No frosty WA reception for PM says Bishop

There won't be a frosty reception for Malcolm Turnbull at the West Australian Liberals conference despite ongoing tension over the GST, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says.

Mr Turnbull will this weekend address a party that suffered a heavy state election loss in March following a campaign based largely on WA's finances.

Ms Bishop, the government's most senior WA MP, insists the PM will be "warmly welcomed" back to the state.

"The issue of the GST is one that we're working on," she told reporters in Sydney on Friday.

"The prime minister has been very up front about wanting to address the GST issue and last time he was at our state conference he made a very positive contribution to the debate about the GST."

Ms Bishop said the federal government was waiting on a Productivity Commission report into GST distribution before making any decision, and it was now up to new Labor Premier Mark McGowan to go into bat for WA.

"I would hope that Premier McGowan saw this as an opportunity to put forward his sensible propositions regarding the GST distribution.

"I'm sure he'll have a perfectly appropriate, civil conversation with the premier."