Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten has renewed his call for Western Australia to be given one-off financial assistance, as a circuit-breaker to the GST carve-up fight.
As state and territory leaders meet with the prime minister in Canberra, the opposition leader's solution is for the commonwealth to provide WA with $300 million to help prop up its finances.
"Do something in this budget, not wait till there's a train wreck," Mr Shorten told reporters in Perth.
Earlier, Prime Minister Tony Abbott urged state and territory leaders to step up and wrestle with the country's problems.
Kicking off the Council of Australian Governments meeting in Canberra on Friday, Mr Abbott said the leaders had big reform issues such as the federation and tax to deal with.
But there were also more pressing problems, including national security and tackling domestic violence and the ice scourge.
GST argy bargy
Leaders from every state and territory bar WA have jointly written to the federal government to say the GST distribution should not be changed.
The letter to Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey, ahead of Friday's meeting of national leaders, says any special assistance for WA should be considered outside of the GST carve-up.
"Any move away from the current system risks undermining the fabric of the federation," the letter, obtained states.
Argy bargy over the GST revenue carve up is expected when the nation's leaders meet in Canberra today.
However, co-operation on other agenda items like domestic violence, national security and the ice epidemic is more likely.
There will be some new faces around the Council of Australian Governments meeting table.
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It will be the first appearance for both Victorian premier Daniel Andrews - already at odds with Prime Minister Tony Abbott over ditching the East West Link - and Queensland's Annastacia Palaszczuk.
ACT Labor Chief Minister Andrew Barr is making his debut as well, after replacing Katy Gallagher who's now in the Senate.
But some things won't change, including WA Premier Colin Barnett's perennial "whinge from the west" about his state's share of the GST revenue pool.
WA wants more money than the paltry 30 cents in the GST dollar being offered under the Grant Commission's formula for 2015/16.
Mr Barnett is more desperate this time as he grapples with sliding royalties from a steep drop in iron ore prices and the risk of another credit rating downgrade.
But there won't be much sympathy from other leaders keen to preserve their own revenue.
Schools, hospitals main issue for COAG
Premiers have nominated savage federal funding cuts for public hospitals and schools as the biggest single issue of their meeting with Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
"That quite frankly makes the GST debate dwarfed to a pimple on the size of the pumpkin," NSW Premier Mike Baird told reporters ahead of a Council of Australian Governments meeting in Canberra on Friday.
The federal government's first budget a year ago ripped out $80 billion of unfunded Labor commitments to the states and territories for health and education.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said state leaders did not want the issue discussed in a bickering way.
"We should try to find some consensus and common ground to acknowledge hospitals and schools can't continue on what is fundamentally an unsustainable funding basis," he told reporters.
Mr Andrews said he was hoping for a proper reform conversation.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the funding cuts will cost her state $18 billion over 10 years.
"It's going to have a huge effect on my budget," she told reporters.
Ms Palaszczuk also wants the national disability insurance scheme discussed at the meeting, saying she was "extremely passionate" about the issue.
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