WA parties urged to outline regional plans

Former Nationals WA leader Brendon Grylls has urged the major parties to reveal their plans for the Royalties for Regions program well ahead of the state election.

Premier Colin Barnett has hinted he will impose a tighter budget for the program, which ensures some cash from mining royalties goes to regional areas, while state finances were tight.

Mr Grylls, who is now a Nationals backbencher, urged Labor and the Liberals to lay their cards on the table.

"We would ask for them to outline what those plans are," Mr Grylls told ABC radio on Monday.

"Royalties for Regions is legislated and anyone who wants to meddle with that has to change the legislation."

Mr Grylls also said the Nationals had rightly expressed serious concerns about the proposed privatisation of Fremantle Port, which the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission also has reservations about.

WA Premier Colin Barnett said there were differences of opinion between the Liberals and their Nationals alliance partners, but that was the case within "every government and even within every party".