes from Victorian Prime Minister Dan Andrews and his opposition counterpart, as well as NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet.
Perrottet told reporters that McGowan should not give lectures to anyone on budgets when all WA did was dig things out of the ground and sell them. He referred to McGowan as “Gollum,” an obsessive, lonely creature The Lord of the Ringsafter using the emergency the last time the GST debate erupted.
Despite this, McGowan invited Perrottet to visit WA.
“I have been advised that he has never been to WA, so I am happy to arrange a program for him and bring him here to take a look and make sure he understands what our state is all about,” he said. to say.
“I think it’s important if you want to be prime minister, make sure you’ve seen the whole country.”
Dominic Perrottet and Peter Dutton. Credits: Kate Geraghty / AP
McGowan then noted the support his state had given NSW in terms of COVID assistance, flood support and WA revenue that went to the federal government.
“We continue to provide financial support to NSW, so WA is a donor state that sends billions of dollars to the east, including the less fortunate states like NSW, and we will continue to do so because we want to help our Australian compatriots,” he said. to say.
“I just urge the NSW Prime Minister to make sure he understands the whole country and to take a look at what WA is doing.
“We kept all our industries open for a very difficult time [COVID-19] period. The rivers of gold flooded the Commonwealth which was later used to rescue Victoria and NSW in particular during this period, and this is obviously a nation-wide benefit delivered by Western Australians who continue to work.
“The most important thing is that the other states shouldn’t come after the Western Australian GST quota and that’s the point I’m trying to make.”
Labor leader Tanya Plibersek apologized after comparing the appearance of Liberal MP Peter Dutton to that of Harry Potter villain Voldemort. Credit: Jamila Toderas / Alex Ellinghausen
While federal Labor leader Tanya Plibersek apologized for comparing likely new Liberal leader Peter Dutton to Harry Potter villain Voldemort, McGowan said he found a representation of potential new federal opposition leader as the Dark Wizard. on the cover of Western Australia “relatively funny” diary.