Landmark review says GST plan costly and unfair

What it is about

Who published it, and when

How it spread - 22 original reports, 5 reprints

1. Fri, 14 August 2026

   5 reports
   • ABC News (Australia)04:00first to report
     Landmark review says GST plan costly and unfair

     The Productivity Commission finds the WA GST deal is a "costly mistake" that has led to "perverse" outcomes, and recommends it be scrapped.

   • The Guardian World04:00
     Morrison-era GST deal with WA a multi-billion dollar mistake that should be reversed, Productivity Commission finds

     Interim report calls for carve-up deal that has only benefited Western Australia to be ‘reshaped’ as it has achieved almost none of its objectives Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Productivity Commission (PC) has criticised the controversial GST deal with Western Australia as a costly mistake that should be reversed, saying tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money has since gone to the country’s richest...

   • ABC News (Australia)05:03
     Angry WA premier lashes 'east-coast clowns' on explosive GST report

     An angry Roger Cook has lashed who he calls 'east-coast clowns' over an explosive proposed shake-up of the GST carve-up.

   • southernhighlandnews.com.au06:42
     'Costly mistake': Labor urged to tear up $60b GST deal

     URL changednow www.southernhighlandnews.com.au/story/9330094/wa-stares-down-east-coast-clowns-over-costly-gst-deal/

     Resource-rich Western Australia has vowed to fight any effort to curb a "costly" GST deal the Productivity Commission...

   • ABC News (Australia)21:28edited after publishing
     If WA doesn't like its GST deal, it always has the nuclear option

     previously'They're going to take our GST' sets alarm bells ringing in the west

     Premier Roger Cook said "east coast clowns" attacked Western Australia's federal GST deal. It set alarm bells ringing in WA government offices, literally, as state political reporter Keane Bourke witnessed.

2. Sat, 15 August 2026

   3 reports
   • ABC News (Australia)08:01
     Resources Minister King weighs in on WA GST furore

     The federal minister called an interim report that recommended cutting WA's share of the GST as "clearly incorrect" and said the resource-rich state had the prime minister's backing.

   • ABC News (Australia)08:01
     Resources Minister King weighs in on WA GST furore

     URL changednow www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-15/madeleine-king-gst-wa-albanese-deal/107042276

     The federal minister called an interim report that recommended cutting WA's share of the GST as "clearly incorrect" and said the resource-rich state had the prime minister's backing.

   • ABC News (Australia)19:00
     Albanese might regret using permanent marker on GST pledge

     The electoral map that made surrendering to Western Australia irresistible to the prime minister has changed, but taking something back is always hard.

3. Mon, 17 August 2026

   2 reports
   • ABC News (Australia)07:47edited after publishing
     Architect of current GST system says it is 'working exactly as intended'

     previouslyArchitect of current GST system says its 'working exactly as intended'

     Former WA senator Mathias Cormann has defended the current GST system as fit for purpose, after a landmark interim report by the Productivity Commission found the carve-up was costly and unfair.

   • switzer.com.au20:01
     'A costly mistake': review finds giving WA billions in extra GST was unfair to other states

     The 2018 "reforms" were bad policy. The sooner they are unwound the better.

4. Tue, 18 August 2026

   1 report
   • easternriverinachronicle.com.au08:21
     'Quite wrong': minister hits out at GST deal criticism

     A federal minister from Western Australia has defended her state's generous GST deal despite productivity watchdog calls to...

     2 reprints

     • maitlandmercury.com.au18 Aug, 08:21their copy
     • westernadvocate.com.au18 Aug, 08:21their copy
5. Thu, 20 August 2026

   1 report
   • theage.com.au19:00
     The GST carve-up is cooked, but we need to stop piling onto WA

     WA seems to have bagged a great deal, but it’s not quite that simple.

6. Mon, 24 August 2026

   1 report
   • afr.com02:00edited after publishing
     No potholes in WA roads thanks to bigger slice of GST pie

     previouslyHow Western Australia’s GST share hurts other states and the federal budget

7. Tue, 25 August 2026

   3 reports
   • macleayargus.com.au03:45
     'Things won't change': PM insists GST deal is iron clad

     Anthony Albanese has promised he won't backtrack on a generous GST deal for WA, despite protests from other...

     3 reprints

     • sconeadvocate.com.au25 Aug, 03:45their copy
     • westernadvocate.com.au25 Aug, 03:45their copy
     • areanews.com.au25 Aug, 03:45their copy
   • The Guardian World07:44edited after publishing ×2
     Man arrested after allegedly attacking woman and boy in Melbourne CBD – as it happened

     previouslyAustralia news live: WA to get Blue Poles in painting’s first interstate trip in two decades; Aria bans AI music from charts

     This blog is now closed Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Number of NSW households in urgent need of priority housing hits highest level in over a year The number of NSW households in urgent need of priority social housing has reached 13,776, the highest in more than a year. The waitlist has sat [at] around 70,000 since May. Anyone reading that as stability should look at what is happening inside that number. Urgent need is growing six times faster than general need...

   • ABC News (Australia)21:12edited after publishing
     Live: Coalition report calls for 80pc cut to tobacco excise, legalised vapes

     previouslyLive: Productivity Commission rebuffs 'unacceptable' criticism of GST interim report

     A Coalition report has called for the tobacco excise to be slashed by up to 80 per cent and a framework for businesses to legally sell vapes. Follow live.

8. Wed, 26 August 2026

   4 reports
   • ABC News (Australia)02:18
     Productivity Commission slams 'clowns' comments after GST report

     The Productivity Commission says the WA premier "crossed a line" with his criticisms of the body's interim report on GST, adding that political commentary from federal government ministers undermines the commission's integrity.

   • muswellbrookchronicle.com.au07:18
     Chalmers backs commission after WA premier's GST attack

     Western Australia's premier crossed the line by calling a federal agency "east coast clowns" over their findings on...

   • The Guardian World07:38
     Productivity Commission says ‘line was crossed’ when WA premier labelled them ‘east coast clowns’ over GST

     Commissioner Angela Jackson also said it was ‘disappointing’ that Anthony Albanese had ruled out changes to Western Australia’s GST arrangements Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Productivity Commission has condemned attacks on its integrity as “unacceptable” after its scathing assessment of Western Australia’s sweetheart GST deal as a costly mistake sparked a fierce political backlash and name-calling. Angela...

   • The Guardian World09:38edited after publishing
     Transport regulator investigating two more incidents at Sydney airport, taking tally to six in a month – as it happened

     previouslyAustralia news live: Ooshies trend sees profit boom for Woolworths; productivity commissioner says ‘line was crossed’ by WA premier in GST scuffle

     This blog is now closed Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Angela Jackson, the commissioner of the Productivity Commission, said the body stands by the interim report into the GST, which found the deal with Western Australia to be a costly mistake that should be reversed. Jackson spoke to RN this morning after WA premier Roger Cook said “east coast clowns” didn’t understand the state and any changes would “rip $6bn out of the Western Australia economy”. We are aiming,...

9. Thu, 27 August 2026

   1 report
   • ABC News (Australia)06:26
     A GST deal and the NDIS blew out by billions — but one is sacred

     The Albanese government had a turbulent week with tussles over data centres and division within the Labor party over its humanitarian intake.

10. Wed, 9 September 2026

    1 report
    • ABC News (Australia)21:41
      WA's $30 million 'State of Energy' ad campaign under fire from opposition

      An advertising campaign by Western Australia's government to promote the state's efforts to transition to renewable energy is blasted by the opposition as a waste of money.