STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Ms CHANEY (Curtin) (13:30): The Productivity Commission's interim report describes the 2018 GST deal as a mistake. I want to explain to this House why I disagree. Before 2018, WA's GST relativity had fallen to 30c in the dollar and was heading for 18c or lower.

No state has ever received a smaller share. Even now, with the 75c floor in place, Western Australians received the lowest per capita GST share in the country. The pre-2018 formula also created a strange set of incentives: a state that developed its mining industry saw its GST allocation fall; a state that expanded its gambling industry did not.

The formula promoted pokies and penalised productivity. The reformed framework with a relativity floor helps realign incentives with the national interest by ensuring that states are not financially penalised for responsible resource development. WA produces nearly half this nation's exports, including the critical minerals we need for clean energy, advanced manufacturing and Defence supply chains.

Penalising that development harms the whole country, not just my state. The floor also protects every other state. Any state with concentrated or cyclical revenue could depend on it one day.

I urge the commission to, before the final report, recognise that WA's contribution to the national economy funds services in every state. It must stay.