Activists and charities have welcomed recent political pledges to abolish the ‘shameful’ tampon tax.

 

Labor recently announced that if it won the next federal election, it would abolish the current 10% GST levied on female sanitary items.

 

Lana Miletich, Women’s Officer of the UTS Students Association, said the tax was discriminatory, and welcomed Labor’s promise.

 

“The Women’s Collective is passionate about abolishing the tampon tax, because it profits from a normal bodily function,” Ms Miletich said.

 

“I think it’s great that the Labor government is bringing this issue up in the federal setting,” she said.

 

Share the Dignity is a charity that supplies homeless and disadvantaged women with free sanitary items. Their CEO, Rochelle Courtenay, was part of Labor’s policy announcement, and said the tax needed urgent attention.

 

“It was really good to let Labor know the impact of taxing such a basic essential, to show them what’s really going on out there,” Ms Courtenay said.

 

“It’s really important to have this battle one last time in Australia. Its 2018, we shouldn’t be having this conversation anymore about this archaic and sexist tax,” she said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

Labor’s Shadow Federal Health Minister Catherine King said the tax should never have been applied in the first place.

 

“For nearly two decades women have been paying this tax and they shouldn’t have to pay it another day,” Ms King said.

 

Ms King said Labor hoped to remove the tax

from sanitary items, saving women up to $1000

over their lifetime, and apply GST to natural

therapies that are not supported by clinical

evidence.

 

“We think that’s a sensible trade off,” she said.

“A number of states have expressed support

for our plan and we believe we can deliver it in

government.”

 

Under law, removing the GST on the tampon

tax would require state and territory approval.

 

Despite Labor’s optimism, the current Coalition

government has not expressed support for the

plan, as they don’t believe the states are on

board.

 

A spokesperson for Federal Treasurer Scott

Morrison said that while the government

understood it was an ‘important issue’,

they would not pursue any change.

 

They said the Federal Government proposed a

removal of the tampon tax with the states

back in 2015.

 

“As there was no unanimous agreement at the

time, no change to the existing GST

arrangements for feminine hygiene products

will be progressed,” the spokesperson said.

 

Ms Courtenay said Prime Minister Malcolm

Turnbull was similarly dismissive of changing

the tax, which inspired her to ramp up Share

the Dignity’s #AxetheTax campaign.

 

“We filed a federal petition, got 104,000

signatures in 30 days which is actually

Australia’s most signed online petition,

and that means a bill will need to be raised

in parliament,” Ms Courtenay said.

 

Ms Miletich said she was hopeful that removing

the tax would spark a bigger conversation

about making sanitary items truly accessible.

 

“The abolishment of the tax will be largely

symbolic. Periods are such a normal and

unavoidable bodily function, so it only makes

sense that sanitary items should be free,”

she said.

 

Ms King said removing the tax was the

‘vital first step’ in longer term reforms on

access to basic essentials for women.

 

“Labor would be happy to hear any

government proposals to make sanitary items

even more affordable,” she said.