DR ANNE ALY MP

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR COWAN

E&EO TRANSCRIPT

TV INTERVIEW

THE PROJECT, TEN NETWORK

THURSDAY 31 AUGUST 2017

SUBJECT: WAxit

ANNE ALY, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR COWAN: Wax on. Wax off. This whole WAxit thing sounds more like a hair removal salon than any kind of political move doesn’t it? But yeah, it’s a little bit ridiculous.

CARRIE BICKMORE: Is it ridiculous? So back in 1933, what was it? Eighty, no, sixty-eight per cent of Perth-ites voted ‘Yes’. What do you think would be the current mood for the idea of breaking away?

A. ALY: Ok, so, 1933 – what’s that, almost a hundred years ago?

BICKMORE: I’ll leave the math to you.

A. ALY: Yeah, I don’t know math either. But if you have to delve up ideas that were a hundred years ago, I think you pretty much got nothing if that’s the case. Look, I think we can joke about it all we like but it does belie a very serious grievance that they’re just unhappy with fair share that WA’s not getting.

WALEED ALY: Anne, just on the GST point. You say it’s a real concern – and it is something that puts a fire under people in WA for reasons you can understand – but if you’re prepared to say that’s a real concern but this is a ridiculous response to it, then what’s your response? I mean, can you pledge that you’re going to fix the GST problem for people in WA when you’re in government?

A. ALY: I think the response is pretty – yeah, fix it. And this government could do that tomorrow if they wanted to.

W. ALY: Yeah but will you though? Will you?

A. ALY: We’ve pledged to have a WA Fund, legislated WA Fund, that would bring WA’s fair share of the GST up to the equivalent of seventy cents in the dollar. But, you know, this could be fixed tomorrow if the government wanted it to be fixed.

GRETEL KILLEEN: So Anne, is there a WA identity?

A. ALY: I think it’s more than that. I think it’s about the fact that we don’t have a lot of space in the national conversation. And whether it’s around the GST, or whether it’s around other forms of funding, or even about issues like housing affordability, I don’t think WA gets heard as much as it could be. We are very much the ‘Wait Awhile’ state, but the way to fix that is not by saying goodbye, the way to fix that is to get in there and be loud and proud voices for all West Australians.

PETER HELLIAR: So there’s no wall being built, Anne?

A. ALY: I don’t know! Who’d fund it?

HELLIAR: We’re not paying for it – we are not paying for it!

A. ALY: We’d get South Australia to pay for it! We’ll build a wall and get South Australia to pay for it!

HELLIAR: With all their bottles!

BICKMORE: Alright Anne, we’ll leave it there. Thanks so much for your time.

A. ALY: Thanks so much, have a great night guys!

ENDS