WA Labor against GST on fresh food

The West Australian Labor leader says Premier Colin Barnett is not asking for a great enough share for the state from the GST carve-up and is also opposed to extending it to fresh food.

Mr Barnett thinks Australians will stomach a 12.5 per cent GST, has suggested charging it for produce and says WA needs a 50 cents in the dollar minimum distribution.

But Mark McGowan said WA should be pushing, in a bipartisan way, for a minimum of 80 cents in the dollar.

Increasing the tax and extending it to fresh food would dent consumer confidence and lead to more unemployment, he said.

The opposition leader noted the state was in a vulnerable economic position due to its heavy focus on resources.

"Our economy is not diverse enough - we are very susceptible to the iron ore price, we're very susceptible to oil and gas," Mr McGowan said.

"There has been a decline in manufacturing, a decline in local content, a decline in investment in alternative industries and I think that means our economy is nowhere near as strong as what it should be."

Mr Barnett told ABC TV on Thursday that WA could not withstand a historically low GST share and plunging commodity prices.