I’m not sure we should completely abolish interstate redistribution – most federal systems have some form of transfers from richer to poorer states – but I agree the current system is overly complex, creates perverse incentives and penalises resource-rich states. Here in WA the issue is even worse than in Queensland because we are even more resource reliant and have a smaller population, so in effect 90% of our wealth would be transferred to other states if the system worked as designed. Since 2018 we have had a special carve-out deal which means our per capita share of GST can’t fall below 75c per $1 (without that deal it would be more like 12c at present), but the other states hate it and are constantly fighting to get it overturned.

We need a simpler and fairer system. Equal per capital distribution would certainly be better than the current arrangements, but there may be a halfway house that allows for some redistribution without the manifest problems of our current horizontal fiscal equalisation.