The Productivity Commission says the WA premier “crossed a line” with his criticisms of the body’s interim report on GST, adding that political commentary from federal government ministers undermines the commission’s integrity.
The report, released earlier this month, was tasked with looking at GST distribution reforms put in place in 2018. It described those arrangements as a “costly mistake” that had forced Australian taxpayers to foot the bill of almost $23 billion, and the only state better off was WA.
WA Premier Roger Cook lashed the report authors as “east coast clowns” and described the commission’s proposals for change as “dodgy, deceitful, and quite frankly dumb”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled the findings as an “economic rationalist” position, while Resources Minister Madeleine King sympathised with the WA premier’s comments and cast doubt on the report’s methodology.
Within days of the interim report’s release, Mr Albanese stood with Mr Cook in Perth, pledging not to unwind any deal for WA while he was prime minister.
Productivity commissioner and economist Angela Jackson, who co-authored the report, said the body welcomed public debate, but the WA premier’s remarks went too far.
“Our view is that a line was crossed in terms of the nature of those comments,” she told ABC Radio National.
“To undermine and, I guess, attack our integrity, I think, is an additional bridge too far.
“We want to call this out as being unacceptable as a result. But that said, in doing that, we welcome ongoing dialogue with Western Australia.”
Mr Albanese this week distanced his party from the commission’s report, pointing out the previous Morrison government commissioned it.
“This report was commissioned by the Morrison government, not us,” he said.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says “economic rationalist” is not necessarily a criticism of the Productivity Commission. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)
Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who wrote the terms of reference for the report, said today the Productivity Commission is “full of really good people … publicly-spirited people”.
“I want them to know just how much I value their work,” he said.
“I don’t consider what the PM said to be inappropriate, but I think some of the other commentary around it has been unfortunate,” Mr Chalmers said.
“I think you can disagree with the conclusions of the Productivity Commission without denigrating them.”
Commission says it is ‘above politics’
Dr Jackson said the prime minister’s comments were “disappointing” but added that most economists would take being described as “economic rationalists” as a “badge of honour”.
She said the findings were part of an interim report and were subject to consultation and change.
The productivity commission was independent and would not be swayed by politicians’ views, she added.
“We often refine our recommendations. We may well change our recommendations in some instances, depending on the feedback we receive,” she said.
“It’s important for us to indicate that that process will not be influenced by the prime minister’s comments,” she said.
“We are above politics.”
Anthony Albanese met with Roger Cook earlier this week. (ABC News: Adam Kennedy)
Dr Jackson’s comments come after her co-author, Alex Robson, told The Australian Financial Review (AFR) he was disappointed by senior Labor member’s comments, which he called inappropriate.
“I totally reject those comments and the language used. It doesn’t advance the policy debate at all,” he told the AFR.
Other government ministers have declined to condemn Mr Cook’s remarks.
Industry Minister Tim Ayres today told the ABC his “east coast clowns” comment was “colourful language” but insisted Labor welcomed debate and MPs did not have a “glass jaw”.
Ms King, who hails from WA, said Mr Cook’s comments were “fair enough”, although she would not use that language herself.
“I don’t actually quite agree that it [the Productivity Commission] has gone through it as methodically as it might have,” she told ABC’s Radio National on Tuesday.
“I respect the work of the commissioners. And I also note there are no Western Australians on the Productivity Commission.”
The Productivity Commission is the independent research and advisory body for the Australian government, undertaking research in areas like housing supply, childcare subsidies and hospital funding and carrying out ongoing work on Closing the Gap.