Premier Colin Barnett has reduced the WA election to a costings squabble, insisting Labor submit its $5 billion in promises to Treasury and evoking disgraced former premier Brian Burke and the scandalous WA Inc era.
Labor has for several months engaged former senior public servants to work with its costings team, David Gilchrist and Mike Wood, in a bid to Teflon-coat the price tags on its commitments.
But Mr Barnett claimed on Wednesday Mr Wood had a close connection to Mr Burke, who was jailed for rorting travel expenses.
"One of Burke's men coming back to cost Labor's policies - do you think that's good?" the premier asked.
"He's a decent guy, I know Mike quite well, but it's not objective, is it?
"The only objective thing in costing is to actually submit it to Treasury."
Labor announced the appointments on January 24 but Mr Barnett waited until 10 days out from the election to publicly raise his reservations about Mr Wood.
Opposition leader Mark McGowan sprang swiftly to the defence of Mr Wood and Mr Gilchrist, saying their work was credible and independent and rejecting Mr Barnett's demand as pathetic.
"The premier is showing all sorts of desperation, dishonesty in his conduct in last few days," Mr McGowan said.
"These are two eminent West Australians, both of them professors ... I don't think in the history of this country there would have been two more qualified people to cost an opposition's policies."
While oppositions have previously had accounting firms assess their pledges, Mr Barnett said that was not enough in a more accountable modern political arena.
The Liberals would submit commitments and costings to Treasury this week, Mr Barnett said, and also do so when in opposition from now on.
"Why won't Mark McGowan simply do the same? What is he hiding?
"He's promised over $5 billion worth of commitments and has absolutely no credible plan to fund his promises or to bring the budget back to surplus or reduce state debt."
Mr McGowan, however, said he wasn't going to take advice from a premier who has presided over the worst finances in the history of WA "and probably the country".
Exactly four years ago, then-treasurer Troy Buswell said he was about to submit Liberal pledges to Treasury and admitted the now abandoned MAX light rail project was contingent on hefty federal government contributions.
At the same time, Treasury had already run the ruler over Labor's flagship Metronet rail project, which it is pressing ahead with but has changed, and now estimate the key aspects will cost $2.5 billion, saying extra lines can be added when the state can afford it.
But Labor also expects $490 million in commonwealth funds, which it has been warned not to rely on.
Liberal promises for the current campaign amount to $2.8 billion, with the sale of Western Power central to plans.
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