Hockey's budget comment annoys West Australian premier

Joe Hockey's claim Western Australia is suffering from poor budget management is "very unfortunate", Premier Colin Barnett says.

The Treasurer made the comment after Member for Pearce, Christian Porter complained to a joint party room meeting yesterday that Western Australia was not getting its fair share of GST.

Mr Hockey added the state had a poor track record on privatisation.

While Mr Barnett was unhappy with the comments, he was pleased federal MPs from Western Australia had raised the issue.

"Joe Hockey's comments, in my view, were very unfortunate," the Premier told reporters today.

"However, we will not get excited about it.

"I was glad the Prime Minister intervened and showed some leadership on the issue." He said the GST had "degenerated into simply an Australian government tax on WA."

"It has nothing to do with fiscal equalisation anymore.

"We've always said that Western Australia was prepared to subsidise the weaker states, as indeed we have been historically, but the degree of subsidies has never been of this scale in Australian history.

"It is weakening the Australian federation."