Labor leader Chris Minns told ‘to come clean’ on fighting for GST share

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has demanded Labor leader Chris Minns ‘come clean’ on whether he will protect the state’s current share of GST.

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has demanded Labor leader Chris Minns “come clean” on whether he will protect the state’s current share of GST and fight Anthony Albanese to extend the “no worse off” guarantee.

Less than two weeks from the state election, the Perrottet government is trying to create an election issue out of the GST distri­bution, with Mr Kean warning that without intervention, the Morrison-era protections could leave the nation’s biggest state with a massive budget black hole.

Under pressure from Victoria and NSW, Jim Chalmers on Tuesday declined to say whether the no worse off guarantee – negotiated by then treasurer Scott Morrison in 2018 – would be extended beyond its 2026-27 deadline.

An updated Commonwealth Grants Commission’s report revealed payments of the $86bn pool of GST in 2023-24 would see Western Australia handed an extra $5.6bn as part of the deal, reaching $10bn since Mr Morrison reformulated the deal.

The consequence has seen other jurisdictions relying on the no worse off guarantee, including NSW and Victoria forecast to get $1.7bn and $1.4bn, respectively, in the 2023-24 financial year.

Mr Kean joined with his Victorian Labor counterpart to call on the government to provide clarity over the payments, saying they were essential to funding “schools, hospitals and flood recovery”, as he urged Mr Minns to outline his position.

“These no worse off payments are at risk from 2026-27 because the Prime Minister and Treasurer Chalmers have refused to say whether they will continue the payments or cut funding for NSW,” he told The Australian.

“I’m calling on Chris Minns to come clean on whether he will stand with the people of NSW to get our fair share of GST, or whether he stands with his Labor mates in Canberra who refuse to say whether NSW will continue to be no worse off under the sweetheart deal with WA.”

Under the previous scheme, WA had seen its share of GST payments fall to about 30c in every dollar as the state’s mining boom filled the government’s coffers. Under the new formula implemented by Mr Morrison, the state’s share was lifted to 75c.

If the previous arrangement had continued, WA’s share would have fallen to 10c in the dollar, instead receiving $6.5bn this year.

Opposition Treasury spokesman Daniel Mookhey said the loss of GST revenue was a consequence of the state’s falling population, attacking the government for pushing residents to exit, but he declined to say whether he would push Dr Chalmers to extend no worse off payments if elected. “People are leaving NSW for other states to escape sky-high electricity prices, expensive housing and the most tolled city in the world,” he said.

“Nurses, paramedics and teachers are leaving because they are getting a better deal in other states. It’s more proof that NSW needs a fresh start.”

Released on Tuesday, the 2023 CGC update represented the halfway point since the deal that showed the nation’s most populous states – NSW and Victoria – were relying on billions of dollars of “no worse off” payments to ensure significant holes did not appear in their respective budgets.