Malcolm Turnbull has rallied the WA Liberal Party in preparation of the next federal election, citing his Government’s record in ‘delivering’ for the state.
This news comes as the PM finishes a three-day-long visit to Perth where he has expressed he is confident that the Liberals have won back Western Australia.
In an address made at the Western Australia Liberal state conference, the prime minister touted his Government’s new GST plan by suggesting he had fixed a historical “injustice” against Western Australia.
The GST plan would use federal money to expand the funding pool and therefore enhance the revenue of each state. The plan was originally created, in part, to address the historically low percentage WA got from the GST.
Mr Turnbull said that his party has “delivered a fair deal” and that Western Australian voters can rely on the fact “they have a government in Canberra that backs them”.
The prime minister also argued that only under a Liberal Government would the promised GST plan be implemented, saying that Labor had failed to make its position clear on the issue. He directly claimed Labor was the “greatest threat” to the GST deal.
Mr Turnbull then said that he was “the leader of the only party that has a plan for this state”.
He also took the opportunity to pledge $19.5 million AUD for road improvements in Western Australia.
This speech marks his last official remarks to the WA wing of the party before the full federal election campaign takes flight. Voters are expected to decide on Australia’s next PM in the first half of 2019.