Premier Colin Barnett has been accused by the state opposition of "maxing out the credit card" by rushing an urgent bill into WA Parliament on Tuesday to borrow another $8 billion.
Opposition leader Mark McGowan claimed it was the third loan bill the Barnett government had pushed through and that it was guilty of "appalling, woeful" financial management.
"They are rushing this bill into parliament today, even though they've known the state of the accounts for a good six months," he said.
"They need the money just to run government - simply to pay public service salaries."
Mr McGowan said the opposition would support the bill based on the established convention to allow supply.
"We won't block supply but we want West Australians to know that our debt has blown out to $28 billion - and we need another $8 billion just to keep government running," the opposition leader said.
He said the Barnett government had inherited the "best set of books" in the state's history with a debt level of $3.6bn.
"The great pity of the last six years is that the government has blown the finances when it should have been driving down debt. People are now losing their jobs, industry is suffering and, the state has lost its capacity to spend," Mr McGowan said.
The treasurer Mike Nahan told parliament on April 22 the $8 billion sought in the bill aimed to cover the two-year period until 30 June 2017
"It also includes the projected borrowing requirements of the consolidated account and a margin for any further unforecast changes to the cash outlook," he said.
Treasurer Nahan's office has been contacted for further comment.
