Deputy Labor leader says it would cost ‘bugger all’ to remove GST on menstrual products

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Tanya Plibersek has suggested Labor should repeal the “tampon tax”, the application of the goods and services tax to menstrual products.

At the National Press Club before International Women’s Day, the deputy Labor leader called for governments to take account of the gendered impact of their policies, citing the tampon tax as a “dumb decision we just have to fix”.

“Australia levies GST on tampons but we don’t apply it to Viagra,” she said. “Only a bunch of blokes sitting around a table would come to the conclusion that sanitary pads are anything other than an essential good.

“This was a dumb decision when it was made in 1999.”

Plibersek said that both Labor in opposition in 2000 and the former Liberal treasurer Joe Hockey in 2015 had tried to ditch the “ridiculous” tampon tax.

The shadow minister for women said it required states’ and territories’ sign-off but “this is something that I just don’t think is beyond us”.

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Plibersek said she had not seen recent costings for removal of the tampon tax but quipped that “in the scope of the whole federal budget and the amount we collect in GST, I think that the technical term is ‘bugger all’”.

“I really think we can find a solution to this.”

The former prime minister Tony Abbott told 2GB Radio that Plibersek’s position – and that of his former treasurer Hockey – were both wrong. “Once you start having these sorts of exemptions – where does it end?”

Abbott said the government had to broaden the tax base rather than carve out “politically correct” exemptions.

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The Greens immediately welcomed Plibersek’s comments, with women’s spokeswoman Janet Rice calling for support for a Greens bill to “fix this unfair and discriminatory tax”.

“Tampons, pads and sanitary items aren’t an optional luxury, so they shouldn’t attract GST,” she said.

“The Greens sought to fix this issue last year by moving amendments to a GST bill before the Senate, but Labor and the Coalition voted it down.

“If they are serious about fixing this issue they should support our bill to get the job done.”



In the speech Plibersek promised to boost the representation of women in senior positions on government boards and in the public service as well as take action to address the gender pay gap such as instituting a target to reduce the gap, if elected.

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Plibersek said that “further legislative reform” may be needed to fix the disparity in pay between male and female-dominated industries.

In February childcare workers lost an equal pay case. Plibersek said of the case that it “beggars belief” to say there is no gender discrimination in their pay.

She cited the fact early childhood educators with a certificate three qualification earn $20 an hour compared with metalworkers with equivalent qualifications.

Questions to Plibersek caused a minor stir when – after two questions from female journalists – the first two male journalists asked the deputy Labor leader about Malcolm Turnbull’s criticisms of Bill Shorten’s multiple positions on the Adani Carmichael coal mine.

The first question, which prompted groans from the audience, caused Plibersek to observe “we’ve moved off women pretty quickly, haven’t we?” before answering that Labor’s position had consistently been that the project must stack up environmentally and commercially.

The second question from the Australian’s Greg Brown prompted boos and hisses from the female-dominated crowd and Plibersek joked “you’ve made yourself awfully popular”.

Plibersek said Labor was a mainstream party of government that acknowledged Queensland’s “strong desire for jobs” as well as the nation’s environmental responsibilities.

“I think that people actually respect Bill [Shorten] for having a view on this and being prepared to express his view,” she said.