Subjects: Labor's hypocrisy on tax reform.
E&OE................................
JOURNALIST:
[inaudible] Lindsay Tanner's comments this morning that it will take at least the full term of a Labor Government to rollback the GST. What's your response to that?
PRIME MINISTER:
What you're now witnessing is the beginning of the long retreat from Rollback. It will rival Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. I mean for years they've said the GST was a great pestilence and they said they're going to roll it back and they're walking away from that. It just shows what hypocrites they are. The truth is that the Labor Party knows that this country needs tax reform. Their dream was that we would endure the political difficulty and pain of introducing it and they would inherit the benefits. And they're not going to roll anything back of any consequence and the Australian people will know that whatever the outcome of the next election there'll still be a GST.
JOURNALIST:
[inaudible] Mr Beazley's speech tonight...
PRIME MINISTER:
Well if Mr Beazley thinks what I'm now saying is wrong let him outline tonight what he will do with Rollback. Let him tell the Australian public where he will roll it back. I don't think he will because he doesn't really mean to get rid of the GST. He's always known that we've needed it but he hasn't had the courage to advocate it. He's left that to us and I think his hypocrisy is being revealed.
[ends]