SENATOR DEAN SMITH
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE SHADOW TREASURER
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR THE COST OF LIVING
LIBERAL SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA
GST Commission Must Come West And Hear From WA
7 August 2026
Western Australian Liberal Senator Dean Smith has written to the Productivity Commission demanding it hold public hearings in Perth and Port Hedland as part of its inquiry into the 2018 GST distribution reforms.
The Productivity Commission will release its interim report on 14 August, before receiving post-draft submissions and conducting public hearings ahead of its final report.
Few issues in Commonwealth–State financial relations have been more important to Western Australia than securing a fair share of GST revenue.
The 2018 reforms were a significant and hard-won correction to a system that had seen Western Australia’s GST share fall to historically low levels and provided an important safeguard against the State again receiving an unacceptably low share.
Before Western Australia’s GST relativity began its extraordinary decline, no State had ever fallen below 83 cents in the dollar – the previous low being New South Wales in 2004-05.
Against that historical benchmark, the 75-cent GST floor applying to Western Australia is not excessive or preferential, but a justified safeguard against the extreme outcomes experienced by the State under the previous system.
The importance of the reforms to Western Australia is reflected in the breadth of submissions to the current inquiry.
Submissions have been made by the WA Government, WA State Opposition, Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA and Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia.
Former WA Premier Colin Barnett and former federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann have also made submissions, bringing considerable experience of the GST debate and its consequences for Western Australia.
Senator Smith’s letter demands that Perth and Port Hedland be included among the locations for the Commission’s public hearings.
A Perth hearing would allow the State Government and Opposition, industry organisations, economic and policy experts and other Western Australians to respond directly to the Commission’s interim findings.
A Port Hedland hearing would take the inquiry to the heart of one of Australia’s most important economic regions and allow Commissioners to hear directly from resource companies, explorers, contractors, local businesses, local governments and Pilbara communities.
It would also give the Commission the opportunity to see firsthand the scale of investment and infrastructure underpinning Western Australia’s contribution to national export earnings and government revenues.
Post-draft submissions to the inquiry will close on 30 September 2026.
Quotes attributable to Senator Dean Smith:
“Western Australians experienced firsthand the consequences of an unfair GST distribution, and we cannot allow our State to return to the days when we received an unacceptably low share of our own GST.”
“The strength of WA participation in this inquiry—from the State Government and Opposition to our peak business and resources organisations, former Premier Colin Barnett and former Australian Finance Minister Mathias Cormann—shows the enduring importance of the GST reforms to Western Australia.”
“Perth must be included in the Productivity Commission’s public hearings, but there is an equally compelling case for the Commission to travel to Port Hedland.”
“The Pilbara is not just an economic powerhouse for Western Australia—it is an economic powerhouse for the nation, generating an extraordinary share of Australia’s export income and supporting economic activity across the country.”
“Commissioners should come to Port Hedland, see that contribution firsthand and hear directly from the businesses, workers and communities that help generate Australia’s prosperity.”
“A fair GST system must recognise and preserve the incentive for States like Western Australia to develop their resources, attract investment and grow the national economy.”
“The future of GST distribution should not be determined from Canberra and the eastern States alone. Western Australians have an enormous stake in this debate and deserve a meaningful opportunity to be heard before the Commission reaches its final conclusions.”
ENDS