The Commonwealth Grants Commission’s 2025-26 update of its recommendations on how revenue from the GST should be carved up contained a few more surprises than usual because it incorporated the results of the review of its methodology, which it does every five years.

One thing that wasn’t a surprise was that Western Australia will get $6 billion more in 2025-26 than it would have if the “rules” governing the distribution of GST revenues had not been altered by the Morrison government, with the support of Labor, in 2018. That support has continued and been extended by the Albanese government since coming to office in 2022.