Dominic Perrottet pans feds’ ‘revolving door PMs’

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet says fixed four-year terms at the federal level are ‘absolutely necessary’.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet in question time at Parliament House, Sydney, this week. Picture: AAP

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has slammed a “dysfunctional federation”, saying fixed four-year terms at the federal level are “absolutely necessary”, in a speech that takes a veiled swipe at his Liberal colleagues for dumping Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister.

“If we had taken the current approach of cutting down PMs when the polls dip, our nation would have been deprived of some of the most critical reforms in recent decades,” he said, addin­g that “people are sick of the revolving door and the ­eternal election campaign”.

Speaking at the McKell Instit­ute on Thursday night, Mr Perrottet also called for a revival of Tony Abbott’s 2014 push to recas­t the federation, including giving states a share of federal incom­e tax as part of a grand bargai­n that would see Canberra’s meddling in health and education cease: “That would provide states with greater auton­omy and clarify which level of government is respons­ible for the relevant policy areas.”

States are responsible for about 40 per cent of government spending but raise about 25 per cent of the revenue. They rely on the federal government for funds through GST payments and various “tied grants”, which for NSW amount to about 50.

“As much as possible, states that want to should receive a set share of the income tax collected with no prescriptive conditions,” he said. “In Canada, a federation quite similar to ours, there is no federal education minister yet it consistently outperforms Aust­ralia in education outcomes.”

A white paper on federation reform began in 2014 but was disbanded a year later when Mr Turnbull became prime minster.

Four months from the NSW state election, the state Treas­urer implored senators to step back from making the federal upper house a “plaything for minor parties, and a rubber-stamp for major parties”.

“If the Senate isn’t representing the interests of the states, why does it even exist?” he asked, recounting his recent conver­sations with NSW senators that had helped convince the federal government to include a guarantee for states’ revenues in its ­recent changes as part of its GST distribution changes.

Mr Perrottet lauded Labor’s internal party reforms to safeguard leaders from challenges, calling on the Liberals to do the same. “It’s time for the Liberals to take their medicine,” he said.