INTERGOVERNMENTAL FISCAL RELATIONS – AUSTRALIA

WA ready to fight to keep sweet GST deal

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Original article by Jesinta Burton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 29-Jul-25

Western Australia plans to resist growing calls for changes to the way that the GST is distributed, with WA having benefited greatly from a 2018 decision by the then Coalition government to introduce a GST floor. It has resulted in states getting at least $0.75 for every dollar raised, while the federal government makes top-up payments to ensure that no state is worse off under the decision. It is understood the WA government is planning a national campaign in defence of its favourable deal, ahead of a Productivity Commission review of the GST reforms that is due to be handed down next year.

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AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Canberra cash critical for offshore wind energy’s future

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 6 : 7-May-24

Victorian is seeking to generate 2GW of electricity from offshore wind by 2032 and as much as 9GW by 2040, as part of its renewable energy target of 95 per cent by 2035. The state government has announced that it is on track for its first offshore wind auction in 2025, while Victorian Energy Minister Lily’Ambrosio has stated that federal government funding is essential to Victoria’s goal of an offshore wind industry. However, energy market expert David Leitch does not think Victoria is the ideal location for renewable energy, and that it may need to become a net importer of renewable energy that has been generated in other states.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE ACTION

Canberra cash critical for offshore wind energy’s future

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 6 : 7-May-24

Victorian is seeking to generate 2GW of electricity from offshore wind by 2032 and as much as 9GW by 2040, as part of its renewable energy target of 95 per cent by 2035. The state government has announced that it is on track for its first offshore wind auction in 2025, while Victorian Energy Minister Lily’Ambrosio has stated that federal government funding is essential to Victoria’s goal of an offshore wind industry. However, energy market expert David Leitch does not think Victoria is the ideal location for renewable energy, and that it may need to become a net importer of renewable energy that has been generated in other states.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE ACTION

Premiers revolt over federal NDIS law, fearing cost time bomb

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Original article by David Crowe, Natassia Chrysanthos
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 26-Mar-24

The state governments are concerned that changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme will impose a huge financial burden on them. A meeting of the national cabinet in late 2024 agreed to the reforms, which will establish a new state and territory disability system to be called ‘foundational supports’; its aim is to provide services to about 2.5 million Australians with a disability who need less intense support than the NDIS, with a focus on children with autism and developmental delay. The states want the draft bill to be delayed to allow more time for consultation about the reforms.

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NSW slams GST pool as WA gets extra $6.2b

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Original article by Michael Read, Samantha Hutchinson, Tom Rabe, Gus McCubbing
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Mar-24

Victoria will gain the most from the annual distribution of goods and services tax revenue. The Commonwealth Grants Commission has advised that the state will be allocated $23.7bn of GST revenue in 2024-25, an increase of $3.8bn. Meanwhile, Western Australia will continue to benefit from the GST ‘floor’ that the former Coalition government introduced in 2018; the state will receive an additional $6.2bn in 2024-25 that it not have been entitled to under the previous GST distribution arrangements. NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has called for changes to the system for distributing GST revenue, after the state’s share was reduced to $26.1bn in 2024-25.

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AUSTRALIA. COMMONWEALTH GRANTS COMMISSION, NEW SOUTH WALES. THE TREASURY

Federal auditor to probe Labor’s $2.2b rail plan

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Original article by Gus McCubbing
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 13-Feb-24

A Senate estimates hearing has been told that Auditor-General Grant Hehir will examine the federal government’s $2.2 billion commitment to Victoria’s Suburban Rail Loop project. Hehir will look at whether this commitment represents value for money and if it was "informed by appropriate departmental advice". Department of Infrastructure secretary Jim Betts said the department will co-operate fully with Hehir’s investigation. Marion Terrill, former director of the Grattan Institute’s Transport and Cities Program, has welcomed the investigation, stating that big projects require more rather than less scrutiny.

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AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

States take on Albanese in GST spat

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 30-Nov-23

The federal government is under pressure from the states and territories to permanently retain the goods and services ‘no worse off guarantee’, which is slated to end by 2026-27. The guarantee was introduced in 2018, with the aim of compensating the states for GST revenue they lost as part of a deal to put a ‘floor’ under the allocation for Western Australia. Victoria’s Treasurer Tim Pallas contends that ending the guarantee would be ‘disastrous’ for the states, as they would be collectively $4.9bn worse off each year. The guarantee will be on the agenda for a meeting of the state and federal treasurers in Brisbane on Friday.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE

Bill shock fears risk NDIS deal

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Original article by Sarah Ison, Stephen Lunn, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 30-Nov-23

The federal government will push for an overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme at a meeting of the national cabinet on 6 December. However, several state and territory governments are believed to have warned that they will not agree to any NDIS reforms unless they know just how much the changes will cost them. NDIS Minister Bill Shorten has declined to comment on how the proposed reforms would affect state government budgets. However, he has emphasised the urgency of reining in the cost of the scheme.

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Secret $8bn sweetheart energy deal

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 21-Dec-22

The federal and NSW governments have struck a $7.8bn joint funding deal for eight electricity transmission and Renewable Energy Zone projects across the state. The deal has been negotiated to secure NSW’s support for the federal government’s coal price caps when state parliament is recalled on Wednesday. The federal government will contribute $4.7bn in funding for the projects via its Rewiring the Nation policy. The joint funding will be used to connect the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project and a number of renewable energy zones into the national grid.

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Victoria blasts Scott Morrison for double standard on Sydney COVID support

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Original article by Josh Butler
The New Daily – Page: Online : 14-Jul-21

The Victorian government has criticised its federal counterpart over the COVID-19 financial support package for New South Wales. A state government spokesman says Victoria had to "beg" for financial support during its recent outbreak of the Delta variant. A spokesman for Prime Minister Scott Morrison says both states received the same level of financial support during the first two weeks of their respective lockdowns, and Victoria would get the same support if it were forced into another lockdown of more than two weeks. Meanwhile, the ACTU and the federal Opposition contend that the support package is insufficient.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET