Mr LINDSAY (3:19 PM) —My question is addressed to the Treasurer. Would the Treasurer detail to the House all of the elements of the government's information and education campaign to explain the changes to Australia's tax system?

Mr COSTELLO (Treasurer) —I thank the honourable member for his question. The most important element of the government's information campaign is the GST Start-up Assistance Office, which has received some $200 million. The Labor Party has been falsely claiming that the government's advertising campaign is $360 million. In fact, it puts $200 million of assistance to community organisations to help them with their compliance as part of that campaign—$200 million goes to the GST Start-up Assistance Office, of which $150 million is directly delivered to organisations like the National Catholic Education Commission, which got $6 million.

The Labor Party makes false claims about grants to community organisations and business organisations to help them with compliance costs. I have had numbers of meetings with business and community organisations, and not one of them has said to me yet that they think they have got sufficient amounts for this. But $200 million of it was for the GST Start-up Assistance Office going to those industry associations by direct grants to help them with compliance. The Labor Party would say, `Oh, well, it's a government advertising campaign.' Listen to some of the recipients: the National Catholic Education Commission, $6 million; ATSIC, $400,000—presumably that is a GST advertising campaign. The ACTU was a beneficiary under the so-called advertising campaign. Anglicare Australia received a direct grant. The Salvation Army—the Labor Party wraps up grants to the Salvation Army and makes the false claim that it is advertising. St Vincent de Paul—$500,000 to help St Vincent de Paul with its tax obligation. There is the Council of Social Service of New South Wales with $3.6 million. Surf Lifesaving Australia also got megabucks. There is the Motor Traders Association. So that is $200 million which went to industry associations including churches, social welfare organisations, ACTU, in relation to helping them with compliance.

There is another $36 million—which the Labor Party also wraps into its false claims—in information campaigns on the Australian business number and the PAYG system, both of which the Labor Party supports. They may not remember it, but it was actually their policy at the last election to introduce the ABN and the PAYG but without the GST. So you could hardly be against that informational campaign.

The remaining $100 million of the so-called $360 million is not a yearly cost at all. It is a four-year program—and the Labor Party has added up the four years and claimed an expenditure—and $54 million is in the current year. The community campaign is $46 million. So you have $54 million in relation to business and its compliance and $46 million in relation to consumers.

Let me make this point: introducing this tax change will secure $24 billion in revenue for the states this year. If the Labor Party wants to say that the $360 million could have been spent on new schools, what does it say about the $24 billion that will come from the GST? Does it say it is opposed to that $24 billion from GST revenue which will go to the states and which will fund every single school in Australia? The GST will fund every single school in Australia because the total state spending on education is $14½ billion. It will then fund all housing for all states in Australia, which is an additional $2 billion. It will then fund every last dollar of the $6.8 billion spent on law enforcement in this country. So, if the Labor Party wants to say that it is opposed to GST, then it is opposed to the funding of every school, every teacher, every house, every housing commission tenant, every policeman, every court, every prison and all of those services that the GST will fund.

But of course we know that, when the Labor Party wants to run its populist campaign, it is against goods and services tax, until 30 June. At midnight on 30 June, the Labor Party becomes in favour of the goods and services tax. The Leader of the Opposition is so opposed to the goods and services tax that, if he is ever elected, he wants to keep it. He has come out and said, `I won't just keep it, I want to actually roll it back.' He cannot tell you where, he cannot tell you when and he cannot tell you how much. When he was on radio in Melbourne, he was asked by Jon Faine how he was going to pay the states all of this revenue to fund their schools, their hospitals and their law enforcement, how he was going to roll back the GST and how he was going to make up the revenue. Jon Faine said:

And we know they are against that. He goes on:

This is the reply of the Leader of he Opposition:

Mr Howard —Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.