Treasurer Joe Hockey has held his line on the tampon tax after Prime Minister Tony Abbott appeared to brush aside his pledge to lobby for relief of the GST on the essential products.

The GST has been applied to tampons since its introduction in 2000 but new activism has sought to lift the tax, which campaigners said was unfair as it did not apply to condoms or sunscreen.

Any removal of the tax on tampons would need the support of the states, but is expected to sail through Federal Parliament as the Greens and Labor currently support lifting the tax.

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On Monday Mr Hockey pledged to lobby state governments to support the lifting of the tax on women’s sanitary products he admitted were “essential”.

On Tuesday Mr Abbott appeared much cooler on the idea. He said the government had no plans to change the GST, a position the government has held on taxation of tampons since the tax’s introduction.

“I understand that there has long been a push to take the GST off goods which are one way or another regarded as health products,” Mr Abbott said.

“It’s certainly not something that this government has a plan to do.”

But later on Tuesday the Treasurer reaffirmed his position in a statement emailed to journalists.

“I have asked Treasury to cost removing the GST from sanitary products.

“When I receive those costings, I will write to the states for them to consider the issue ahead of our next meeting in July,” his statement said.

The states and territories broadly support the change proposed, but three states are waiting for the details, AAP reported.

Firstly Western Australia, which is battling for a bigger share of GST funding, has refused to support lifting the tax on tampons without broader reform of the GST.

“Any change to, or removal of, exemptions from the GST process should be part of broader GST reform,” Fairfax reported WA Treasurer Mike Nahan said.

And New South Wales was similarly restrained, Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian said she looks forward to the discussion, Fairfax reported.

Tasmania is also waiting for the discussion to be had before makings its decision, AAP reported.

Governments of both parties have avoided lifting the tax on tampons during their reigns.

In January 2000, the former health minister Michael Wooldridge justified the tax on the women’s sanitary products as necessary.

“Well, as a bloke, I’d like shaving cream exempt, but I’m not expecting it to be,” he said.

When a reporter stated that “condoms are exempt”, Mr Wooldridge replied “Well, condoms prevent illness. I wasn’t aware that menstruation was an illness.”

In February 2013, faced with community opposition to the tax, which campaigners called “sexist”, former assistant treasurer Nick Sherry told News.com.au “the government has made a commitment to maintain the existing GST arrangements.”