The Commonwealth’s GST carve-up is bad news for NSW and Premier Chris Minns.Credit:Kate Geraghty
However,the figure confirmed in Tuesday’s federal budget is even more bleak and will put NSW’s finances under further pressure as the state government prepares to deliver its own budget next month.
The GST is a crucial income source for state governments and will contribute more than 23 per cent of NSW’s revenue this financial year.
The distribution of the GST has become a source of frustration for NSW after the latest Commonwealth Grants Commission review confirmed that the state’s relative share of GST would also fall to the lowest level since 2018-19,when the Liberal then-treasurer Dominic Perrottet labelled the carve-up “black magic”.
Premier Chris Minns has demanded that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese explains whether it was “an accident or deliberate” that NSW will be left much worse off,while NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has said it will be “virtually impossible” for the state budget to return to surplus next year.
NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has warned the GST carve-up will cost the NSW budget $11.9 billion over four years.Credit:James Alcock
“This is a terrible set of circumstances for Australia’s largest state,” Minns said in March.
Mookhey has also warned that the GST carve-up will cost the NSW budget $11.9 billion over four years,meaning the state is even more likely to lose its premium AAA credit rating.