Get rid of grants commission: Barnett

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett says the grants commission system of distributing federal funds rewards failure and penalises success.

West Australian premier Colin Barnett believes the grants commission that controls GST distribution should be abolished.

Ahead of a meeting of state and territory leaders with the prime minister, Mr Barnett has been arguing his state deserves more GST or at least not to lose ground, a position he says Tony Abbott is sympathetic to.

The grants commission was a creation of the 1930s that penalised success, rewarded failure and should be got rid of now, Mr Barnett said on Friday.