NSW Treasurer says WA Premier the ‘Gollum’ of Australian politics

One state’s Premier has been likened to Gollum, the monstrous hobbit from The Lord of the Rings, as a war of words with a rival heats up.

The NSW Treasurer has labelled the West Australian Premier the “Gollum of Australian politics”.

Dominic Perrottet likened Mark McGowan to the monstrous hobbit from The Lord of the Ring novels in an interview with Sky News Australia on Friday morning.

“Mark McGowan is the Gollum of Australian politics,” Mr Perrottet said.

“You can just picture him over there in his cave with his ‘little precious’ – the GST.”

Gollum is a character from Lord of the Rings. (AP Photo/Warner Bros.)

Mr Perrottet’s comments came after Mr McGowan delivered a budget with a record $5.6 billion surplus on Thursday, cementing the state’s status as the country’s best-performing economy.

The result was buoyed by sky-high iron ore prices and significantly boosted by GST revenue.

CHOOSE YOUR BUDGET COVER: Two front pages, one edition of The West Australian. Tell us which one you like more 👇 pic.twitter.com/9dRE2vDCey

— The West Australian (@westaustralian) September 9, 2021

WA’s share of GST revenue has been a sticking point with other states since 2018, when then-federal Treasurer Scott Morrison locked in a deal that would protect the western state from taking a hit on GST revenue during a mining boom.

Mr Morrison told The West Australian on Wednesday he would not walk back the deal, which will have earned WA $4.9 billion in top up payments by the end of this financial year.

Dominic Perrottet likened Mark McGowan to the monstrous hobbit from the Lord of the Ring novels in an interview with Sky News Australia on Friday morning. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

Mr Perrottet accused WA of having “squandered years of surplus”.

“The deal that they obtained from the federal government ensured that that was protected well into the future,” he said.

“That's not what good public policy is. And what struck me about yesterday’s budget in WA is a substantial surplus but no reform there to protect those moneys into the future when there is a downturn.”