The NSW premier has vowed to continue lobbying for a more radical overhaul of Australia's GST system, after the federal government knocked back changes she supported.
The Turnbull government unveiled sweeping reforms to the way the pool of GST, worth around $70 billion this year, is divided between the states. It will allow every state to keep a minimum 75 cents in each dollar they collect, per person.
The system will still pump money from the wealthier states to the poorer states so that government services in Tasmania and the Northern Territory match the “best” in either Victoria or New South Wales.
But the Turnbull government rejected a recommendation from the independent Productivity Commission to instead match services to the “average” of the states, instead of trying to match the best-performer.
NSW supported that recommendation, and both NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and her treasurer Dominic Perrottet said they would fight for further reforms.
"Our position in relation to the carve-up of the GST will not change," Mr Perrottet told AAP.
Ms Berejiklian said not much else would change for NSW, saying the reforms as they stand would deliver nothing but the "status quo" for her state.
She said, however, NSW could take "some comfort" from the promise that no state would be worse off under the new system.
The 2018-19 budgets by state. Source: SBS News
Meanwhile, Queensland, a Labor state, has reacted with scepticism.
"We want to see where Malcolm Turnbull is finding hundreds of millions of dollars to make up for cuts in the GST he has announced for Queensland," the state’s acting treasurer Steven Miles said.
State and territory treasurers will meet in September to discuss the plan, with a final agreement expected by the end of 2018.
Federal treasurer Scott Morrison said he wanted the cooperation of the states, but stressed he had the legal authority to legislate the changes without them.
