GST anger builds in WA but Scott Morrison says there’s nothing he can do about fresh blow

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has ruled out intervening to stop Western Australia’s GST share taking another $2 billion hit, saying his hands are tied over updated population estimates.

Following a meeting with his WA counterpart Ben Wyatt, Mr Morrison insisted there was nothing he could do about updated population estimates that could deplete the state’s already strained finances even further.

WA Treasury has estimated the latest population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics will cost it a further $1.9 billion over four years.

That is despite WA already receiving a much lower per capita GST share than any other jurisdiction, a situation that has sparked ongoing anger in the west.

With Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in WA for the week, the McGowan Government had urged the Commonwealth to guarantee the state’s GST share would not take another hit.

But Mr Morrison — who said he could not verify the $1.9 billion estimate — said he could not intervene.

Source: GST anger builds in WA but Scott Morrison says there’s nothing he can do about fresh blow – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)