BILL Shorten’s Labor has slammed the door shut on fixing WA’s GST rip-off and opened a rift with Premier Mark McGowan.

With Labor desperate to cling to power at the Queensland State election, the ALP finally admitted it won’t change the GST carve-up system which robs WA of billions of dollars.

Labor instead hopes its promise to give WA a $1.6 billion top up of the State’s GST payments will appease growing anger in the west.

It means Mr McGowan’s GST plan — a $10 billion boost to WA’s Budget by sharing revenue on a per capita basis — doesn’t have the support of his own party nationally.

Camera Icon WA Premier Mark McGowan. Credit: PerthNow, Simon Santi

Five months ago, the Premier said the GST was “the biggest issue in Western Australia and the people of WA spoke at the State election saying they want change”.

When pressed on Saturday, Mr McGowan would not criticise his colleague Mr Shorten and only said he’d “like a longer-term fix”.

“I just want both sides of politics to give Western Australia a fairer deal,” he said.

In a statement, the Premier said he expected Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull “will put in place an immediate solution very soon”.

“The Federal Liberals cannot afford to ignore Western Australian any longer,” he said.

“The draft report of the Productivity Commission's inquiry into the GST has been encouraging and we expect swift action by the Federal Government once the final report is complete early next year. Federal Labor have a commitment to immediately address our GST shortfall and they will review the final inquiry findings when they are handed down — but they are not the government.”

Camera Icon Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen. Credit: PerthNow, Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

In Queensland this week, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said Labor rejected the Productivity Commission report, which concluded the GST distribution model disadvantages WA.

“We’ve made it clear we do not support changes to the GST distribution formula,” Mr Bowen said, adding: “If it’s good enough for the Shorten Opposition to declare a definitive position on the GST distribution before the people of Queensland vote, surely it’s good enough for the Turnbull Government to do so as well.”

The PM was in Perth on Saturday for a conference, but did not take any questions from the media. His spokesman also refused to comment when asked about Labor’s announcement.

His deputy, Julie Bishop, this week said only in a “parallel universe” would the Federal Government give WA a fairer share of the GST at the expense of other States.

Last night, WA’s peak business lobby group dismissed Labor’s top up plan as “nothing more than a band-aid solution”.

“Once Labor’s $1.6 billion runs out in 1.5 years, West Australians will be forced to go back to Canberra, cap in hand, to beg for more of our own GST back,” CCIWA chief economist Rick Newnham said. “Ruling out a change to the GST formula is ruling out a long-term fix to the GST and the national economy will suffer as a result.”

Labor’s high-profile Federal MPs in Perth — Tim Hammond and Matt Keogh — wouldn’t directly answer whether they supported Labor’s “definitive” position on the GST.

“Federal Labor has been definitive that we won’t leave any States worse off and right now that means delivering a $1.6 billion Fair Share for WA Fund,” Mr Keogh, the member for Burt, said.

Perth MP Mr Hammond said the draft recommendations from the Productivity Commission do not help WA “get out of the financial hole that is caused by the current disparity in the GST allocation”.

State Opposition Leader Mike Nahan added: “In a pathetic capitulation, (Mr McGowan) has put the electoral interests of his interstate Federal colleagues ahead of the interests of every West Australian.”