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Hockey told: WA assets stay

WA wants to keep its infrastructure.

Colin Barnett has a simple message for Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey - hands off WA's State-owned assets.

The Premier ruled out yesterday selling Western Power, Synergy, the Water Corporation or ports after Mr Hockey again floated his plan for the States to sell assets to fund new infrastructure.

Mr Hockey has suggested tax breaks might be on offer and has flagged compensating the States for lost revenue from dividends and tax equivalent payments that would be forgone if State-owned enterprises were sold.

Mr Barnett said WA would keep control of its utilities because the Government was responsible for maintaining essential services.

"Joe Hockey will have no say over West Australian assets," he said.

"Is Joe going to sell Australia Post? That would be a good start - test his policy for himself."

The Federal Government has put Medibank Private up for sale but has been non-committal about the postal service.

Mr Barnett said his Government had its own process for asset sales to reduce debt.

It has a taskforce to examine which assets should be sold but the Kwinana bulk terminal has been put up for sale and the Government had flagged its intention to sell down its stake in the troubled Muja AB power station. Government landholdings will also be sold.

"As I've said before, that might be a power station, it might be a loading facility within a port, but we will not be selling the utilities (companies) - we will not be selling a Water Corporation, or Synergy or ports," Mr Barnett said.

Treasurer Troy Buswell said he wanted more detail about Mr Hockey's plans at the next Treasurers' meeting next month.

"I hope Mr Hockey is able to put a little more meat on the bones of his offer to help the States in the infrastructure space," he said.

"Because out of the previous meeting, I didn't come out with a lot of confidence that what he was talking about was going to be particularly applicable to WA."

Opposition Leader Mark McGowan said: "You need to have a mandate from the people before you sell off those core Government agencies. Mr Barnett ruled it out before the last election."