WA govt federal budget expectations low

WHAT THE WEST AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT WANTS FROM THE FEDERAL BUDGET

* WA Premier Colin Barnett says he doesn't expect much from the federal budget on May 3, saying all levels of government are struggling with debt and funding services, predicting it will be a conservative set of numbers. The state budget, which will be handed down just over a week later, will also be "careful", the Liberal leader says.

* The WA government's main objective is to secure a better share of the GST carve-up by getting the distribution formula changed. But that requires other states and territories to agree, which is a tough ask and seems unlikely in the near future. Both the Abbott and Turnbull governments have been appeasing the state for the past two years with one-off top-up payments totalling $989 million.

* The Barnett government's anger about its ailing finances - not just because of the low GST share but also due to lower royalties from the resources sector and subdued tax collections from a softer domestic economy - has also been somewhat assuaged by grants for a controversial toll road. The federal government has committed almost $1.2 billion towards the $1.9 billion Perth Freight Link project, so the federal budget probably won't contain any big infrastructure contributions.