The Productivity Commission has called for the controversial GST carve-up deal with Western Australia to be reshaped, finding it achieved almost none of its objectives and made the system less equitable.
Key facts
- An interim Productivity Commission report criticised the GST deal with Western Australia.
- The deal was requested by WA and implemented under the former Morrison government with Labor's support.
- The report says the reform achieved almost none of its objectives.
- Tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money has gone to Australia's richest state, according to the report.
- The Commission says the deal should be 'reshaped' as it made the system less equitable.
The Productivity Commission (PC) has criticised the controversial GST deal with Western Australia as a costly mistake that should be reversed, according to the Guardian. The Commission said tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money has since gone to the country’s richest state.
An interim report from a PC review of the deal found the reform had achieved almost none of its objectives and had made the system less equitable, the Guardian reported.
The deal was requested by Western Australia and implemented under the former Morrison government with the support of Labor. The interim report calls for the carve-up arrangement, which it says has only benefited Western Australia, to be ‘reshaped’.
The Commission’s assessment frames the arrangement as a multi-billion dollar mistake, pointing to the sums of taxpayer money that have flowed to WA since the deal was put in place.
The report is an interim finding from a broader Productivity Commission review of the GST arrangement, according to the Guardian.
Why it matters
The GST distributes revenue across Australia's states and territories, so how it is carved up affects funding for services in every jurisdiction. A finding that a major deal has cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and undermined fairness raises significant questions for both major parties, which backed the arrangement.
Frequently asked questions
Who implemented the WA GST deal?
According to the Guardian, the deal was requested by Western Australia and implemented under the former Morrison government with Labor's support.
What did the Productivity Commission conclude?
An interim report from the Commission found the reform had achieved almost none of its objectives, made the system less equitable, and should be reshaped or reversed.
How much has the deal cost taxpayers?
The Guardian reports the Commission found tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money has gone to Western Australia since the deal was implemented.