It seems our State Government is desperate to prop up our ailing state budget by any means possible.

Lately we have learnt that fines levied for certain road traffic offences are not applied to road safety measures but rather tipped into general revenue, notwithstanding earlier statements to the contrary by our Road Safety Minister and contrary to the undertakings by former Premier Mike Rann.

The Sampson Flat bushfire apparently provides an excuse for every landholder to have to put their hands in their pocket to pay an increased Emergency Services Levy, even though it is patently obvious to every person and his dog that the levies intended to be raised far exceed the cost of that fire and is a naked cash grab three years out from an election.

For years court filing fees paid by users of the court to commence civil legal actions have not been applied to the Courts Administration Authority but have gone into general revenue. Had they gone to the courts our judicial infrastructure would look very different today.

The privatisation of the Motor Accident Commission show just how desperate the government is to boost its revenue. The MAC, in its former iteration as the State Government Insurance Commission, was established by the then Dunstan government as a purpose built fund to compensate victims of motor vehicle accidents. It was formed due to the poor treatment received up to that point by claimants who were forced to deal with private insurance companies, whose sole interest was a return to shareholders. In a return to days past, the present Labor government is unwinding the Dunstan reforms and returning the compensation scheme to private insurers. In the process it will pocket our money paid to register our motor vehicles and to insure ourselves against the risk of causing third party injury and tip it, you guessed it, into general revenue.

The cash grab will be enormous and may run to billions of dollars (the Treasurer’s conservative estimates are between $1 billion and$ 2 billion). The Government is blithely helping itself to monies paid to a purpose-built fund to compensate victims of road accidents in order to prop up its poor financial performance. It is a breach of the spirit if not the letter of the Motor Accident Commission Act.

Nothing that the present Government is doing is arresting the economic decline in our state’s fortunes and it is fast becoming too late. Most other states have now left us in their wash.

At the same time our Government steadfastly refuses to consider a movement in our Goods and Services Tax, even though our consumption tax is at the low end of those charged by other OECD countries. One might have sympathy with this position if the GST allocation to South Australia wasn’t in our favour – but it is. South Australia receives $1.30 for every dollar of GST raised and paid. We are a net beneficiary. Why on earth then should we tolerate a State Government that squarely refuses to look at a most obvious macroeconomic reform but continues to pilfer through indirect taxes more than any other state or territory government? The impact to individuals and businesses is enormous and unforgivable.

South Australia needs a break. We are the highest taxed jurisdiction in Australia and that is very bad for business and in turn employment. We are caught in a downward spiral of economic decline and we need a break to get our head above water. Business needs the incentive to invest in South Australia. It is not going to come to a state that has the highest taxes on business in the land. But we are in a bind: how can we reduce taxes and levies when we so desperately need revenue?

Apart from direct Commonwealth funding we have but two sources of income – state taxes and our GST allocation. If we can’t make ends meet with taxes and levies the rate and breadth of the GST is worth considering.

I am not one that places any store in a government-led recovery. Economic recovery, when it comes, will be from small and medium enterprise. This is the sector that requires government help and it is unlikely to come from expensive trips to the People’s Republic of China but rather from creating a sufficient economic buffer to allow us to provide desperately-needed tax breaks for business.

The GST should not be a holy cow. It is just another and very fair way to raise revenue. South Australia stands to gain much by a reconsideration of its rate and application. Let’s start a much-needed debate.

If you are unconvinced let me put it another way. Nothing that the present Government is doing is arresting the economic decline in our state’s fortunes and it is fast becoming too late. Most other states have now left us in their wash.

If what we are currently doing is failing, it’s time to try something else. I urge the State Government to stop varnishing over our problems and commit to a discussion about raising and broadening the GST before we fall completely off the chart.

Talk of a future nuclear industry shows that Labor can eventually convince itself to drop old prejudices. Let’s add another to the list. We need action today on the GST. It would provide a far greater economic impact than a half-hour time change.

Morry Bailes is managing partner at Tindall Gask Bentley Lawyers, Member of the Executive of the Law Council of Australia and immediate past President of the Law Society of SA. The opinions expressed in this column are his own.

His column appears every second Thursday.