Qld treasurer calls for GST overhaul at National Press Club
Queensland's treasurer has used a historic National Press Club address to renew his push for an overhaul of the GST system, saying the current carve-up "threatens the fiscal stability of the federation".
It follows the release of the Productivity Commission's interim report, which recommended the federal government scrap its deal with Western Australia, a suggestion the prime minister has since ruled out.
The interim report found the 2018 WA GST deal was a "costly mistake" that only benefited WA.
In an address delivered to the first ever National Press Club gathering in Queensland, David Janetzki said his battle is not with WA but rather the "unfair GST distribution".
Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki addressed the National Press Club this morning. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
"We are not looking for a special deal, we're looking for a fair deal," he said.
"The current system is a drag on productivity and a handbrake on economic development."
Mr Janetzki has long campaigned for a better GST carve-up for Queensland, with a record $2.3 billion cut from Queensland's GST revenue in 2025-26.
"I'm hoping logic, reason and facts persuade the federal government to amend, change and fix the GST system," he said.
"You can't have a Productivity Commission like the federal government has and then ignore it."
In its interim report released last month, the commission acknowledged that the GST carve-up formula was highly volatile to changes in mining revenue, which were highly concentrated in Western Australia and Queensland, which it said could be addressed by tweaking that formula.
Mr Janetzki said he had called for a 25 per cent discount to assess mining revenue in its submission to the federal Productivity Commission.
"We believe this is a measured response to the efficiency, policy neutrality and volatility problems created when the GST system attempts to redistribute virtually every additional dollar of highly concentrated and volatile mining revenues."
Mr Janetzki will hand down the new government budget in June. (AAP: Darren England)
He proposed it would apply consistently to iron ore, coal, gas and other emerging minerals "without recurring disputes over which state is dominant, how narrowly a commodity should be classified or when dominance begins or ends".
Mr Janetzki also said the Commonwealth Grants Commission did not recognise the decentralised nature of Queensland and took aim at its methodology to assess environmental expenses on an equal per capita basis, regardless of a jurisdiction's environment.
"It means Queensland, with a coastline of more than 13,000km, is assessed on the same per capita basis for coastal management as landlocked ACT," he said.
Steven Miles criticised Mr Janetzki for not taking "responsibility for the situation we find ourselves in". (ABC News: Lucas Hill)
"It makes no sense that a jurisdiction with no coastline benefits from the inclusion of its non-existent beaches."
Opposition Leader Steven Miles said Mr Janetzki was "determined to take no responsibility for the situation we find ourselves in".
"We will always advocate for a better deal for Queensland, but we will also call upon this government to do what they were elected to do," he said.
Public consultation for the Productivity Commission review finishes today, with its report due to be handed down in December.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been contacted for comment.
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